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Scotch Mutton-Broth

A hearty broth made from mutton, water, onion, carrots, turnip, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and garnished with parsley.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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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 Mutton-Broth

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Make the broth

  1. In a large pot, combine the mutton and water. Bring to a boil.

  2. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.

  3. Add the onion, carrots, turnip, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.

  4. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender.

Finish and serve

  1. Remove the meat.

  2. Strain the broth.

  3. Serve hot, garnished with fresh 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.

  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. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Onion + turniptop 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
Releases flavor and gelatin into the water, giving the broth body and a rich meaty taste.
Onion
Adds aromatic sweetness and savory depth as it softens in the simmering liquid.
Carrots
Contribute natural sweetness and color to the broth while they cook.
Turnip
Adds mild, slightly peppery flavor and soft texture to the broth.

The step that matters

Skimming the foam. Foam rising at the start contains coagulated proteins and impurities that can make the broth cloudy and taste scummy. Removing it early keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting.

Swap the onion

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

  1. Parsnipfits better
  2. Leekfits better
  3. Spinachfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, carrot, turnip, pepper, 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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