Why it works: Sage and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,388 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Mock Goose
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Peel the vegetable marrow, cut it lengthwise, and remove the seeds and fibers from the inside.
In a bowl, mix the cooked onions, sage, butter, breadcrumbs, pepper, and salt.
Assemble and bake
Fill the marrow halves with the mixture and unite the two halves.
Tie the marrow together, dust with flour, and cover with buttered paper.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 2 hours.
Serve
Serve with brown gravy.
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 + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,388 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + sagetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,628 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Sage + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,312 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Vegetable marrow
- Forms the shell that holds the stuffing and becomes tender as it bakes.
- Breadcrumbs
- Absorb moisture and bind the stuffing so it holds its shape when sliced.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavor through the stuffing and keeping it moist.
- Cooked onions
- Add sweetness and savory depth to the stuffing.
- Sage
- Adds a warm, earthy aroma that complements the marrow and onions.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sage, butter, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Sweet potatofits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sage, butter, pepper. 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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