Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Spiced Mutton
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the mutton
Select a fat, good-sized leg of mutton at least a month before cooking.
Trim the leg and rub it with vinegar, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves until smooth.
Rub in the coarse sea salt and dust with flour.
Hang the mutton in a cold place, above freezing, and rub it weekly.
When ready to use, rinse the meat and place it on a rack in a dripping pan.
Roast and serve
Season with salt and pepper, and dredge with flour.
Roast in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
After 10 minutes, pour boiling water into the pan and baste the meat every 15 minutes.
To make the gravy, combine the drippings with boiling water and flour for thickening.
Just before serving, stir in the red currant jelly and serve with the mutton.
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.
-
Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Ginger + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton leg
- Forms the main body of the roast, with its fat keeping the meat moist during cooking.
- Cinnamon
- Adds warm aromatic flavour that penetrates the surface when rubbed into the meat.
- Ginger
- Contributes a pungent aroma and warmth that complements the rich mutton.
- Cloves
- Provides strong aromatic spice that carries through the meat's surface flavour.
- Red currant jelly
- Adds sweetness and acidity that balances the richness of the roasted mutton and gravy.
- Flour
- Forms a dusted coating that helps brown the surface and thickens the gravy.
The step that matters
Basting with boiling water. Adding boiling water to the pan and basting regularly keeps the drippings from scorching and the surface moist, which helps the gravy and crust develop evenly.
Swap the red currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, cinnamon, ginger, clove, flour, pepper):
- Limefits better
- Lemonfits better
- Orangefits better
- Red currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, cinnamon, ginger, clove, flour, 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
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Haricot Mutton59 recipes
Mutton Soup56 recipes
Curried Mutton9 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.