Why it works: Lamb and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,165 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Epigrammes of Lamb, Macedoine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the lamb
Tie the lamb breasts and boil in soup stock for 45 minutes.
Drain and remove all bones, then press down with a heavy weight until cold.
Cut each breast into 3 heart-shaped pieces.
Bread and broil
Dip in oil or fat, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Roll in bread-crumbs and broil for 4 minutes on each side.
Serve
Serve with 6 broiled lamb chops and hot Macedoine or other garnishing.
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 + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,165 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lamb + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together598 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Pepper + breadtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lamb breasts
- Provide the main meat, which is simmered until tender, then pressed into shape.
- Fresh bread-crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned coating on the pieces under the broiler.
- Oil or fat
- Helps the seasoning and bread-crumbs adhere and promotes browning under the broiler.
The step that matters
Press the lamb until cold. Pressing under a weight while the meat cools holds the pieces together so they keep their shape when cut and broiled. Pressing before cooling is complete can leave them crumbly or misshapen.
“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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