Name: Hodge-podge
Ingredients: 2 pounds fresh scrag of mutton, cut into small pieces; 3 quarts cold water; 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt; 1 large carrot, diced; 2 turnips, diced; 2 large onions, diced; 6 cabbage lettuces, washed; 1 pint green peas (optional)

Why it works: Turnip and lettuce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 526 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Hodge-podge

Ingredients

Directions

In a stewpan, combine the mutton, cold water, and coarse sea salt.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour, skimming regularly.
Add the carrot, turnips, onions, and cabbage lettuces, and simmer until tender.
Skim off any fat and serve with the meat in the soup or separately.
If using, add the green peas to the soup for extra flavor.

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.

Turnip + lettucetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together526 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,002 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Turnip + cabbagetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together897 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Cabbage + lettucetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together622 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Turnip + oniontop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,585 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: Provides the main meat and rich flavor that gives the broth its body.
Onions: Add sweetness and aromatic depth as they soften in the broth.
Turnips: Add mild sweetness and body to the stew as they cook until tender.
Carrot: Adds natural sweetness and color while keeping its shape during simmering.
Cabbage lettuces: Soften in the broth, adding vegetable flavor and substance to the stew.

The step that matters

Skimming during the simmer. Skimming foam and fat as the broth simmers keeps the stock clear and prevents a greasy, cloudy result.

Swap the peas

The recipe marks peas as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, carrot, turnip, onion, cabbage, lettuce):

Lentilsfits better
Beansfits better
Chestnutfits better
Peasthe original

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