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 ↓
Roast Veal
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stuffing
In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, suet, shallot, thyme, marjoram, and winter savory.
Add the eggs, salt, and pepper; mix until you have a firm paste.
Stuff and cook the veal
Cut a pocket in the veal and fill it with the stuffing, securing it with a skewer.
Cook the veal for over an hour until thoroughly done.
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.
-
Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,225 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
-
Thyme + winter savorytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together780 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Marjoram + winter savorytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together455 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Shallot + winter savorytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together221 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Shallot + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,476 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture and bind the stuffing into a paste that holds its shape.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the stuffing moist and rich during cooking.
- Eggs
- Bind the stuffing together so it holds firm when cut and served.
The step that matters
Cook the veal until thoroughly done. Veal stuffed with raw egg and suet must be cooked through so the stuffing and the meat reach a safe internal temperature. Cooking for a long time at a moderate heat helps the centre cook evenly without drying the outside.
Swap the shallot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, thyme, marjoram, winter savory, egg, pepper):
- Shallotthe original
- Leekfits about as well
- Carrotfits less well
- Capsicumfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, thyme, marjoram, winter savory, egg, pepper. 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.
You might also like
Brown Bread461 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Bread Omelette60 recipes
Oatmeal Bread51 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.