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Rich Deep-coloured Veal Gravy

A thick veal gravy with veal, ham, broth, herbs, and optional aromatics.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Eliza Acton · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 20 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Rich Deep-coloured Veal Gravy

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. Lay the ham, freed from fat and sliced half an inch thick, into a large thick stewpan or saucepan.

  2. Place about four pounds of lean veal on top of the ham.

  3. Pour about half a pint of good broth over the meat.

Make the glaze

  1. Place the pan over a brisk fire until the liquid is well reduced.

  2. Thrust a knife into the meat and continue stewing more gently until a glaze is formed.

  3. Slow the process, frequently shaking the stewpan and watching the gravy closely so it does not burn.

Finish the gravy

  1. When the gravy is a fine deep amber colour, pour in sufficient boiling broth to cover the meat.

  2. Add a bunch of parsley, a few mushrooms, and green onions.

  3. Optionally add a blade or two of mace, a few white peppercorns, and a head of celery.

  4. Note that half the quantity can be made, but it will be more troublesome to manage.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

297Calories
29 gProtein
14 gFat
12 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 8 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pork100g cooked242
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Vealnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0
Macenot in our table0

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

By Eliza Acton. 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.

  1. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Parsley + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,810 recipes

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

  3. Celery + thymetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,193 recipes

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

  4. Thyme + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,171 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Lean veal
Provides the meat and body that the reduced juices turn into a rich gravy.
Ham
Its fat and salty juices brown on the pan base and add savoury depth to the gravy.
Broth
Forms the liquid that reduces and concentrates into the gravy.

The step that matters

Reducing to a deep amber glaze. If the heat is too high or the pan is left unattended, the sugars and proteins burn before the glaze forms, giving a bitter taste. Gentle shaking and watching keep the browning even and controlled.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, ham, parsley, celery, thyme, onion):

  1. Marjoramfits better
  2. Winter savoryfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, ham, parsley, celery, thyme, onion. 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.

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