Why it works: Pepper and parsley 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 Stew
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Place veal strips in a skillet and cover with cold water.
Make the stew
Add the sliced potato and bring to a gentle simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, ensuring the water does not boil away.
Once the meat is tender, stir in the fresh milk and flour mixed with a little milk.
Season with butter, coarse sea salt, and pepper.
Add parsley if desired.
Slice the hard-boiled eggs and add the sliced eggs to the broth.
Bring the stew to a boil once.
Serve
Serve with or without toast.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal
- Provides the main body of the stew and becomes tender during gentle simmering.
- Potato
- Adds starch that gives the broth more body as it cooks.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk and broth into a smoother, richer stew.
- Fresh milk
- Adds creaminess and mild sweetness that softens the broth's flavor.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Add richness and a soft, firm texture to the stew.
The step that matters
Adding the flour and milk. Flour stirred into hot liquid can clump. Mixing it first with a little milk to a smooth paste, then stirring it in, helps it thicken the stew evenly.
Swap the parsley
The recipe marks parsley as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, potato, egg, milk, flour, butter, pepper):
- Parsleythe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Cinnamonfits less well
- Turmericfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, potato, egg, milk, flour, butter, pepper. 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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