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Veal Loaf

A baked loaf made from finely chopped veal, ham, breadcrumbs, eggs, cream, butter, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,395 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Veal Loaf

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

  1. Chop the veal and ham very fine.

  2. Beat the eggs until light and melt the butter.

Mix and shape

  1. Mix the veal, ham, crumbs, and seasonings together.

  2. Add the eggs, cream, and melted butter, and mix thoroughly.

  3. Press the mixture into a mold that has been wet with cold water.

  4. Carefully turn it out onto a flat baking pan.

Bake

  1. Bake for 2 hours at 350°F (175°C), basting occasionally with melted butter.

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. Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,395 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

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

  3. Bread + hamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

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

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

  5. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Veal
Forms the main body of the loaf and gives it a firm, sliceable structure.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and help it set firm as it bakes.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, and helps the surface brown while basting.
Bread or cracker crumbs
Absorb liquid and help hold the loaf together with a tender texture.
Ham
Adds savory, salty flavor throughout the loaf.
Cream
Adds moisture and softness to the mixture.

The step that matters

Press the mixture into a mold wet with cold water. Wetting the mold keeps the loaf from sticking so it can be turned out whole. Pressing the mixture firmly removes air pockets, so the loaf holds its shape and slices cleanly once baked and set.

Swap the allspice

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

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Parsleyfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Allspicethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, veal, cream, egg, butter, ham, 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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