Name: Mutton Broth
Ingredients: 1 pound scraggy end of the neck of mutton; 2 pints cold water; 1 tablespoon barley; 1 teaspoon salt

Why it works: Mutton and barley work together. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 510 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity. The science ↓

Mutton Broth

Ingredients

1 pound scraggy end of the neck of mutton
2 pints cold water
1 tablespoon barley
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

Ensure the meat is fresh and cut off all the fat.
Cut the lean meat into pieces and place it in a stewpan with the bones.

Make the broth

Add the cold water and bring to a boil.
Skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
Add the barley and salt, then simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours.

Serve

Strain the broth and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Mutton + barleytop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together510 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Mutton neck: Provides the main meaty flavor, and its connective tissue softens into body during simmering.
Bones (in the method): Release flavor and gelatin into the water during the long simmer, giving the broth body.
Barley: Releases starch as it cooks, thickening the broth slightly and adding mild body.