Name: Veal, Potted
Ingredients: 1 pound cooked veal, skinless, boneless, and trimmed; Pepper, to taste; Coarse sea salt, to taste; Pounded mace, to taste; 2 ounces butter, cut into small pieces; 1-2 tablespoons strong veal gravy; Optional: ¼ pound lean ham, minced; Clarified butter or dripping, for covering

Why it works: Veal and ham are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,264 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Veal, Potted

Ingredients

1 pound cooked veal, skinless, boneless, and trimmed
Pepper, to taste
Coarse sea salt, to taste
Pounded mace, to taste
2 ounces butter, cut into small pieces
1-2 tablespoons strong veal gravy
Optional: ¼ pound lean ham, minced
Clarified butter or dripping, for covering

Directions

Prepare

Cut the cooked veal into small pieces and mince finely.
In a mortar, pound the veal while gradually adding pepper, salt, pounded mace, and butter.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of strong veal gravy and continue to pound until smooth.
If desired, mix in minced ham for added flavor.

Pot and rest

Press the mixture into small jars and cover with a layer of clarified butter or dripping, about ¼ inch thick.
Let it stand for 24 hours before using and store in a cool, dry place.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,264 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Pepper + macetop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together12,257 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Butter + hamtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,475 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Veal + macetop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,761 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,049 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Pepper and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 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

Cooked veal: Forms the main body of the paste, giving it its meaty texture once pounded smooth.
Butter: Adds richness and a smooth, spreadable texture as it is worked into the meat.
Strong veal gravy: Adds concentrated savory flavor and moisture to bind the pounded meat.