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Scotch Broth

A hearty mutton soup with barley, vegetables, and parsley.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Scotch Broth

Why it works: Leek and turnip match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,046 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Scotch Broth

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Trim excess fat from the mutton and cut the meat into small dice.

  2. In a stewpan, combine the mutton with 2 ½ cups of cold water and the salt.

Simmer

  1. Add the pearl barley and bring to a boil, skimming off any foam.

  2. Add the cabbage, carrots, and leek, then bring back to a boil.

  3. Reduce heat and simmer for 1½ hours.

  4. Add the turnip and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Finish and serve

  1. Remove all pieces of bone, pour into a tureen, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

  2. Add salt and pepper to taste before serving.

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.

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.

  1. Leek + turniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,046 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

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

  3. Barley + leektop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together142 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  4. Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,002 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Cabbage + turniptop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together897 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
Long simmering breaks down connective tissue, making the meat tender and enriching the broth.
Pearl barley
Its starch thickens the broth and gives it body as it cooks.
Carrots
Add natural sweetness and color to the broth as they soften.
Leek
Contributes a mild onion-like flavor that builds the base of the broth.
Cabbage
Adds bulk and a mild, sweet vegetable flavor while staying tender in the broth.
Turnip
Adds a slightly peppery, earthy flavor and soft texture to the broth.

The step that matters

Skimming the foam after the first boil. Foam carries impurities and fat from the meat; removing it early keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting rather than cloudy or greasy.

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, barley, carrot, leek, turnip, parsley):

  1. Parsnipfits better
  2. Shallotfits better
  3. Beetrootfits better
  4. Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, barley, carrot, leek, turnip, 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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