Why it works: Nutmeg and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,062 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Bordyke Veal Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Weigh 8 oz striped bacon after trimming rind and any rust.
Take 1½ lb veal, clear of fat and skin, and chop separately.
Mix veal and bacon with grated rind of a small lemon, half teaspoon salt, a fourth as much cayenne, a third part of a nutmeg grated, and a half teaspoon freshly pounded mace.
Press mixture into a dish, slightly higher in the center than at the edges.
Bake and serve
Bake for 1¼ to 1½ hour.
When done, lift out as soon as it comes from oven and place on a strainer to drain fat.
Serve hot or cold; slices can be warmed in Dutch oven, on gridiron, or in a few spoonsful of gravy. Small cakes can be fried 12–15 minutes and served with gravy.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Bacon | 1 slice cooked (8g) | 43 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Bay Leaf | 1 leaf (0.6g) | 2 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Mace | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
-
Nutmeg + parsleytop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,062 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Nutmeg + macetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,557 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Parsley + macetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,268 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Nutmeg + oniontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,371 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bacon
- Adds fat and smoky flavour that moistens the lean veal as it cooks.
- Veal (in the method)
- Forms the main body of the cake, giving it a mild, tender texture.
- Lemon rind (in the method)
- Adds bright aromatic oils that lift the rich meat flavour.
The step that matters
Lift out as soon as done. Leaving the cake in the hot oven past doneness dries out the lean veal and lets rendered fat pool, so it should be removed promptly and drained.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (nutmeg, parsley, mace):
- Carrotfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Parsnipfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against nutmeg, parsley, mace. 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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