Why it works: Sauce and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Mutton Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Trim and flatten the cutlets into a good shape.
Prepare the tomatoes by stuffing them with mushrooms and bake until tender at 350°F (175°C).
Coat and grill
Warm the butter, dip the cutlets in it, ensuring they are well coated.
Cover the cutlets lightly with breadcrumbs and press them firmly on with a knife.
Grill the cutlets over a clear fire, turning them carefully 2 or 3 times until both sides are cooked and browned.
Serve
Arrange the cutlets neatly on a border of potatoes, serve the tomatoes in the center, and pour the sauce around.
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.
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Sauce + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,469 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Mutton + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,781 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Mutton + tomatotop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together452 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-nonanal (fatty, waxy).
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Tomato + buttertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,918 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Sauce and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton cutlets
- The main protein, which sets firm and develops browned flavour when grilled.
- Butter
- Carries the breadcrumb coating and promotes browning and rich flavour on the surface.
- Breadcrumbs
- Form a crisp, golden crust that helps seal in juices during grilling.
- Demi-glace sauce
- Adds savoury depth and a glossy, meaty moisture to the finished plate.
The step that matters
Grill the cutlets over a clear fire. Turning only 2 or 3 times lets the crumb crust brown evenly without burning, while the meat cooks through; a hot, clear fire gives browning quickly, so careful turning keeps the coating intact.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, sauce, butter):
- Shallotfits about as well
- Onionfits about as well
- Tomatothe original
- Potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, sauce, butter. 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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