Why it works: Potato and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,668 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Veal Stew
Ingredients
Directions
Layer the pot
Layer veal in the bottom of a pot.
Sprinkle with pepper and coarse sea salt.
Add a layer of potatoes.
Repeat layering with veal and seasoning.
Top with slices of salt pork.
Finish with a layer of potatoes.
Cook
Pour in enough water to cover the ingredients.
Heat for 15 to 20 minutes, then simmer for 1 hour.
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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Potato + porktop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Veal + porktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,930 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Pepper + porktop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal
- Forms the main body of the stew and becomes tender during long, slow simmering.
- Potatoes
- Thicken the cooking liquid as their starch releases and give the stew body.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat and savory flavor that seasons the broth and meat as it renders.
The step that matters
Pour in enough water to cover the ingredients. Water must cover the layers so the meat and potatoes cook evenly in steam and liquid; if they stick out, the exposed parts dry out and brown unevenly.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pepper, pork):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatothe original
- Tomatofits about as well
- Carrotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, pepper, pork. 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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