Name: Burlington Whimsey
Ingredients: three ounces of the lean of a boiled ham finely chopped; three pints of the liquor in which it was cooked; two ounces of butter; four ounces of common salt; four ounces of treacle; three ounces of common salt; one ounce of brown sugar; three ounces of treacle added; a pint of good gravy; a teaspoonful of mace; a teaspoonful of salt; a teaspoonful of minced savoury herbs; a large teaspoonful of currie-powder; a quart of stock; a small bunch of savoury herbs; a pint of pale veal gravy; a tablespoonful of common vinegar; a tablespoonful of good mushroom catsup; a tablespoonful of minced parsley over the meat; an ounce of saltpetre finely powdered; an ounce of saltpetre; an ounce of pepper; three teaspoonsful of parsley; three quarters of a teaspoonful of mace; quarter one of cayenne; 1-1/2 pint; 1 large lemon; 3 teaspoonsful; 1 teaspoonful; 3/4 teaspoonful

Why it works: Butter and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,525 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. 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.

Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,525 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Mushroom + parsleytop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,132 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Veal + mushroomtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,446 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Mace + parsleytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,268 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together28,563 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

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

What each ingredient does

Calf's head: Provides the gelatinous meat that sets the whimsey firm when cold.
Gravy: Adds moisture and savoury body so the mixture stays tender while simmering.
Boiled ham: Adds a salty, savoury meatiness that deepens the flavour of the mixture.
Lemon rind: Adds bright aromatic oils that lift the rich meat flavour.

The step that matters

Boil the whimsey softly. Gentle heat keeps the minced meat tender and prevents the gelatine-rich mixture from toughening or breaking up, so it sets cleanly when cold.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, butter, sugar, veal, vinegar, mushroom, parsley):

Thymefits better
Tarragonfits better
Marjoramfits better
Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, butter, sugar, veal, vinegar, mushroom, parsley. 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
Pork	100g cooked	242
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Cayenne	1 tsp (1.8g)	6
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Liquor	not in our table	0
Mace	not in our table	0
Veal	not in our table	0
Meat	not in our table	0

Burlington Whimsey