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Mutton Chop

A grilled mutton chop served with a hot mealy potato and tomato sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and potato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,798 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Mutton Chop

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Preheat your grill or prepare a coal fire.

  2. Season the mutton chop with coarse sea salt.

Grill and serve

  1. Cook the chop for 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally.

  2. Check for doneness: the fat should be transparent and the lean should feel hard.

  3. Serve the chop on a very hot plate with a hot mealy potato and tomato sauce.

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. Tomato + potatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,798 recipes

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

  2. Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,469 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Mutton + potatotop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together293 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Mutton + tomatotop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together452 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-nonanal (fatty, waxy).

  5. Sauce + potatotop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,073 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Mutton chop
Is the main protein, cooked over direct heat until its fat renders and its lean meat firms.
Mealy potato
Its floury, starchy texture soaks up juices and makes a soft, filling side next to the chop.
Tomato sauce
Adds acidity and moisture that contrast with the rich, fatty meat.

The step that matters

Checking doneness. Mutton chop is easy to overcook because lean meat tightens and dries as it heats. Judging by fat clarity and firmness of the lean, rather than time alone, helps keep the meat juicy while ensuring it is properly cooked.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, tomato, sauce):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits about as well
  3. Cucumberfits about as well
  4. Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, tomato, 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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