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 Patties
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the filling
Heat the minced mutton with gravy, seasoning with pepper, salt, and catsup.
Do not let it boil; just make it hot and thick.
Assemble and bake
Line patty pans with half puff pastry and fill them with the meat mixture.
Cover with more pastry and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes.
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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Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,442 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cooked mutton
- Forms the main savoury filling that gives the patties their body and flavour.
- Gravy
- Adds moisture and binds the minced meat so the filling becomes thick and cohesive.
- Puff pastry
- Forms a flaky, layered crust that puffs and browns in the hot oven.
- Catsup
- Adds sweetness and acidity that season the meat filling.
The step that matters
Do not let the filling boil. Heating the meat only until hot and thick keeps it moist and tender. Boiling toughens the meat and can thin the gravy, making the filling runny and likely to leak during baking.
“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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