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Scotch Mutton Broth

A hearty broth made with mutton, Scotch barley, leeks, onions, turnips, celery, carrots, parsley, and thyme.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Leek and turnip match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,046 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Scotch Mutton Broth

Ingredients

Directions

Make the broth

  1. Combine the mutton and water in a stewpan.

  2. Bring to a boil.

  3. Add the Scotch barley, leeks, onions, parsley, and thyme.

  4. Skim the surface.

  5. Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer for 2 hours.

  6. Skim again.

  7. If the broth is too thick, add ½ pint of boiling water.

Add the vegetables and finish

  1. Add the turnips, celery, and carrots.

  2. Simmer slowly for another 1.5 hours.

  3. The barley should be almost fully dissolved.

  4. Cut the meat into pieces and serve with the broth or separately.

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.

  1. Leek + turniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,046 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  3. Barley + leektop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together142 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  4. Parsley + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,810 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Leek + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together360 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

What each ingredient does

Mutton
Gives the broth its rich meaty flavor as it simmers slowly in the water.
Scotch barley
Releases starch as it cooks, thickening the broth and giving it body.
Leeks
Add mild onion sweetness and aroma that deepen the flavor of the broth.
Turnips
Contribute sweetness and body as they soften during the long simmer.
Carrots
Add natural sweetness and color to the broth as they cook.

The step that matters

Skim the surface. Foam and fat rise as the meat cooks, and removing them early keeps the broth clear and prevents a greasy, cloudy result.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, barley, leek, parsley, thyme, turnip, celery):

  1. Parsnipfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, barley, leek, parsley, thyme, turnip, celery. 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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