Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Mutton, Hashed
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
In a stewpan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the chopped onions, parsley, and pickled walnut; fry for 2 minutes.
Stir in the flour until smooth.
Add the consommé and bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Strain the mixture, then add the ketchup, lemon juice, and coarse sea salt.
Cook and serve
Return the mutton to the stewpan and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
Serve in an entree dish with fried croutons of toast.
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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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,525 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Parsley + walnuttop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together865 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Onion + mushroomtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,626 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Roast leg of mutton
- Provides the meat that is warmed through and becomes tender in the simmering sauce.
- Butter
- Carries the onions and parsley and adds richness to the base of the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the consommé into a smooth, lightly bodied sauce.
- Consommé
- Forms the liquid of the sauce, adding savoury beef flavour.
- Onions
- Soften and sweeten during frying, adding aromatic depth to the sauce.
- Pickled walnut
- Adds a sharp, tangy note that cuts through the richness of the meat.
The step that matters
Simmering the mixture after adding the flour and consommé. Flour must be stirred smooth and simmered so its starch fully swells and cooks out; otherwise the sauce can stay lumpy or taste floury.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, butter, parsley, walnut, flour, mushroom, lemon):
- Shallotfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Chivefits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, butter, parsley, walnut, flour, mushroom, lemon. 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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