Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Lamb Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Line a shallow, thick-rimmed basin with pastry, leaving a ½ inch over the edge.
Cut the lamb into convenient-sized pieces and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Layer the lamb pieces in the basin, sprinkling a tablespoon of veal stuffing over each layer.
Pour ½ cup of water or mutton broth over the layers.
Cover with pastry, moisten the edge, and seal it carefully.
Dip a pudding cloth in boiling water, dust with flour, and tie it loosely around the basin.
Cook and serve
Plunge the basin into boiling water and boil for 2 to 3 hours.
Let it stand for 2 to 3 minutes before turning it out onto a hot dish.
Pour ½ pint of parsley sauce over the pudding and serve immediately.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lamb + muttontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together598 recipes
Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Lamb + parsleytop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,322 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,165 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Breast of lamb
- Provides the meat that becomes tender during long, slow boiling and forms the main filling.
- Veal stuffing
- Adds savoury flavour to the layers as it melts and mingles with the meat juices.
- Water or mutton broth
- Supplies moisture that steams the lamb inside the sealed basin and forms a light gravy.
- Pastry
- Encloses the filling so it cooks in steam, keeping the meat moist and contained.
- Parsley sauce
- Adds a creamy, herbal finish that complements the savoury lamb.
The step that matters
Sealing the pastry and cloth. A poorly sealed lid lets steam and juices escape during the long boil, so the filling can dry out and the water can seep in and make the pastry soggy.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, pepper, veal, mutton, flour, sauce):
- Parsleythe original
- Turmericfits about as well
- Capersfits about as well
- Cuminfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, pepper, veal, mutton, flour, sauce. 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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