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Scotch Broth

A hearty soup made with mutton, barley, and vegetables.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Scotch Broth

Why it works: Celery and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Scotch Broth

Ingredients

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.

Make the broth

  1. In a large pot, combine the mutton and water. Bring to a boil.

  2. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.

  3. Add the celery, carrot, turnip, onion, salt, barley, and white pepper.

  4. Reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the meat is tender.

Finish and serve

  1. Remove the meat, shred it, and return it to the pot. Serve hot.

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.

  1. Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,002 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Turnip + barleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together629 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Celery + turniptop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,418 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Turnip + oniontop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,585 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

What each ingredient does

Mutton
Provides rich flavour and collagen that gives the broth body as it simmers.
Barley
Releases starch as it cooks, thickening the broth and giving it a soft, hearty texture.
Carrot
Adds natural sweetness and body to the broth as it softens during simmering.
Turnip
Adds a mild, slightly peppery sweetness and soft texture to the broth.
Onion
Builds savoury depth and aroma as it softens and flavours the broth.

The step that matters

Skimming the foam after the boil. Foam is coagulated protein and impurities from the meat. Removing it keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting rather than greasy or murky.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, celery, carrot, turnip, onion, barley):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, celery, carrot, turnip, onion, barley. 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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