Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Pork Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Cut the meat into dice, adjusting the amount of fat to your taste.
Add the parsley, sage, mixed herbs, lemon rind, nutmeg, and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper; mix well.
Bake and set
Press the mixture tightly into a mold and fill it up with gravy.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 1½ hours.
When cold, turn out of the mold and garnish with parsley.
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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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Parsley + sagetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,445 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Sage + lemontop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together887 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Sage + nutmegtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together642 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cold roast pork
- Provides the meat that forms the body and bulk of the cheese.
- Gravy or stock
- Its natural gelatin sets as it cools, holding the pressed meat together in a sliceable jelly.
The step that matters
Pressing the mixture tightly into the mold. Packing the diced meat firmly removes air pockets so the finished cheese holds together when turned out and sliced. Loose packing lets it crumble. The gravy must be strong enough to gel when cold, or the set will be weak.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, parsley, sage, lemon, pepper):
- Marjoramfits better
- Thymefits better
- Rosemaryfits better
- Nutmegthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, parsley, sage, lemon, 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.
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