Name: Scotch Barley-broth
Ingredients: 3 to 6 pounds beef or mutton; cold water (1 quart per pound of meat); ¼ pound Scotch barley; 1 large cup soaked white or split peas; 2 young carrots, diced; 2 young turnips, diced; 2 or 3 onions, sliced; parsley, picked and chopped

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 Barley-broth

Ingredients

3 to 6 pounds beef or mutton
cold water (1 quart per pound of meat)
¼ pound Scotch barley
1 large cup soaked white or split peas
2 young carrots, diced
2 young turnips, diced
2 or 3 onions, sliced
parsley, picked and chopped

Directions

Make the broth

In a large pot, combine the meat and cold water.
Add the Scotch barley and salt if the meat is not salted.
Skim off any scum that rises to the surface.
Let the broth simmer slowly for 1 hour.

Add vegetables and finish

Add the diced carrots, turnips, and sliced onions.
Five minutes before serving, stir in the chopped parsley.

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.

Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,053 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,002 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together629 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,842 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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

Beef or mutton: Gives the broth its meaty flavour and body as it simmers.
Scotch barley: Thickens the broth and adds a chewy, starchy texture.
White or split peas: Break down partly during simmering, adding body and thickness to the broth.
Carrots: Add sweetness and colour, and hold their shape in the simmering broth.
Turnips: Add a mild, slightly peppery sweetness and firm texture to the broth.
Onions: Add savoury depth and sweetness as they soften in the broth.

The step that matters

Skimming the scum. Foam that rises early contains coagulated proteins and impurities. Removing it keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting rather than cloudy or greasy.

Swap the peas

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

Beansfits better
Lentilsfits better
Chickpeafits better
Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, meat, barley, 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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Scotch Barley-broth