Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Spiced Veal
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the loaf
Chop three pounds of veal steak and one thick slice of salt pork as finely as possible, then add three Boston crackers, rolled fine.
Add half a teacup of tomato catsup, three well-beaten eggs, one and one-half teaspoons of salt, one teaspoon of pepper, and one grated lemon.
Mould the mixture in the form of a loaf of bread and put it into a small dripping pan.
Cover with one rolled cracker.
Bake
Baste with a teacupful of hot water and two tablespoons of butter.
Bake for three hours, basting very often.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Beef | 100g cooked | 250 |
| Pork | 100g cooked | 242 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cracker | 5 saltine crackers (15g) | 66 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Veal | not in our table | 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.
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Veal + porktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,930 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
-
Butter + porktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,933 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Pepper + porktop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal steak
- Forms the main body of the loaf, giving it its substance and meaty texture.
- Eggs
- Bind the chopped meat and crackers so the loaf holds its shape when sliced.
- Boston crackers
- Absorb moisture and help bind the meat so the loaf stays tender rather than dense.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat, which keeps the lean veal moist during the long bake.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and browns the surface of the loaf as it bakes.
The step that matters
Bake for three hours, basting very often. Veal is lean and a long bake can dry it out, so frequent basting with the hot water and butter keeps the surface moist and helps it brown evenly.
“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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