Why it works: Thyme and marjoram 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 ↓
Mutton Broth
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the mutton in cold water for 1 hour to remove blood.
Simmer
Place the mutton in a saucepan with water, salt, grits, onion, thyme, and marjoram.
Set on low heat and skim off any scum that forms.
After skimming, add the turnips and let it simmer for 2 hours.
Strain the broth through a clean sieve.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,225 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
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Marjoram + turniptop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together367 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Thyme + turniptop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,352 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Onion + turniptop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,585 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Onion + thymetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,171 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Scrag of mutton
- Gives the broth its meaty flavour and rich body as it simmers.
- Grits
- Thickens the broth slightly as its starch dissolves during simmering.
- Turnips
- Add mild sweetness and body to the broth during the long simmer.
The step that matters
Skimming the scum. Scum is coagulated protein and impurities rising from the meat. Skimming it as it forms keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting rather than cloudy or greasy.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, thyme, marjoram, turnip):
- Leekfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Parsnipfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, thyme, marjoram, turnip. 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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