Name: Seafood Seasoning
Ingredients: 6 tbsp butter-flavored salt; ½ cup sweet paprika; 4 bay leaves , torn; 3 tbsp celery seed; 3 tbsp dehydrated lemon peel; 1 tbsp dehydrated lime peel; 2 tbsp dried rosemary; 3 tbsp dried thyme; 3 tbsp dried oregano; ¼ cup smoked paprika; 1 tbsp freshly ground cinnamon

Why it works: Rosemary and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,340 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Rosemary + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,340 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Rosemary + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together344 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Thyme + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together791 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lemon + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,973 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lemon + limetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,289 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sweet paprika: Adds a rich red color and mild, sweet flavor to the blend.
Smoked paprika: Adds a smoky aroma and depth to the blend.
Dried thyme: Adds an earthy, herbal aroma that carries the savory notes.
Dehydrated lemon peel: Adds bright citrus aroma and a touch of acidity.
Celery seed: Adds a warm, savory aroma typical of seafood seasonings.

Swap the cinnamon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, celery, lemon, lime, rosemary, thyme, oregano):

Marjoramfits better
Sagefits better
Parsleyfits better
Cinnamonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, celery, lemon, lime, rosemary, thyme, oregano. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Celery Seed	1 stalk (40g)	6
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Rosemary	1 tsp dried (1.2g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Seafood Seasoning