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Hodge-podge

A stew of mutton, lettuce, peas, onions, butter, and water, seasoned with salt and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Lettuce and peas match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,293 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Hodge-podge

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Mince the mutton and slice the lettuces and onions.

Make the stew

  1. In a stewpan, combine the mutton, lettuces, onions, butter, water, salt, and pepper.

  2. Simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring well.

Finish and serve

  1. Boil the peas separately, then mix them with the mutton mixture.

  2. Serve hot.

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.

  1. Lettuce + peastop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,293 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  2. Lettuce + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,562 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Lettuce + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,037 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Peas + oniontop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,460 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Mutton
Provides the main protein and savory meaty flavor of the stew.
Lettuce
Softens during simmering and adds moisture and body to the stew.
Butter
Adds richness and fat that carries flavor and gives a smoother mouthfeel.
Green peas
Add sweetness and a bright green color, cooked separately so they keep their texture.
Green onions
Release mild aromatic flavor into the broth as they soften.

The step that matters

Simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring well. Gentle heat keeps the mutton tender and prevents the lettuce and butter from scorching or breaking, while stirring distributes heat evenly and keeps the mixture from sticking to the base of the pan.

Swap the lettuce

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, peas, onion, butter, pepper):

  1. Potatofits better
  2. Leekfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Lettucethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, peas, onion, butter, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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