Why it works: Sage and summer savory match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 237 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Roast Turkey
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Make a dressing by mixing the crackers, pepper, salt, sage, summer savory, parsley, eggs, butter, and enough cold water to moisten.
Stuff the turkey, starting with the breast and then filling the body.
Cross and tie the legs tightly, skewer the wings to the body, and secure the neck with a skewer and twine.
Rub the turkey with salt and place it on a spit.
Roast and baste
Baste often with drippings and flour, and occasionally with butter.
Fifteen minutes before serving, baste with butter and sprinkle with flour for a frothy appearance.
Roast for 1 hour and 45 minutes for an 8-pound turkey in a tin kitchen, or 1 hour and 30 minutes plus 15 minutes for each additional pound in the oven.
Serve
Serve with giblet gravy and cranberry 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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Sage + summer savorytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together237 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Summer savory + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together241 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Sage + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,445 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + sagetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,388 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
- Turkey (in the method)
- Forms the main body of the dish and carries the flavor of the stuffing and drippings.
- Eggs
- Bind the dressing so it holds together when moistened and cooked.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, and helps the skin brown during basting.
- Pounded crackers
- Form the bulk of the dressing and absorb moisture from the stuffing.
The step that matters
Roast timing for the turkey. Roasting time depends on the bird's weight, so an undersized or oversized estimate can leave the meat undercooked or dry. Checking doneness with a thermometer at the thickest part of the thigh is more reliable than relying on time alone.
Swap the summer savory
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, sage, parsley, egg, butter):
- Thymefits better
- Marjoramfits about as well
- Summer savorythe original
- Tarragonfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, sage, parsley, egg, butter. 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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