Why it works: Lamb and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,402 recipes. Both carry acetaldehyde, which smells pungent, ethereal. The science ↓
Ribs of Lamb
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Sprinkle the ribs of lamb with a little coarse sea salt.
Dredge the ribs lightly with flour.
Roast
Roast the lamb for about one hour, or longer if the ribs are thick.
Baste the lamb gently at first, then more briskly as it finishes.
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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Lamb + flourtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,402 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ribs of lamb
- Main protein that becomes tender and browns as it roasts.
- Flour
- Light coating that helps the outside brown and crisp in the oven.
The step that matters
Basting the lamb. Gentle basting early keeps the surface from drying, while brisker basting near the end builds a glazed, browned crust. Basting too hard early can wash off seasoning and coating.
“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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