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 ↓
Capon, Stuffed and Roasted
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Mix suet, ham, bread crumbs, parsley, marjoram, thyme, cayenne, salt, mace, and lemon rind in a bowl.
Bind the mixture together with the beaten eggs.
Stuff the capon with the forcemeat.
Cover the capon with buttered paper.
Roast the capon at 400°F (200°C), basting frequently.
Serve with brown gravy and bread sauce.
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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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,979 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Marjoram + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together957 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, bread, parsley, marjoram, thyme, pepper, lemon):
- Winter savoryfits better
- Sagefits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against ham, bread, parsley, marjoram, thyme, pepper, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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