Why it works: Mutton and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,442 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Mutton Chops
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut and skin the mutton chops nicely.
Season the chops with a little pepper.
Cook
Heat enough dripping or butter in a pan to cover the chops.
Once the fat is melted and boiling, plunge the chops into it.
Lift the pan from the fire for a minute or two to prevent burning.
Sprinkle a little coarse sea salt over the chops when done.
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.
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Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,442 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Mutton + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,781 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton chops
- The main protein; its fat and connective tissue flavour the dish as it cooks.
- Dripping or butter
- Cooking fat that conducts heat evenly and browns the chop surface.
The step that matters
Lift the pan from the fire for a minute or two. Fat at boiling heat can scorch the surface before the chop cooks through. Briefly lifting the pan lowers the heat so the chop browns without burning.
“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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