Mutton

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. Mutton + anchovytop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together170 recipes

   Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

2. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

3. Butter + anchovytop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together3,697 recipes

   Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

4. Lemon + anchovytop 16% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,080 recipes

   Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

5. Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together41,227 recipes

   Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Leg of mutton

Provides the main meat, which becomes tender as it stews slowly in liquid.

Butter

Adds richness and fat, carrying flavour through the stew.

Flour

Thickens the gravy and gives the stew a smooth, body-rich texture.

Gravy

Supplies the cooking liquid that moistens the meat and forms the sauce.

Anchovy

Adds savoury depth, which blends into the sauce and is not usually tasted as fish.

Lemon

Adds acidity and brightness that balances the richness of the meat and butter.

The step that matters

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, butter, flour, lemon, anchovy):

1. Capersfits better
2. Parsleyfits better
3. Thymefits better
4. Macethe original

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