Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Shoulder of Mutton and Onion Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the mutton
Purchase a shoulder of mutton weighing between 6 and 7 lbs and hang it in the larder for a few days if possible.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Roast the mutton
Place the mutton on the lowest grid shelf, allowing the dripping to fall into a tin below.
Cook the mutton in the hot oven for about 20 minutes.
Reduce the heat by lowering the gas jets.
Cook for approximately 2 hours.
Make the onion sauce
Chop the onions.
Plunge the onions into boiling water for a few minutes.
Discard the water.
Add fresh water and boil gently until tender.
In a separate pan, melt the butter.
Stir in the flour with a little pepper and salt.
Add the milk.
Bring to a boil.
Add the chopped onions to the sauce.
Pass the onions through a sieve for a smoother texture.
Strain and cook until thickened, adding salt and pepper to taste.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Shoulder of mutton
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender and juicy through long slow roasting.
- Onions
- Give the sauce its body and sweet flavour once cooked and passed through a sieve.
- Butter
- Forms the fat base of the sauce and carries flavour.
- Flour
- Thickens the melted butter and milk into a smooth sauce.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid of the sauce, which thickens as it cooks and gives it a creamy texture.
The step that matters
Passing the onions through a sieve. Cooked onions are soft and fibrous, so pressing them through a sieve breaks them down and gives the sauce a smooth texture rather than a lumpy one.
“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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