Why it works: Lamb and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,165 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Broiled Lamb Chops
Ingredients
Directions
Broil
Wipe the lamb chops and place them on a greased broiler.
Broil over a clear fire, turning frequently until cooked through.
Plate and serve
Remove the chops to a hot platter and season with butter, pepper, and coarse sea salt.
Decorate the end of each bone with a paper ruffle.
Place a mound of peas in the center of the platter.
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.
-
Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,165 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lamb + peastop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together650 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
-
Pepper + peastop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,331 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + peastop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,887 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Lamb + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,232 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lamb chops
- Provide the main meat, which cooks through over direct heat and browns on the surface.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture to the hot chops as it melts over the meat.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, butter, pepper):
- Almondfits better
- Beansfits better
- Sesamefits about as well
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, 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.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Green Peas229 recipes
Green Peas Soup35 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes