Why it works: Pepper and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Veal Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Combine the veal and water in a large pot.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Add the macaroni and finish
Boil the macaroni in enough water to cover it until tender.
Drain the macaroni and add a little butter.
Season the veal soup with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the cooked macaroni to the soup.
Stir in the milk or cream for extra richness.
Add celery flavor if desired.
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 + celerytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Veal + celerytop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,336 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + celerytop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,491 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal
- Provides the meat flavor and body that makes the broth savory.
- Macaroni
- Adds starch and bulk, giving the soup a heartier texture.
- Milk or cream
- Adds richness and a softer, smoother mouthfeel to the broth.
- Butter
- Adds fat and a rounded richness to the cooked macaroni.
Swap the celery
The recipe marks celery as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, butter, pepper, milk):
- Parsleyfits better
- Sagefits better
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, butter, pepper, milk. 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.
More veal soup recipes
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Cream of Celery Soup113 recipes
Veal Patties50 recipes
Celery Stew25 recipes
Celery Croquettes16 recipes