Why it works: Mutton and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,442 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
To Roast 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
Put the hind quarter in a pot of boiling water and let it simmer for one hour.
Lift it into a baking pan and rub with salt and pepper.
Rub a little lard over the meat and dredge with flour.
Skim off the top of the water and pour it over the meat.
Roast
Set it in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C), basting frequently to keep it moist.
Roast until thoroughly done.
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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Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,442 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mutton + flourtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,695 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (grass, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton
- Forms the main body of the dish, and its connective tissue softens during long, moist cooking.
- Lard
- Adds fat that helps the surface brown and keeps the meat from drying out.
- Flour
- Forms a light coating that helps the surface brown and crisp in the oven.
The step that matters
Basting frequently in the hot oven. Basting adds moisture to the surface so it does not dry out, while the flour and lard coating browns. Skipping it can leave the outside dry and tough before the centre is cooked through.
“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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