Why it works: Nutmeg and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,019 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Minced Veal
Ingredients
Directions
Finely cut the cold veal without chopping it.
Add a little lemon peel, nutmeg, and salt.
Mix in 4-5 tablespoons of weak broth, milk, or water.
Simmer gently with the meat without boiling.
Incorporate a bit of butter rubbed in flour.
Arrange thin, toasted bread pieces around the dish in a triangular shape.
Sprinkle fried bread crumbs over the meat or serve in small heaps.
Optionally, add a little shredded shallot for flavor.
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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Nutmeg + shallottop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,019 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Lemon + shallottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,523 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Flour + shallottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,081 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the shallot
The recipe marks shallot as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, lemon, nutmeg, milk, butter, flour, bread):
- Shallotthe original
- Arrowrootfits about as well
- Leekfits about as well
- Asparagusfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, lemon, nutmeg, milk, butter, flour, bread. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
More minced veal recipes
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