Name: Veal Loaf
Ingredients: 1½ pounds uncooked veal; ½ pound beefsteak, chopped fine; 1 cup rolled crackers; 2 eggs; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 tablespoon salt; 1 teaspoon pepper; a pinch of ground clove

Why it works: Pepper and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Veal Loaf

Oven, in the book's wordsA slow oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).

Make the loaf

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the veal, beefsteak, rolled crackers, eggs, butter, salt, pepper, and ground clove.
Shape the mixture into a loaf and place it in a closely covered bread pan.
Bake for two hours.

Serve

Once cooled, cut 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.

Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,049 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together85,593 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Veal + buttertop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,381 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

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 firm, sliceable texture once cooked.
Beefsteak: Adds extra meaty flavour and richness to the loaf.
Rolled crackers: Absorb moisture and help bind the loaf so it holds together.
Eggs: Set during baking, binding the meat and crumbs into a firm loaf.
Butter: Adds fat, moisture and richness, keeping the loaf from drying out.