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Veal Loaf

A loaf of seasoned veal mixed with crackers, milk, butter, eggs, nutmeg, and cloves, baked until cooked.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Veal Loaf

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. In a large bowl, combine chopped veal, salt, pepper, powdered cracker, milk or cream, butter, eggs, grated nutmeg, and cloves.

  3. Mold the mixture into a loaf shape.

Bake and serve

  1. Place the loaf in a pan with a little water.

  2. Spread a little butter over the top and sprinkle with more powdered cracker.

  3. Bake for two hours.

  4. Let cool before serving.

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.

  1. Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,685 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chopped veal
Forms the main body of the loaf and provides its meaty structure.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and help it set firm as it bakes.
Powdered cracker
Absorbs liquid and helps the loaf hold together with a tender texture.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, keeping the loaf moist and flavorful.
Milk or cream
Adds moisture, keeping the loaf tender rather than dry.

The step that matters

Baking the loaf in a pan with a little water. Ground meat loaves can dry out or set unevenly in dry heat. Water in the pan creates gentle, moist heat around the loaf, which helps it cook through while staying tender.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pepper, milk, butter, egg, nutmeg):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Parsleyfits better
  3. Sagefits about as well
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, pepper, milk, butter, egg, nutmeg. 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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