Skip to main content
Main

Veal Mousse

A chilled veal mousse served in molds, flavored with cayenne, onion juice, and cream, garnished with truffle.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Veal Mousse

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the veal

  1. Grind the veal through a food chopper twice, then pound it to a paste and rub through a fine sieve.

  2. In a bowl, combine the veal paste with 1 egg white and mix thoroughly.

  3. Add the salt, cayenne, onion juice, and 2 tablespoons of thick cream, mixing well.

  4. Gradually add the 3 unbeaten egg whites and 6 tablespoons of heavy cream alternately.

Test the mixture

  1. In a shallow saucepan, heat water to a simmer.

  2. Drop in about ½ teaspoon of the mixture and poach gently for 10 minutes.

  3. Check the consistency; if too firm, add more cream; if too soft, add more egg white.

Mould and bake

  1. Butter small molds and decorate the sides and bottom with sliced truffle.

  2. Fill the molds with the veal mixture, place them in a shallow pan with hot water.

  3. Cover with buttered paper and cook in a 350°F (175°C) oven until the centers feel firm, about 10 to 15 minutes.

  4. Carefully turn out onto a hot platter and serve with cream, béchamel, allemande, or tomato sauce.

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. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Veal + truffletop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together815 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

  3. Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Butter + truffletop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,209 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  5. Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together42,912 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Lean veal
Provides the main protein that sets into a delicate, firm-yet-tender structure when cooked.
Egg whites
Add structure and lift, helping the mousse set firm while staying light.
Heavy cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the mousse soft and tender rather than rubbery.

The step that matters

Adjusting the consistency with cream and egg white. Veal mousse relies on a balance of fat and protein. Too little cream makes it firm and dry once cooked, while too much egg white makes it soft and unable to hold its shape. Testing a small poached piece first lets you correct the balance before filling the molds.

Swap the onion

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

  1. Asparagusfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Leekfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, egg, pepper, cream, butter, truffle. 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.

You might also like

Veal PattiesVeal Patties50 recipesBeef, Mutton, or Veal BrothBeef, Mutton, or Veal Broth6 recipesTomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesBrown BreadBrown Bread461 recipes