Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Veal Pot-pie
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the veal
Season veal with salt and butter.
Cook veal for one hour and a half.
Make and cook the crust
Make crust dough by combining one quart of flour, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one quart of soda, a small piece of butter, and sweet milk to form a soft dough.
Roll dough into small biscuits.
Half an hour before the veal is done, add the crust.
While the meat is boiling, lay the biscuits on top of the meat, cover closely, and keep boiling without lifting the lid for half an hour.
Serve
Remove the meat and crust.
Thicken the gravy with a little flour and more butter.
Let the gravy boil up and pour over the meat.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough so the crust holds its shape while cooking.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidic leavening partner that helps the dough rise and become light.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, tenderizing the crust and flavoring the gravy.
- Veal (in the method)
- The main meat, which becomes tender and flavorful during long gentle boiling.
The step that matters
Keeping the lid on while the crust steams. Lifting the lid releases the steam that cooks and lightens the biscuits, so they can turn heavy or gummy. Steady covered boiling keeps the heat and moisture even.
“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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