Name: Calf's Brains
Ingredients: a tablespoonful of vinegar; a tablespoonful of chopped pickle added just before serving; a dash of vinegar; mustard; vinegar; parsley

Why it works: Vinegar and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Calf's Brains

Ingredients

Directions

Soak the brains for an hour in cold water; then simmer in water containing a tablespoonful of vinegar for twenty minutes; an onion, thyme, bay-leaf, salt and peppercorns in the water also will improve the flavor of the brains; place again in cold water to blanch; remove the skin and fibres, and cook by any of the receipts given for sweetbreads. The boiled brains may also be served with any of the following sauces poured over them: a plain white sauce; a white sauce with chopped mushrooms; a white sauce seasoned with mashed yolks of hard-boiled eggs, a little mustard, tarragon vinegar and chopped parsley, and a tablespoonful of chopped pickle added just before serving; a Vinaigrette sauce; a Hollandaise sauce; a tomato sauce; or a sauce made of browned butter and a dash of vinegar.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

7Calories

0 gProtein

0 gFat

1 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 3 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Mary Ronald. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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.

Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,067 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Mustard + parsleytop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,588 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Vinegar + parsleytop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,477 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).