Why it works: Spinach and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,400 recipes. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓
Lamb Cutlets, with Spinach
Ingredients
Directions
Season the lamb cutlets with salt and pepper.
In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
Add the lamb cutlets and cook until browned on both sides.
In another pot, steam the spinach until wilted.
Serve the lamb cutlets with the spinach on the side.
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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Spinach + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,400 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
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Lamb + spinachtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together300 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,165 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lamb + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,232 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the spinach
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, pepper, butter):
- Potatofits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Spinachthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, pepper, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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