Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Veal Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the filling
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
In a bowl, mix grated bread, minced ham, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and chopped mushrooms. Add the yolk of egg to the mixture and combine well.
Assemble the cutlets
Cut the veal into small, thin slices and rub each slice with lard. Spread the seasoning mixture over both sides of the veal slices.
Wrap each cutlet carefully in oiled or buttered white paper.
Bake and serve
Bake the wrapped cutlets slowly for 45 minutes.
Serve the cutlets in the paper.
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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Bread + hamtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Bread + mushroomtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Parsley + mushroomtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,132 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
- Yolk of egg
- Binds the breadcrumb and ham filling so it holds together on the veal.
- Grated bread
- Absorbs moisture and forms the body of the filling, keeping the cutlets tender.
- Minced ham
- Adds savoury, salty flavour to the filling.
- Lard
- Rubbed on the veal to add fat, which keeps the meat moist during slow baking.
The step that matters
Baking the wrapped cutlets slowly. Veal is lean and dries out easily. A low oven heats the cutlets gently, so the meat cooks through while staying moist inside the paper wrap.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, ham, pepper, mushroom, egg):
- Parsleythe original
- Marjoramfits about as well
- Thymefits about as well
- Nutmegfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, ham, pepper, mushroom, egg. 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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