Why it works: Mutton and rice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,019 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Mutton Broth
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mutton
Cut the mutton into small pieces, removing all fat and skin.
Place the mutton in a clean saucepan with 1 pint of cold water and the salt.
Cover with a lid and place by the fire, allowing it to come slowly to a boil.
Simmer the broth
Skim the broth carefully, then let it simmer for 2 hours, skimming occasionally.
Wash the rice, then add it and the remaining ½ pint of water to the broth.
Let everything simmer again for 1 hour.
Strain the broth and set it aside to cool.
Finish and serve
Once cooled, remove any fat from the surface with a heated spoon.
Serve very hot with thin dry toast cut into strips.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Mutton + ricetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,019 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton
- Provides the meat and rich flavour that form the body of the broth.
- Rice
- Releases starch during simmering, slightly thickening the broth.
The step that matters
Skimming the broth. Foam and fat rise to the surface as the broth heats. Skimming them off keeps the broth clear and stops it tasting greasy.
“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.
More mutton broth recipes
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Rice Fritters84 recipes
Haricot Mutton59 recipes
Mutton Soup56 recipes
Steamed Rice48 recipes