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Mutton Broth

A clear broth made from mutton, water, bread, mace, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Mutton Broth

Why it works: Mutton and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,488 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Mutton Broth

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut off the fat from the loin of mutton.

  2. In a pot, combine the mutton and water; bring to a boil and skim well.

Simmer and season

  1. Add the piece of bread and the blade of mace.

  2. Boil slowly for 1 hour.

  3. Pour the broth off clean and season with salt.

  4. The mutton will be ready to eat.

  5. Boil turnips separately in another saucepan.

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. Mutton + breadtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,488 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Bread + macetop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,005 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  3. Mutton + macetop 30% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together827 recipes

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

What each ingredient does

Mutton loin
Releases meat flavor and collagen that gives the broth body and richness.
Water
Acts as the solvent that draws flavor and gelatin out of the meat.
Blade of mace
Adds a warm, aromatic spice note to the broth.

The step that matters

Skim the foam after the first boil. Foam carries coagulated proteins and fat impurities. Removing it early keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting, and prevents those impurities from being stirred back in during the long simmer.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, bread):

  1. Pepperfits better
  2. Garlicfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, bread. 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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