Why it works: Mutton and barley work together. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 510 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity. The science ↓
Mutton Broth
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Trim all fat from the mutton and cut the lean meat into small cubes.
Make the broth
In a pot, combine the mutton, pearl barley, and 3 pints of cold water.
Heat slowly to boiling, skim off any foam, and reduce to a simmer.
In a separate pot, boil the bones in 1 pint of cold water for 30 minutes.
Strain the bone broth into the mutton broth and simmer for an additional 2 hours.
Season with coarse sea salt to taste.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + barleytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together510 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton
- Lean meat with bones gives the broth its savory, rich flavor and body.
- Pearl barley
- Releases starch as it simmers, thickening the broth and adding a soft, chewy texture.
- Mutton bones
- Release collagen and minerals during simmering, adding body and depth to the broth.
The step that matters
Skimming the foam. Foam that forms as the broth comes to a boil contains impurities and proteins that can make the broth cloudy and taste off, so it should be skimmed off before reducing to a simmer.
“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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