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 ↓
White Stock
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stock
In a large pot, boil the veal, poultry trimmings, and ham in water until well cooked.
Clarify and strain
To clarify the stock, place it in a clean saucepan over medium heat.
When boiling, beat the egg whites with a little water and add a bit of hot stock.
Pour the egg mixture gradually into the pot while beating the stock vigorously.
Allow it to boil once, then remove from heat and strain through a thin cloth.
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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Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Veal + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,845 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Knuckle of veal
- Releases gelatin and flavour into the stock as it simmers, giving body and savour.
- Egg whites
- Coagulate as they heat, trapping cloudy particles so they can be strained out, clarifying the stock.
The step that matters
Pouring the egg mixture into the stock. Adding the egg whites gradually while beating distributes them evenly. If they clump or the stock is not stirred vigorously, the whites set in pieces instead of binding impurities, leaving the stock cloudy.
“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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