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 ↓
Veal Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
Slice the veal and lard it with bacon.
Season with nutmeg, pepper, coarse sea salt, lemon-thyme, and sweet marjoram.
Wash the veal slices with eggs, then sprinkle the seasoning over them.
Dip the slices in melted butter and wrap them in buttered white paper.
Broil on a gridiron at a distance from the fire until cooked.
Remove the paper, serve with gravy, and garnish with sliced lemon.
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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Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,225 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
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Lemon + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together957 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Lemon + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,973 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Nutmeg + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together687 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pepper, lemon, thyme, marjoram, egg, butter):
- Parsleyfits better
- Sagefits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, pepper, lemon, thyme, marjoram, egg, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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