Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Mutton Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Remove all fat and skin from the mutton.
Place the mutton in a stew pan with the cold water and salt.
Make the soup
Boil for 30 minutes, then skim off any foam.
Add the rice, parsley, and black pepper.
Reduce heat and simmer for 1.5 hours.
Remove the meat and serve the soup hot with toast or crackers.
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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Rice + parsleytop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,762 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Rice + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,379 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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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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Mutton + ricetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,019 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
- Mutton
- Provides the main meat flavour as it cooks slowly into the broth.
- Uncooked rice
- Releases starch as it simmers, slightly thickening the broth and adding body.
The step that matters
Skim off any foam after boiling. Foam carries impurities and fat that rise from the meat as it heats. Removing it keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting rather than cloudy or greasy.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, rice, pepper):
- Turmericfits better
- Celeryfits about as well
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, rice, pepper. 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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