Why it works: Mutton and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,488 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Mutton Chops
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut chops from the loin or best end of a neck of mutton.
Remove the fat from the chops.
Dip the chops in the beaten egg.
Sprinkle grated bread over the chops, seasoned with salt and parsley.
Cook and serve
Fry the chops on a well-rubbed soap-stone griddle.
Broil the chops over coals.
Serve the chops in a hot dish.
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 + breadtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,488 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Bread + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,588 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Egg + parsleytop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,765 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Mutton + parsleytop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,915 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton chops
- Provide the meat that is cooked and served as the main dish.
- Beaten egg
- Binds the grated bread to the chops so the coating stays on during cooking.
- Grated bread
- Forms a crisp, browned crust on the outside of the chops.
The step that matters
Fry the chops on a well-rubbed soap-stone griddle. A well-rubbed, lightly oiled griddle keeps the breaded coating from sticking and tearing off. Good heat helps the crumb crisp and brown before the meat dries out.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, egg, bread):
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Capersfits about as well
- Pepperfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, egg, bread. 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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