Why it works: Mutton and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and 4,531 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
To Boil a Shoulder of Mutton with Onion Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Place the shoulder of mutton in a pot of cold water.
Bring the water to a boil and cook until the meat is tender.
Prepare onion sauce as you would for boiled ducks.
Once cooked, smother the mutton with the onion sauce and serve.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Mutton + oniontop 18% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together4,531 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Onion + saucetop 19% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together10,474 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Mutton + saucetop 25% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,087 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (soapy, waxy).
Onion and sauce share little aroma chemistry, yet 10,474 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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