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 ↓
Pike, Haddock, and Small Cod, Stuffing for
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine equal parts of fat bacon, beef suet, and fresh butter.
Add parsley, thyme, savoury, chopped onion, shredded marjoram, and anchovies if using.
Season with salt, nutmeg, and pepper.
Mix in bread crumbs and the egg to bind the mixture.
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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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,979 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Marjoram + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together687 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, butter, parsley, thyme, marjoram, nutmeg, pepper):
- Carrotfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Parsnipfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, butter, parsley, thyme, marjoram, nutmeg, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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