Why it works: Marjoram and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓
Soup Powder
Ingredients
Directions
Dry all the herbs and lemon peel.
Pound the dried ingredients together.
Sift the mixture to ensure a fine consistency.
Store in a tightly corked bottle.
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.
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.
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Marjoram + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,225 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
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Winter savory + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together780 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Winter savory + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together455 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Marjoram + basiltop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together688 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Parsley
- Provides fresh, green herbal aroma and flavour to the blend.
- Winter savory
- Adds a peppery, aromatic note that gives the powder its savoury character.
- Sweet marjoram
- Contributes a warm, floral aroma typical of savoury herb blends.
- Lemon-thyme
- Adds citrusy, aromatic lift that brightens the blend.
- Lemon peel
- Supplies concentrated citrus oils that give aroma and a bright, acidic edge.
- Sweet basil
- Contributes sweet, clove-like aroma to the overall flavour.
The step that matters
Sift the mixture to ensure a fine consistency.. Drying and pounding leave uneven particles and fibres. Sifting removes coarse pieces so the powder dissolves and disperses evenly in soups, avoiding gritty texture and uneven flavour.
“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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