Why it works: Mutton and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,488 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Mutton Chops
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the chops
Dip the mutton chops in the egg, then coat with bread crumbs or pounded crackers.
Heat the lard in a pan until hot, then fry the chops until brown.
Make the gravy
Remove the chops and set aside to make the gravy.
Toast the bread until very brown, then pound it fine.
Add the toasted bread and vinegar to the pan, then season with salt and pepper.
Finish and serve
Return the chops to the pan, cover with gravy, and heat through.
Pour everything into a dish and serve hot.
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 + breadtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,488 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,442 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Binds the bread crumbs or crackers to the chops so the coating stays on.
- Bread crumbs or pounded crackers
- Forms a crisp, browned coating on the outside of the chops.
- Lard
- Fat for frying that browns the coating and adds rich flavor.
- Bread
- Toasted and pounded to thicken the gravy and add a toasted flavor.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich, fatty gravy.
The step that matters
Fry the chops until brown. Browning the coated chops in hot fat builds the crisp crust and roasted flavor. Pan that is not hot enough lets the coating soak up grease and turn soggy.
“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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