Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Veal Stew
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the stew
Place the veal strips in a skillet and add enough cold water to cover the meat.
Add the sliced potato and simmer gently for 20 to 30 minutes, ensuring the water does not boil away.
Thicken and finish
In a bowl, mix the flour with a little milk to create a paste.
Once the meat is tender, add the milk and flour mixture to the broth.
Season with butter, salt, pepper, and parsley if desired.
Slice the hard-boiled eggs and add them to the broth.
Bring everything to a boil once and serve with or without toast.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal steak
- Provides the main protein, which becomes tender as it simmers in the broth.
- Potato
- Adds body and starch that softens into the broth, giving a heartier texture.
- Flour
- Mixed with milk to a paste, it thickens the broth into a creamy sauce.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and mild sweetness, rounding out the broth with the flour.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the finished stew a smooth, silky mouthfeel.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Add soft, creamy texture and richness to the broth as sliced pieces.
The step that matters
Adding the flour and milk paste. Flour lumps if added dry or unmixed; mixing it with a little milk first lets starch disperse evenly, so the broth thickens smoothly rather than clumping.
Swap the parsley
The recipe marks parsley as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, potato, egg, milk, flour, butter, pepper):
- Parsleythe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Cinnamonfits less well
- Turmericfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, potato, egg, milk, flour, butter, pepper. 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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