Why it works: Veal and ham 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 ↓
Boiled Veal
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the roll
Spread a thin layer of veal forcemeat over the inside of the breast of veal.
Sprinkle the chopped pickled gherkins over the forcemeat.
Lay the slice of ham on top.
Roll the veal tightly and bind it securely with tape.
Simmer and cool
Place it in a stewpan with a plate underneath to prevent sticking.
Barely cover with stock and simmer gently for about three hours.
After cooking, place between two dishes and weigh down to cool.
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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Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 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
- Veal breast
- Forms the main body of the roll and becomes tender during long, gentle simmering.
- Pickled gherkins
- Adds sharp acidity that cuts through the rich meat and forcemeat.
- Ham
- Adds savoury, salty flavour and a contrasting layer inside the roll.
The step that matters
Rolling and binding the veal tightly. A loose roll can open or leak filling during simmering. Tight rolling and secure binding hold the layers together so the slices hold their shape when cooled and cut.
“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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