Mutton — Continued

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. Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together8,305 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

2. Flour + potatotop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together5,355 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

3. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together106,462 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together5,442 recipes

   Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

5. Mutton + potatotop 19% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together293 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Mutton cutlets

Provide the main meat, which beating flat evens out for even cooking.

Flour

Forms the batter that clings to the cutlet and becomes the base of the coating.

Cold water

Mixes with the flour to make a thin batter that coats the meat.

Fine browned breadcrumbs

Form a crisp, browned outer crust when fried.

Boiling lard or clarified fat

Conducts heat quickly to crisp and brown the coating and cook the meat.

The step that matters

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, flour, pepper, egg):

1. Spinachfits better
2. Shallotfits better
3. Asparagusfits better
4. Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, flour, pepper, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.