Skip to main content
Main

Mutton -stock for Soups

A hearty stock made from equal parts beef and mutton, simmered with vegetables and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Thyme and parsley 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 ↓

Mutton -stock for Soups

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Combine equal parts beef and mutton in a large pot.

  2. Add a small portion of ham or dried beef if desired.

  3. Pour in 1 to 1½ gallons of cold water for each pound of meat.

Make the stock

  1. Skim the liquid well and bring to a boil.

  2. Add salt, celery, onions, turnips, carrots, herbs, peppercorns, cloves, and mace.

  3. Reduce heat and simmer gently for about 6 hours.

Finish

  1. Strain the stock and let it cool.

  2. Remove all fat before serving.

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. Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Turnip + carrottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,002 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked 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

Beef
Releases collagen and flavour over long simmering, giving the stock body and a rich meaty taste.
Mutton
Adds deeper meaty flavour and gelatin-forming collagen that gives the stock body.
Onions
Contribute sweetness and aromatic depth as they soften and release flavour into the broth.
Carrots
Add gentle sweetness and colour to the broth during the long simmer.

The step that matters

Simmer gently rather than boil. A rolling boil agitates fat and proteins into the liquid, emulsifying them and clouding the stock. A gentle simmer lets fat rise and proteins settle, keeping the stock clear and clean-tasting.

Swap the onion

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, mutton, turnip, carrot, celery, thyme, parsley. 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.

You might also like

Beef, Mutton, or Veal BrothBeef, Mutton, or Veal Broth6 recipesMutton BrothMutton Broth292 recipesRoast BeefRoast Beef211 recipesBeef LoafBeef Loaf175 recipes