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Asparagus Tops, with Mutton Gravy

A dish of asparagus tops simmered in mutton gravy, finished with butter, nutmeg, parsley, and chives.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Asparagus and chive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 165 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Asparagus Tops, with Mutton Gravy

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the asparagus

  1. Cut asparagus tops into 1-inch pieces.

  2. Parboil asparagus in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain.

Cook in gravy

  1. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.

  2. Add asparagus, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

  3. Pour in mutton gravy and cook on high heat until heated through.

  4. Before serving, stir in chopped parsley and chives.

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.

  1. Asparagus + chivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together165 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Parsley + chivetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,150 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Nutmeg + parsleytop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,062 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Nutmeg + chivetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together300 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Asparagus tops
Provides the main vegetable body and a tender, green texture once parboiled.
Butter
Adds fat and richness to the saucepan and carries the seasoning flavor.
Mutton gravy
Supplies the liquid base and savory meaty flavor that coats the asparagus.
Parsley
Adds fresh, herbal aroma and a bright green finish.

The step that matters

Parboil asparagus for 5 minutes, then drain. Parboiling partly cooks the asparagus so it keeps a bright color and tender bite when finished in the hot gravy. Overcooking breaks down its cell walls and leaves it limp and dull.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (asparagus, butter, pepper, mutton, parsley, chive):

  1. Tarragonfits better
  2. Capersfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against asparagus, butter, pepper, mutton, parsley, chive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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