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Broth

A herb-infused calf head broth made by simmering trimmings with spices, then thickened with butter and flour.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Marjoram and sage match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 507 recipes. Both carry 2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓

Broth

Ingredients

Directions

Make the broth

  1. Combine marjoram, basil, parsley, allspice, black pepper, and calf's head trimmings in a pot.

  2. Cover and simmer gently for about 4 hours until you have 9 quarts of broth.

  3. Strain the broth and reserve 2 quarts for gravy sauces.

Make the herb base

  1. Chop lemon peel, shallot, sage, and winter savory finely.

  2. In a pot, combine the chopped herbs with ½ pint of the stock and boil until tender, about 30 minutes.

  3. Strain the herb mixture through a sieve, pressing the herbs through with a spoon, and add to the thickened soup.

Thicken and finish

  1. Melt butter in a clean saucepan, then gradually stir in flour until smooth.

  2. Moisten the mixture with a ladleful of soup, mixing well, then add the remaining soup gradually while stirring.

  3. Let it stew for another 30 minutes, skimming off any scum that rises.

  4. Strain the soup through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, add the calf's head, and let it simmer.

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. Marjoram + sagetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together507 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  2. Marjoram + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together688 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  3. Marjoram + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,037 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Marjoram + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together957 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

Butter
Enriches the thickened soup and adds richness to the roux.
Flour
Thickens the soup when cooked with butter into a roux.
Sage leaves
Adds aromatic, earthy flavour to the herb base.
Lemon peel
Adds bright aromatic citrus flavour to the soup.

The step that matters

Adding the soup to the roux. Adding liquid gradually while stirring keeps the flour smooth and prevents lumps, because starch granules must be dispersed before they thicken evenly.

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (allspice, pepper, marjoram, basil, parsley, lemon, sage):

  1. Carrotfits better
  2. Shallotthe original
  3. Parsnipfits about as well
  4. Eggplantfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against allspice, pepper, marjoram, basil, parsley, lemon, sage. 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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