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Scotch Broth

A hearty mutton soup with barley, peas, cabbage, carrots, turnips, onion, parsley, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Scotch Broth

Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Scotch Broth

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Add the mutton and cold water to a large pot.

  2. Bring to a boil.

  3. Add the barley and green dried peas.

  4. Finely chop the cabbage and add it to the pot.

  5. Grate the carrots and turnips, then add the grated carrots, turnips, chopped onion, and parsley to the pot.

  6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  7. Simmer slowly for four hours, skimming often.

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.

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.

  1. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,002 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Cabbage + turniptop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together897 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Barley + turniptop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together629 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Turnip + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,842 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

Mutton
Gives the broth its meaty flavour and body as it simmers.
Barley
Thickens the broth and adds a chewy texture as its starch releases.
Green dried peas
Break down during simmering to thicken the broth and add earthy sweetness.
Cabbage
Adds bulk and a mild sweetness that softens during long cooking.
Carrots
Add natural sweetness and colour to the broth.
Turnips
Add a mild, slightly peppery flavour and soft texture to the broth.

The step that matters

Simmer slowly for four hours, skimming often. A gentle simmer lets the mutton turn tender and release flavour without clouding the broth. Skimming removes foam and excess fat that would otherwise make the broth greasy and cloudy.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, barley, cabbage, carrot, turnip, onion, parsley):

  1. Lentilsfits better
  2. Beansfits better
  3. Chestnutfits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, barley, cabbage, carrot, turnip, onion, parsley. 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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