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Scotch Broth

A hearty broth made with barley, beef or mutton, vegetables, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Scotch Broth

Why it works: Leek and turnip match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,046 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Scotch Broth

Ingredients

Directions

Make the broth

  1. In a large pot, combine 4 ounces of pearl barley with 6 quarts of salt water and bring to a boil.

  2. Skim the surface, then add your choice of salt beef or fresh brisket, a marrow bone or fowl, and 2 pounds of lean beef or mutton.

  3. Add a good quantity of leeks, cabbages, or savoys, or use turnips, onions, and grated carrots.

  4. Keep boiling for 4 to 5 hours. If using a fowl, add it just before serving.

Alternative method

  1. Alternatively, take chops from a neck of mutton, cut the remainder into small pieces, and stew all day.

  2. Boil 1 cup of Scotch barley in water until dry, then chop 2 large onions and turnips.

  3. Combine the barley, chopped vegetables, and mutton in a closed stewpan, strain the stock into it, and boil for 1 hour.

  4. Skim well and season with salt and black pepper.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Leek + turniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,046 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Barley + leektop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together142 recipes

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

  3. Turnip + carrottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,002 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Barley + turniptop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together629 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Leek + carrottop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,310 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

What each ingredient does

Pearl barley
Releases starch during long simmering, thickening the broth and giving it body.
Lean beef or mutton
Releases flavour and gelatin into the stock during long simmering, giving depth and richness.
Marrow bone
Its collagen converts to gelatin during long cooking, adding body and richness to the broth.
Leeks, cabbages, or savoys
Soften during simmering and add mild sweetness and vegetable flavour to the broth.
Onions
Soften and turn sweet as they cook, adding aroma and savoury depth.
Turnips
Soften during long simmering and add a mildly sweet, earthy flavour to the broth.

The step that matters

Skim the surface. Foam and scum rise as the stock heats and simmers. Removing them keeps the broth clear and stops impurities from making it cloudy or bitter.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (barley, beef, leek, turnip, carrot, pepper):

  1. Parsnipfits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Beetrootfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against barley, beef, leek, turnip, carrot, pepper. 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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