Why it works: Veal and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,930 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓
Veal Patty
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the pork and veal finely, similar to mincemeat.
Add the beaten eggs and finely rolled crackers.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bake
Bake for about 2 hours, occasionally basting.
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.
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Veal + porktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,930 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Veal + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,845 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pork + eggtop 30% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,387 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal
- Forms the main body of the patty, giving it a meaty texture and structure once cooked.
- Pickled pork
- Adds fat and richness, keeping the meat moist during long baking.
- Eggs
- Bind the chopped meat together so the patty holds its shape when sliced.
- Crackers
- Absorb moisture and help hold the meat mixture together as a binder.
The step that matters
Bake for about 2 hours, occasionally basting. A long, slow bake lets the meat cook through and become tender, while basting adds moisture to the surface so it does not dry out. Opening the oven too often or skipping basting can leave the top dry.
“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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