Why it works: Thyme and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Mutton Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
Cut thin cutlets from well-hung loin of mutton.
Season with salt, pepper, and mace.
Sprinkle with shredded thyme, parsley, and chopped shallots.
Fry in ghee until half cooked.
Add gravy, lemon juice, and butter rolled in flour.
Simmer gently for five minutes.
Serve immediately.
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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Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Thyme + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,973 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Parsley + shallottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,737 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Thyme + shallottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,476 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, pepper, thyme, parsley, shallot, ghee, lemon):
- Marjoramfits better
- Turmericfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, pepper, thyme, parsley, shallot, ghee, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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