Why it works: Thyme and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Gravy in Haste
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop fine a few bits of lean meat, a small onion, a few slices of carrot and turnip, and a little thyme and parsley.
Put these with half an ounce of butter into a thick saucepan.
Brown and season
Keep them stirred until they are slightly browned.
Add a little spice, and water in the proportion of a pint to a pound of meat.
Simmer and strain
Clear the gravy from scum.
Let it boil half an hour.
Then strain it for use.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Thyme | 1 tsp dried (1.4g) | 4 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Meat | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
-
Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Onion + thymetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,171 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Meat + thymetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,008 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Meat
- Provides the main savory flavor and body of the gravy as it cooks down.
- Butter
- Adds fat that carries flavor and helps the vegetables and meat brown.
- Onion
- Browns and releases sweetness and aroma that build the gravy's flavor base.
The step that matters
Stirring until slightly browned. Browning the meat and vegetables develops deep flavor and color through the Maillard reaction. Stir constantly so nothing scorches, since burnt bits turn the gravy bitter.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, meat, thyme, parsley):
- Shallotfits better
- Leekfits better
- Potatofits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, meat, thyme, parsley. 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.
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