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A Tureen of Mutton and Broth, with Roots

A stew of mutton and broth with carrots, parsnips, onion, garlic, and parsley.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and parsnip match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,097 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

A Tureen of Mutton and Broth, with Roots

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Make the broth

  1. Combine mutton and water in a large pot.

  2. Bring the mixture to a boil.

  3. Add carrots, parsnips, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.

  4. Reduce heat and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours until mutton is tender.

Strain and serve

  1. Remove mutton and strain the broth.

  2. Discard the solids.

  3. Return the broth to the pot.

  4. Add chopped parsley and heat through.

  5. Serve hot with mutton pieces and roots.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Carrot + parsniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,097 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  2. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Parsnip + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together484 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  5. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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 the broth carries.
Carrots
Add natural sweetness and body to the broth as they cook.
Parsnips
Contribute sweetness and a soft, starchy texture after simmering.
Onion
Releases savoury sweetness and depth into the broth during simmering.
Garlic
Adds aroma and savoury depth to the broth.

The step that matters

Simmer gently until the mutton is tender. A rolling boil makes meat proteins contract and toughen, while a gentle simmer lets connective tissue slowly break down into tender meat and a richer broth. Check tenderness rather than relying only on the clock.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, carrot, parsnip, onion, garlic, pepper, parsley):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Cuminfits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, carrot, parsnip, onion, garlic, pepper, parsley. 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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