Name: Mutton Chops Broiled
Ingredients: Mutton chops; Coarse sea salt; Pepper; Fresh butter

Why it works: Mutton and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,442 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Mutton Chops Broiled

Ingredients

Mutton chops
Coarse sea salt
Pepper
Fresh butter

Directions

Cut mutton chops from the best end of the loin and trim them, removing excess fat or skin.
Ensure the fire is very clear before placing the chops on the grill.
Turn the chops frequently, avoiding piercing the lean part with a fork.
Season the chops with pepper and coarse sea salt.
Spread fresh butter over each chop when nearly done.
Serve on very hot plates.

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.

Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together5,442 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Mutton + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,781 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together85,593 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).