Name: Collared Calf's Head
Ingredients: 4 tablespoonfuls of minced parsley; 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg; 1-1/2 pint of the liquor in which the head was boiled; 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice; 1-1/2 pint of the liquor it was boiled in into a saucepan; 1/2 pint of maitre d'hôtel sauce; 1 quart of the meal being boiled; 12 quarts of water; one quart of this certainly nutritious gruel; 1 tablespoonful of curry-powder; 1/2 pint of broth; 3 tablespoonfuls of minced savoury herbs; 1/2 pint of italian sauce; 2 tablespoonfuls of minced savoury herbs; a bunch of savoury herbs; a small piece of butter; a piece of butter the size of a walnut; a piece of buttered paper; 4 blades of pounded mace; 6 eggs boiled hard; four quarts a day; three gallons a day will be requisite; 1 blade of pounded mace; 1 onion minced; 2 eggs; two latter ingredients are added; 4 onions; 2 apples sliced; 1 dessertspoonful of flour; 3 lbs

Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

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.

Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,037 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,062 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Nutmeg + macetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,557 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Nutmeg + walnuttop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,230 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,318 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Calf's head: Forms the main body of the collar, giving the dish its meaty bulk and set texture.
Eggs: Yolks are laid in rings through the roll, adding richness and a firm, sliceable structure when cooked.
Ham (in the method): Adds savoury, salty flavour to the layers of the collar.
Parsley: Contributes fresh, herbal aroma and a green note that brightens the rich meat.

The step that matters

Rolling and weighting the collar. Tight rolling and a heavy weight while cooling press the layers together, so the collar holds a neat, even shape when sliced. Loose rolling lets the layers separate.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parsley, nutmeg, lemon, sauce, butter, walnut, egg):

Tarragonfits better
Capersfits better
Marjoramfits better
Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against parsley, nutmeg, lemon, sauce, butter, walnut, egg. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Walnut	1 walnut half (4g)	26
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Liquor	not in our table	0
Sauce	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0
Mace	not in our table	0

Collared Calf's Head