Why it works: Pepper and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Roast Veal
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Wipe the meat with a cheese cloth dampened with cold water.
Sprinkle the meat with coarse sea salt and black pepper, then dredge with flour.
Truss the meat in shape and place it on a rack in a dripping pan or on slices of fat salt pork.
Surround the meat with strips of salt pork.
Roast and baste
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for three to four hours, basting often.
For the first thirty minutes, baste with melted butter mixed with boiling water.
Afterward, baste with the drippings in the pan.
If the meat is not sufficiently brown, place it under the gas flame for a few moments, basting often.
Serve
Remove from the pan and transfer to a serving platter; surround with stuffed tomatoes.
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 + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + tomatotop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Veal + porktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,930 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + porktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,933 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they 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
- Leg of veal
- Forms the main roast, and its connective tissue softens into tender meat during long, slow cooking.
- Flour
- Dredging coats the surface, helping it brown and giving the basting liquid something to cling to.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the surface brown during the early basting.
- Salt pork
- Fat from the pork bastes the meat and adds savory flavor as it renders.
The step that matters
Basting throughout the long roast. Regular basting keeps the surface moist and carries fat and browned drippings over the meat, which builds color and flavor. Letting the surface dry out slows browning and can leave the outside tough.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pepper, flour, butter, pork):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, pepper, flour, butter, pork. 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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