Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Mutton Broth
Ingredients
Directions
Make the broth
In a large pot, combine the mutton or sheep's heads with the soft water.
Bring to a boil and skim off any foam.
Add the barley (or rice) and boil for at least 1 hour.
Stir in the turnips, carrots, and onions.
Cook for another 1.5 to 2 hours, until the broth reduces by about one third.
Finish and serve
Half an hour before serving, add the small suet dumplings and optional herbs.
Serve the meat on a separate dish and the broth, dumplings, and vegetables in a large tureen.
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.
-
Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Turnip + carrottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,002 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Barley + turniptop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together629 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Turnip + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,842 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Turnip + oniontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,585 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton or sheep's heads
- Releases flavour and gelatin into the broth as it simmers long and slowly.
- Barley
- Thickens the broth as its starch releases during the long simmer.
- Turnips
- Add sweetness and body to the broth as they soften over the long cook.
- Carrots
- Add natural sweetness and colour to the broth as they cook down.
- Onions
- Build savoury depth in the broth as they soften and sweeten while simmering.
- Suet
- Adds fat that makes the dumplings light and rich in texture.
The step that matters
Skimming the foam after boiling. Foam carries impurities and scum from the meat. Skimming it early keeps the broth clear and tasting clean rather than muddy.
Swap the parsley
The recipe marks parsley as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, barley, turnip, carrot, onion):
- Celeryfits better
- Parsleythe original
- Thymefits about as well
- Cuminfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, barley, turnip, carrot, onion. 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.
More mutton broth recipes
You might also like
Carrot Soup134 recipes
Haricot Mutton59 recipes
Mutton Soup56 recipes
Turnip Soup43 recipesThe 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.