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Rabbit Soup

A broth made from rabbit meat, bones, herbs, and milk, simmered and strained.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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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 ↓

Rabbit Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Make the stock

  1. In a stewpan, combine the liquor from boiling the rabbit, the minced meat, and the broken bones.

  2. Simmer gently for 30 minutes, skimming carefully.

  3. Add the onion, faggot of herbs, celery (or celery seed), whole white pepper, and mace.

  4. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes, then strain the mixture.

Finish the soup

  1. The day before serving, put the stock back in a stewpan and add the milk.

  2. If using skim milk, add butter the size of a hazelnut.

  3. If using condensed milk, dissolve 1 teaspoon in 1 cup of boiling water.

  4. Bring the stock and milk to a boil, and prepare a thickening agent.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  2. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  3. Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Parsley + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,810 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Thyme + celerytop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,193 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

Remaining rabbit meat
Releases flavour and body into the stock as it simmers gently.
Rabbit bones
Release gelatin during simmering, giving the stock a fuller, richer body.
Onion
Adds savoury sweetness and aroma to the stock as it simmers.
Milk
Adds creaminess and a softer, mellow flavour to the finished soup.
Butter
Adds richness and a smoother mouthfeel when using skim milk.

The step that matters

Bringing the stock and milk to a boil. Milk proteins can scorch on the base of the pan or separate and curdle if overheated. Heat gently and stir so the soup stays smooth and creamy.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rabbit, meat, onion, parsley, thyme, marjoram, celery):

  1. Winter savoryfits better
  2. Sagefits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rabbit, meat, onion, parsley, thyme, marjoram, celery. 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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