Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Forcemeat
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, mix the grated bread crumbs with the grated lemon rind and minced herbs, then add the grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and mix well.
Incorporate the butter bits and the egg yolk, and work the mixture with your fingers until smooth.
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.
-
Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Lemon + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,973 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Lemon + peppertop 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
What each ingredient does
- Stale bread
- Forms the dry crumb base that gives the stuffing its body and absorbs the butter.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps bind the crumbs into a smooth mixture.
- Egg yolk
- Acts as a binder that helps hold the crumbs and butter together.
- Lemon rind
- Adds bright aromatic oils that lift the flavor of the mixture.
- Mixed savory herbs
- Contributes aroma and fresh herbal flavor throughout the stuffing.
The step that matters
Working the butter and yolk into the crumbs. Butter must be worked in evenly while cool and in small bits so the fat disperses through the crumbs instead of pooling or greasing the mixture. Working it smooth with the fingers helps the yolk bind everything into an even, cohesive mass.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, lemon, parsley, thyme, pepper, butter, egg):
- Marjoramfits better
- Sagefits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, lemon, parsley, thyme, pepper, butter, egg. 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.
More forcemeat recipes
You might also like
Brown Bread461 recipes
Lemon Sauce236 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Bread Omelette60 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.