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 ↓
Mutton Hash K. LA Zingara
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the mutton into small pieces.
Dice the onions and potatoes.
Cook the hash
In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
Add onions and cook until soft.
Stir in the mutton and potatoes, season with salt and pepper.
Cook until the potatoes are tender.
Garnish with chopped parsley before serving.
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).
-
Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 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 meat and savoury flavour of the hash.
- Potatoes
- Add starch and bulk, becoming tender and soft as they cook through.
- Onions
- Soften and release sweetness as they cook, adding depth to the hash.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and helps the onions cook and brown gently.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, potato, butter, pepper, parsley):
- Carrotfits better
- Chivefits about as well
- Leekfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, potato, butter, pepper, parsley. 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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