Why it works: Vinegar and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,297 recipes. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, fruity. The science ↓
Boast Lamb
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Rub the lamb with olive oil, browned flour, salt, and cayenne pepper.
Place the lamb in a pan with water and vinegar.
Cook and serve
Baste frequently and cook for 20 minutes per pound.
Serve with mint sauce.
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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Vinegar + olivetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Lamb + olivetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,586 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,263 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,165 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lamb
- Provides the main meat, whose fat renders and keeps the meat moist during cooking.
- Browned flour
- Thickens the cooking liquid and adds a toasted, savoury flavour and colour.
- Olive oil
- Adds fat that helps the seasoning cling to the meat and encourages surface browning.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness of the lamb.
The step that matters
Basting frequently and timing by weight. Basting keeps the surface moist and promotes even browning, while cooking by weight ensures a large cut of lamb is cooked through without drying out at the edges.
“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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