IllustrationWhy it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 122,858 recipes mention both. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the cutlets
Cut the veal into slices about ¾ inch thick.
Shape the slices into round cutlets, 3 inches in diameter.
Flour the cutlets well.
Cook the cutlets
Fry the cutlets in hot butter until browned.
Hold the pan high above the fire and cover it to cook the cutlets without drying them out.
Serve
Serve the cutlets on cooked macaroni and provide brown gravy flavored with fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce.
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.
The picture is an illustration, not a photo of this recipe · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Flour + buttertop 6% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together122,858 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Veal + tomatotop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together709 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Butter + tomatotop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together6,890 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Veal + buttertop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together9,381 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Flour + tomatotop 15% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together6,717 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter share little aroma chemistry, yet 122,858 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal fillet
- Lean meat that forms the cutlets; it dries out easily, so moisture matters.
- Flour
- Coats the cutlets so they brown well and form a light crust when fried.
- Butter
- Fat that conducts heat for frying, adding browning and rich flavor to the cutlets.
- Macaroni
- A starchy base that holds the cutlets and absorbs the gravy.
- Fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce
- Supplies acidity and moisture to the brown gravy, adding bright flavor.
The step that matters
Covering the pan while cooking the cutlets. Veal is lean and dries out quickly over heat. Covering the pan traps steam, which keeps the meat moist while the outside browns.
Flavor stand-ins for the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, flour, butter):
- Leekbetter flavor fit
- Shallotbetter flavor fit
- Arrowrootbetter flavor fit
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, flour, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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.
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.