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Mutton Broth

A clear broth made from mutton, water, pearl barley, pepper, parsley, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Mutton Broth

Why it works: Clove and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,768 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Mutton Broth

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the mutton into small joints and trim off the fat.

  2. Place the meat in a saucepan with the water and add salt.

Make the broth

  1. Bring slowly to a boil, skimming well.

  2. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer gently for about three hours, skimming occasionally.

  3. Add the parsley before serving.

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. Clove + parsleytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,768 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Barley + parsleytop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together630 recipes

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

  3. Barley + clovetop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together180 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Mutton + barleytop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together510 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).

  5. Mutton + parsleytop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,915 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Mutton
Supplies the meat and fat that give the broth its rich, savory flavor.
Pearl barley or sago
Releases starch as it cooks, thickening the broth slightly and giving it body.

The step that matters

Skimming well while bringing to a boil and during simmering. Skimming removes coagulated proteins and fat that rise to the surface as the meat heats. Removing them keeps the broth clear and prevents a greasy, cloudy result.

Swap the clove

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

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Celeryfits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, barley, 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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