Why it works: Pepper and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,609 recipes mention both. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
A Fillet of Veal Roasted
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
Remove the bone from the fillet of veal.
Fill the cavity with a mixture of bread crumbs, pepper, salt, marjoram, butter (or fat pork), and egg. Mix the filling well and skewer the veal tightly to keep the dressing inside.
Roast
Roast the veal for 4 hours at 350°F (175°C).
If not larding with pork, baste the veal often with butter.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Pepper + marjoramtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Bread + marjoramtop 14% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,008 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl decanoate (grape, waxy).
-
Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Veal + breadtop 17% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together3,056 recipes
Shared aroma: cis-3-hexenol (green, grassy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal fillet
- Forms the main body of the roast and carries the stuffing while it cooks.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture and butter in the filling, giving it a light, body-holding texture.
- Egg
- Binds the filling so it holds together when sliced.
- Butter
- Adds fat and moisture to the filling and, when basted, helps the surface brown and stay juicy.
The step that matters
Skewering the veal tightly. Skewering closes the cavity so the filling stays inside. A loose closure lets the stuffing leak and dry out, and the meat cooks unevenly around it.
Flavor stand-ins for the marjoram
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, bread, pepper, egg):
- Parsleybetter flavor fit
- Sageabout as good a flavor fit
- Nutmegabout as good a flavor fit
- Marjoramthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, bread, pepper, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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
Brown Bread461 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Bread Omelette60 recipes
Oatmeal Bread51 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.