Name: Canvas Back Ducks
Ingredients: 1 large wild duck; 1 onion, chopped; a little scraped bacon; a little sage, chopped; a little parsley, chopped; 1 sprig of marjoram; 1 sprig of thyme; coarse sea salt; black pepper; thin slices of bacon; ½ pint of water; 1 small piece of butter; browned flour (for thickening); wine (optional, for gravy); slices of lemon (for garnish); Worcestershire sauce (optional); grab-apple or guava jelly (optional)

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 ↓

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.

Marjoram + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,225 recipes

Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
Sage + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together507 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Sage + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,485 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,057 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,979 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

Wild duck: Provides the main meat, which becomes tender after hanging and slow roasting.
Onion: Adds savory aroma and moisture to the stuffing as it cooks inside the bird.
Bacon: Its fat bastes the duck, keeping the meat moist and adding savory flavor.
Browned flour: Thickens the pan juices into a gravy and adds a toasted, nutty flavor.
Butter: Adds richness and fat to the pan liquid, improving flavor and mouthfeel.
Grab-apple or guava jelly: Adds sweetness and acidity that balance the rich, fatty duck.

The step that matters

Thicken the gravy with browned flour when nearly done. Flour must be added late, once the pan liquid is hot and reduced; added too early it can scorch or dilute, and lumps form if stirred poorly into hot liquid.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sage, parsley, marjoram, thyme, pepper, butter, flour):

Shallotfits better
Carrotfits better
Parsnipfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sage, parsley, marjoram, thyme, pepper, butter, flour. 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.

Canvas Back Ducks