Name: Mint Sauce for Roast Lamb
Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1/2 cup vinegar; vinegar

Why it works: Sugar and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Mint Sauce for Roast Lamb

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
vinegar

Directions

Make the sauce

Pour vinegar over sugar.
When dissolved, add mint.
Set in a warm place.

Serve

Before serving, add warm water if it is too strong with vinegar.
Mix all together and serve on cutlets.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

52Calories

0 gProtein

0 gFat

13 gCarbs

Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 2 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Peppermint	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Mary Elizabeth Lyles Wilson (1860–1924). 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. See the original page.

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.

Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Mint + vinegartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,376 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Mint + sugartop 32% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,592 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Fresh mint: Provides the sauce's characteristic fresh, aromatic flavor.
Sugar: Sweetness balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
Vinegar: Adds acidity and sharpness that cut through the richness of the cutlets.