Name: Boiled Mutton and Broth
Ingredients: 2 lbs scrag-end neck of mutton; ½ lb pearl barley; 2 carrots; 2 onions; 1 turnip; 1 tablespoon chopped parsley; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon pepper; 3 quarts cold water

Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Boiled Mutton and Broth

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Make the broth

In a large pot, combine the mutton and cold water. Bring to a boil.
Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
Add the pearl barley, carrots, onions, turnip, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Simmer and serve

Reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours until the mutton is tender.
Remove the mutton, slice, and serve with the broth.

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.

Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,053 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,002 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Barley + turniptop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together629 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Turnip + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,842 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

Scrag-end neck of mutton: Provides the meat and fat that flavour the broth as it simmers.
Pearl barley: Thickens the broth slightly and adds a chewy, starchy body.
Carrots: Add natural sweetness and colour to the broth.
Onions: Add savoury depth and aroma to the broth.
Turnip: Adds mild sweetness and a tender, earthy texture.

The step that matters

Skimming the foam. Foam is coagulated protein and impurities rising from the meat as it heats. Skimming it early keeps the broth clear and free of a bitter, scummy taste.

Swap the onion

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

Leekfits better
Parsnipfits better
Spinachfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, barley, carrot, turnip, parsley, 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.

More boiled mutton recipes

Leg 48 with Caper Sauce 14 Neck 12 Shoulder 9 Breast 7 Shoulder with Oysters 7 See all 59 →

Mutton Broth292 recipes

Carrot Soup134 recipes

Haricot Mutton59 recipes

Mutton Soup56 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Boiled Mutton and Broth