Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Mutton Beoth
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the mutton into pieces and remove the fat.
Add the mutton and cold water to a pot; simmer for 4 to 5 hours.
Strain the broth into an earthen bowl and remove the grease.
Finish the broth
Add the celery, rice, salt, and pepper to the broth.
Boil until the rice is soft.
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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Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Celery + ricetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,169 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Rice + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,379 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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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 + ricetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,019 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton
- Provides the meaty flavor and gelatin that give the broth body as it simmers.
- Rice
- Thickens the broth slightly as its starch softens during boiling.
- Celery
- Adds a fresh, savory aroma that rounds out the broth's flavor.
The step that matters
Removing the grease after straining. Fat rises and cools into a layer on top of the broth; skimming it off keeps the broth clean-tasting and less greasy.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, rice, pepper):
- Turmericfits better
- Celerythe original
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Parsleyfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, rice, 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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