Name: Hashed Mutton
Ingredients: mutton, cut into small thin bits; well-seasoned gravy; catsup (optional); port wine (optional); vinegar (optional); bread (for sippets); pickles (for garnish)

Why it works: Port wine and vinegar work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 598 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Hashed Mutton

Ingredients

Directions

Pare off the skin and sinews from the mutton, leaving a little fat.
Thicken the well-seasoned gravy in a saucepan.
Add the mutton to the gravy and let it simmer until hot, but do not allow it to boil.
Just before serving, stir in a little catsup, port wine, or vinegar if desired.
Garnish with sippets of bread or cut pickles.

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.

Port wine + vinegartop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together598 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
Mutton + breadtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,488 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Port wine + breadtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together321 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Mutton + port winetop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together344 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Vinegar + breadtop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,672 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).