Name: Lamb Chops
Ingredients: lamb chops; salt; pepper; olive oil

Why it works: Lamb and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,586 recipes. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓

Lamb Chops

Ingredients

lamb chops
salt
pepper
olive oil

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Season the lamb chops with salt and pepper.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Sear the lamb chops for 3-4 minutes on each side.
Transfer the chops to the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes until cooked to your liking.

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.

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.

Lamb + olivetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,586 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Pepper + olivetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,263 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,165 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).