Name: Veal Cutlets
Ingredients: veal cutlets; 1 beaten egg; 1 cup rolled crackers; coarse sea salt (to taste); water; 1 tablespoon flour; tomatoes (optional, for serving)

Why it works: Egg and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Veal Cutlets

Ingredients

Directions

Fry the cutlets

Fry the veal cutlets until well done.
Remove the cutlets.

Coat and fry again

Dip them in the beaten egg.
Coat the cutlets in rolled crackers mixed with salt.
Fry again, turning to brown each side nicely.

Make the gravy and serve

Make a gravy by mixing water and flour in the frying pan.
Pour the gravy over the cutlets.
Season to taste.
Serve with tomatoes if desired.

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.

Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Veal + tomatotop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together709 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Flour + tomatotop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,065 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Veal + eggtop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,845 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Veal + flourtop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together5,886 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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

Veal cutlets: The main protein, cooked until well done and browned on both sides.
Beaten egg: Acts as a binder so the cracker coating sticks to the cutlets.
Rolled crackers: Form a crisp, browned crust when fried.
Flour: Thickens the pan juices into a gravy.