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Veal Loaf

A baked loaf of finely chopped veal mixed with cracker crumbs, egg, spices, onion, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and sage match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,388 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Veal Loaf

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Remove skin and membranes from the veal and chop or grind it fine.

  2. Add the cracker crumbs, beaten egg, and remaining ingredients. Mix well.

  3. Press the mixture into a buttered pan and place lumps of butter on top.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 2 to 3 hours.

  2. Serve cold, cutting into thin slices.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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. Pepper + sagetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,388 recipes

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

  2. Ginger + sagetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together157 recipes

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

  3. Pepper + gingertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,800 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Ginger + oniontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,595 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Veal
Provides the main meat body and protein that sets into a firm loaf.
Cracker crumbs
Absorb liquid and help bind the mixture so it holds its shape.
Egg
Sets on heating to bind the meat and crumbs together.
Butter
Adds fat that keeps the loaf moist and rich as it bakes.
Onion
Adds savory aroma and moisture that mellows as the loaf cooks.

The step that matters

Baking long and slow until fully set. The egg and meat proteins coagulate during the long bake, which binds the loaf. If it is cut before it has set and cooled, the slices will crumble.

Swap the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, egg, pepper, sage, onion, butter):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, egg, pepper, sage, onion, butter. 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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