Why it works: Ham and veal are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,264 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Veal and Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Make the ham
Heat a frying pan until hot.
Fry the ham without adding fat unless it's very lean.
Once cooked, place the ham on a serving dish.
Cook the veal and gravy
In the same pan, cook the veal in the ham juices until deep brown, without covering.
After the veal is done, add a little water to the pan to create gravy.
Season the gravy with pepper and pour it over the meat.
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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Ham + vealtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,058 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham
- Releases its own juices and fat, which carry flavour into the pan for the veal.
- Veal
- Browns in the ham juices to form a deeply flavoured crust on the outside.
- Pepper
- Adds a sharp, aromatic bite that seasons the gravy.
The step that matters
Browning the veal without a lid. Deep brown colour comes from the Maillard reaction, which needs dry, direct heat. Covering the pan traps steam, so the meat steams instead of browning and the flavour stays pale.
“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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