Why it works: Flour and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,253 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Fricasseed Veal
Ingredients
Directions
Cut veal into small, thick slices; melt butter in a wide stewpan, bring to a boil, lay veal, and shake over the fire until firm on both sides, but do not allow any color.
Stir in a tablespoonful of flour, and when it is well mixed with the cutlets, pour gradually to them, shaking the pan often, until the boiling veal gravy almost covers them.
Stew gently for fifteen to sixteen minutes, or longer if not yet tender.
Add mace, salt, a quarter-pint of rich cream, a couple of egg yolks, and a little lemon juice, following the directions for a blanquette of veal (page 229).
Optionally, stew strips of lemon rind in the gravy at pleasure.
Add two or three dozen mushroom buttons twenty minutes before serving to improve the fricassée.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| 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.
-
Flour + mushroomtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,253 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mushroom + macetop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,529 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Flour + macetop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,974 recipes
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal (in the method)
- Main protein; slow stewing in gravy makes it tender.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and gravy into a smooth, cohesive sauce.
- Egg yolks (in the method)
- Enrich and thicken the sauce, giving it body and a silky texture.
- Cream (in the method)
- Adds richness and fat, softening the sauce's flavor and texture.
- Mushrooms
- Add earthy flavor and savory bulk to the fricassée.
The step that matters
Shake the veal until firm without browning. Searing the veal only until firm on both sides keeps it pale, as the fricassée style calls for. Color would change the flavor and look of the white sauce.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, mushroom):
- Jalapenofits better
- Turmericfits better
- Thymefits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, mushroom. 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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