Why it works: Sage and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 507 recipes. Both carry 2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓
Pork Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Remove the skin from the pork pieces and boil them until tender.
Chop the meat small and season with salt, black pepper, and beaten cloves if desired.
Add minced sage and sweet marjoram, then mix everything well with your hands.
Press the mixture into deep pans with straight sides, using a plate to compact it and a heavy weight on top.
Let it sit for 2-3 days until firm, then turn it out of the pan.
Serve sliced with mustard and vinegar, typically for supper or breakfast.
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.
-
Sage + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together507 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
-
Clove + marjoramtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,075 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Pepper + marjoramtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Pepper + sagetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,388 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Clove + sagetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together731 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the clove
The recipe marks clove as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper, sage, marjoram):
- Thymefits better
- Rosemaryfits better
- Winter savoryfits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, pepper, sage, marjoram. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
More pork cheese recipes
You might also like
The 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.
Pork Cake107 recipes
Roast Pork82 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes