Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Braised Leg of Mutton
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the base
Preheat the oven to 300 °F (150 °C).
Line the bottom of a thick iron kettle or stew‑pan with three slices of bacon.
Layer the sliced carrots, onions, and savory herbs over the bacon.
Place the leg of mutton on top, then cover with the remaining bacon slices.
Pour half a pint of water over the meat and cover tightly.
Stew and season
Stew gently for four hours, basting occasionally with the juices.
Season with salt and pepper when the meat begins to tender.
Make the gravy and serve
Strain the gravy and thicken it with one tablespoon of flour until brown.
Pour some gravy over the meat and serve the rest in a tureen.
Garnish the dish with fried olive‑shaped potatoes.
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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Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,107 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Potato + olivetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,458 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Leg of mutton
- Provides the main cut of meat that becomes tender and flavourful during slow braising.
- Bacon
- Releases fat and savoury flavour into the pot, enriching the meat and the gravy.
- Onions
- Break down during stewing, adding sweetness and body to the gravy.
- Carrots
- Soften during stewing, adding natural sweetness and body to the gravy.
- Flour
- Thickens the strained gravy and helps it brown.
The step that matters
Season when the meat begins to tender. Salting too early in a long braise can be unevenly absorbed while the meat is still firm; waiting until it softens lets the seasoning distribute through the juices and gravy.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, carrot, flour, pepper, potato, olive, butter):
- Capsicumfits better
- Spinachfits about as well
- Tomatofits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, carrot, flour, pepper, potato, olive, butter. 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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