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Mutton-stock for Soups

A rich stock made from lean ham, veal, water, salt, onions, celery, carrots, pepper, and mace.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Mutton-stock for Soups

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Combine the ham and veal in a large pot.

  2. Add 4 to 6 quarts of cold water, depending on desired richness.

Simmer

  1. Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that forms.

  2. Add salt, onions, celery, carrots, pepper, and mace.

  3. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 to 6 hours until the meat falls from the bones.

Strain and store

  1. Strain the stock into a clean deep pan and cool before storing.

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. Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. White pepper + macetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,695 recipes

    Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

  5. Carrot + macetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,592 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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

What each ingredient does

Veal
Releases gelatin and savory flavor into the liquid, giving the stock body as it simmers.
Lean ham
Adds salty, smoky depth of flavor to the stock.
Onions
Contribute sweetness and aromatic flavor as they cook down into the stock.
Celery
Adds aromatic, vegetal flavor that rounds out the stock.
Carrots
Add gentle sweetness and color to the stock.

The step that matters

Skimming the scum after the boil. Scum is coagulated protein and impurities that rise as the liquid heats. Removing it early keeps the stock clear and free of off flavors, which is hard to fix once the long simmer has blended them in.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, veal, onion, celery, carrot, mace):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Marjoramfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, veal, onion, celery, carrot, mace. 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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