Why it works: Thyme and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,225 recipes mention both. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the pot
Place sliced onions at the bottom of a large saucepan, then layer sliced bacon over the onions.
Add sliced carrots on top of the bacon.
Sprinkle salt, thyme, peppercorns, cloves, parsley, and marjoram over the carrots.
Add chopped calves' feet and minced beef on top.
Simmer and strain
Cover the pan and simmer gently for 1 hour.
Uncover and pour in boiling water to cover the contents.
Cover again and simmer for 1 hour longer.
Strain the broth through a clean napkin, skimming off the fat.
Finish
Before serving, stir in the Madeira wine.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,225 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
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Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together8,053 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,979 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Carrot + marjoramtop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together687 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
- Lean beef
- Provides rich meaty flavour and body to the broth as it simmers.
- Calves' feet
- Release gelatin during long simmering, giving the broth a silky, full body.
- Fat bacon
- Renders fat and savoury flavour into the broth over the onions and carrots.
- Onions
- Form the aromatic base that sweetens and deepens the broth as it cooks.
- Carrots
- Add gentle sweetness and aroma to the broth.
- Madeira wine
- Adds a rich, fortified wine aroma and flavour stirred in just before serving.
The step that matters
Skimming off the fat when straining. Rendered fat from the bacon and meats floats on top of the broth. Removing it while straining keeps the soup clear and prevents a greasy mouthfeel.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, thyme, clove, parsley, marjoram, beef, madeira wine):
- Parsnipbetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, thyme, clove, parsley, marjoram, beef, madeira wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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