Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Sheep's Head Broth
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the head
Remove the brains and tongue from the sheep's head and soak it in saltwater for 12 hours, changing the water frequently.
Place the head in a large saucepan and cover with water.
Add a handful of coarse sea salt to the saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Strain the head and wash it well.
Make the broth
Return the head to the saucepan and add fresh water.
Bring the mixture to a boil again.
Skim the broth thoroughly.
Add 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt.
Simmer the broth for 3 hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the diced vegetables.
Add the vegetables and rice to the broth.
Continue cooking for another hour.
Finish and serve
Remove the head from the broth.
Cut the meat into dice and return it to the broth.
Simmer for a few more minutes.
Remove the bouquet garni.
Season to taste.
Serve the broth.
The brains can be used for brain cakes.
The tongue can be served separately.
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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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,002 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,810 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sheep's head
- Provides the meat and gelatin-rich bones that give the broth body and flavour.
- Carrots
- Add natural sweetness and aroma as they soften in the broth.
- Onions
- Contribute sweetness and savoury depth as they cook down into the broth.
- Turnip
- Adds a mild sweetness and earthy flavour to the broth.
- Celery
- Adds aromatic, savoury background flavour to the broth.
- Rice
- Thickens the broth slightly as its starch releases during simmering.
The step that matters
Skim the broth thoroughly. Skimming removes foam and coagulated proteins that rise during the first boil. Leaving them in makes the broth cloudy and can give it an off, scummy taste.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, turnip, celery, parsley, thyme, rice):
- Parsnipfits better
- Leekfits better
- Okrafits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, turnip, celery, parsley, thyme, rice. 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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