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A Tureen of Mutton and Broth, with Roots, Removed with a Loin of Veal, & LA Bechemel

A stew of mutton and veal with carrots, parsnips, onion, potatoes, and béchamel sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and parsnip match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,097 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

A Tureen of Mutton and Broth, with Roots, Removed with a Loin of Veal, & LA Bechemel

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 stew

  1. Combine mutton, veal, carrots, parsnips, onion, potatoes, water, salt, and pepper in a large pot.

  2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1.5 hours until meat is tender.

  3. Remove the meat and vegetables, and strain the broth.

Make the béchamel and serve

  1. Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in flour, and cook for 2 minutes.

  2. Gradually whisk in milk and cook until thickened.

  3. Serve the mutton and veal with the broth and vegetables, drizzled with the sauce.

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 + parsniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,097 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  2. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

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

  3. Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,107 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  4. Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,555 recipes

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

  5. Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Mutton
Its connective tissue softens during long simmering, giving the meat a tender texture.
Veal loin
Lean meat that cooks tender and adds mild flavor to the broth.
Potatoes
Starch that thickens the broth slightly and gives the stew body.
Butter
Fat that enriches the sauce and carries flavor in the béchamel.
Flour
Starch that thickens the butter and milk into a smooth, stable sauce.
Milk
Liquid that forms the body of the béchamel sauce as it thickens.

The step that matters

Cooking the roux. Cooking the butter and flour together for the full two minutes removes raw flour taste and lets the starch thicken the milk evenly. Whisking in the milk gradually prevents lumps.

Swap the parsnip

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, veal, carrot, onion, potato, pepper, butter):

  1. Leekfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Turnipfits about as well
  4. Parsnipthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, veal, carrot, onion, potato, pepper, butter. 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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