Why it works: Carrot and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 21,601 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Veal Cutlets, Stewed
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the veal
Cut the veal fillet into three pieces and trim off the skin.
Make the gravy and stew
Stew the trimmings with the chopped carrot and onion to make a light gravy.
Add a little broth or warm water and spices if desired.
Add the pieces of veal and stew for two hours.
Finish and serve
Dish the cutlets.
Thicken the gravy.
Pour the gravy over the cutlets.
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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Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Veal + carrottop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Veal + oniontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,841 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal fillet
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender through long, slow stewing.
- Carrot
- Adds subtle sweetness and body to the light gravy as it stews.
- Onion
- Adds savoury depth and aroma to the gravy as it cooks down.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, carrot):
- Parsnipfits better
- Turnipfits better
- Leekfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, carrot. 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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