Name: Haunch of Mutton
Ingredients: 1 haunch of mutton (14 pounds); white paper; currant jelly sauce

Why it works: Mutton and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 25% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,087 recipes. Both carry decanoic acid, which smells soapy, waxy. The science ↓

Haunch of Mutton

Ingredients

1 haunch of mutton (14 pounds)
white paper
currant jelly sauce

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Cover the fat of the haunch with a piece of white paper.
Roast the haunch for 2½ hours, basting regularly.
Before serving, wrap half a sheet of paper around the shank bone.
Serve with currant jelly 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.

Mutton + saucetop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,087 recipes

Shared aroma: decanoic acid (soapy, waxy).
Mutton + curranttop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together393 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Currant + saucetop 35% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together628 recipes

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

What each ingredient does

Haunch of mutton: Is the main cut of meat that provides the substance of the roast.
White paper: Covers the fat so it shields the surface from direct heat while the meat cooks.
Currant jelly sauce: Adds sweetness and acidity to balance the rich, savoury taste of the mutton.

The step that matters

Roast the haunch for 2½ hours, basting regularly. Mutton is lean relative to its size, and the roast can dry out over a long cook. Regular basting spreads moisture and fat over the surface, helping keep the meat juicy and the exterior from drying.