Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Mutton Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
Season and cook
Sprinkle the cutlets with pepper and coarse sea salt.
Place them in a dry chafing dish and cook over high heat for 7 to 10 minutes.
Turn the cutlets several times as they cook.
Finish and serve
Sprinkle with chopped or dried parsley before serving.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,442 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Mutton + parsleytop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,915 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton cutlets
- Provide the meat that browns and cooks through over high heat.
The step that matters
Turn the cutlets several times as they cook. Turning exposes each side to the direct heat in turn, so the cutlets brown evenly and cook through without scorching on one side. Because the dish is dry, uneven contact with the pan can leave one face dry and tough.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, pepper):
- Parsleythe original
- Turmericfits about as well
- Marjoramfits less well
- Celeryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, pepper. 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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