Why it works: Pepper and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Fricassee of Veal
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the veal
Cut the pork into thin slices and fry until brown.
Cut the veal into small, thin pieces and season with salt and pepper, then roll in flour.
Remove the pork from the pan and add the veal to the hot fat.
Fry the veal until browned on both sides.
Make the gravy
Remove the veal and stir the remaining flour into the fat.
Add the cold water while stirring continuously until the gravy boils.
Return the browned veal to the gravy and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.
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 + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + tomatotop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,843 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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Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Veal + tomatotop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together709 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender during the long simmer in the gravy.
- Flour
- Coats the veal and thickens the cooking liquid into a smooth gravy.
- Fat salt pork
- Renders fat for frying the veal and adds savory, browned flavor to the dish.
- Strained tomatoes
- Adds acidity and a bright tomato flavor to the gravy.
The step that matters
Stir the water into the flour and fat while stirring continuously. Adding cold liquid to a flour and fat roux while stirring keeps starch granules dispersed, so the gravy thickens smoothly instead of forming lumps.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pork, pepper, flour):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Carrotfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, pork, pepper, flour. 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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