Name: Veal or Beef Loaf
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon table salt; 3 tablespoons cream; 1 teaspoon celery salt; 2 lbs; 1 egg

Why it works: Cream and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,863 recipes. Both carry gamma-decalactone, which smells peach, creamy. The science ↓

Veal or Beef Loaf

Ingredients

Directions

Mix and shape

Combine 1/2 lb pork, 2 lbs beef or veal, 1 teaspoon table salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon celery salt, 1 egg, 3 tablespoons cream, and 1/4 cup cracker crumbs, then mix all well into the meat.
Roll the mixture into a loaf coated with cracker crumbs.

Bake

Bake for 2 to 3 hours in a moderate oven.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

135Calories

7 gProtein

11 gFat

2 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	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.

By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 + celerytop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,863 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together42,166 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Celery + eggtop 34% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,334 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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

Beef or veal (in the method): Forms the main body of the loaf and supplies most of its meaty flavor and structure.
Pork (in the method): Adds fat that keeps the loaf moist and tender as it cooks.
Egg: Binds the meat mixture so the loaf holds its shape when sliced.
Cream: Adds moisture and softness to the mixture.
Cracker crumbs (in the method): Absorb liquid and help bind the meat, and form a coating on the outside of the loaf.