Why it works: Barley and flour work together. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 582 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Mutton and Veal Broth
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the meat and cold salted water in a pot.
Bring to a boil, then simmer until the meat is tender.
If desired, add barley or rice and cook until well boiled.
For a richer broth, add milk thickened with flour.
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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Barley + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together582 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Meat + barleytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together224 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Meat + muttontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together936 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Barley + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together598 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Meat (mutton and veal)
- Provides the main flavour and body of the broth as it simmers in the water.
- Barley or rice
- Adds body and thickens the broth slightly as its starch releases during boiling.
- Milk thickened with flour
- Makes the broth richer and creamier, with flour starch giving it added body.
The step that matters
Bring to a boil, then simmer until the meat is tender. Starting in cold water and simmering gently lets collagen and fat release slowly into the liquid, giving a clearer, more flavourful broth. A hard, rapid boil can toughen the meat and cloud the broth.
“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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