Why it works: Marjoram and thyme 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 ↓
Soup Powder
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Dry the herbs and lemon peel.
Pound the dried ingredients into a fine powder.
Sift the powder to remove any larger pieces.
Store and use
Store the powder in a tightly corked bottle.
Use to taste for flavoring soups.
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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Marjoram + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,225 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
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Summer savory + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together214 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Summer savory + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together125 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Marjoram + basiltop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together688 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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Parsley
- Provides the green, fresh herbal aroma that forms the base of the blend.
- Summer savory
- Adds a peppery, aromatic flavor that gives the soup powder its character.
- Sweet marjoram
- Contributes a warm, floral aroma typical of savory soup seasonings.
- Thyme
- Supplies a strong, earthy aroma that carries through the powder into soups.
- Lemon peel
- Adds bright citrus aroma that lifts the savory herbs.
- Sweet basil
- Contributes a sweet, clove-like aroma to the blend.
The step that matters
Dry the herbs and lemon peel thoroughly. Any remaining moisture makes the herbs clump when pounded and can encourage mold during storage. Fully dry material grinds to a fine, free-flowing powder that keeps its aroma longer.
“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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