Why it works: Veal and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,784 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Mock Turtle Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Clean the calf's head and soak it in spring water for 1 hour.
Place the head in a stew-pan, cover with cold water, and add ½ gallon more.
Bring to a gentle boil, skimming off the scum for 1 hour.
Remove the head, let it cool, and cut into pieces about 1.5 inches by 1.25 inches.
Cut the tongue into mouthfuls and set aside.
Add the knuckle of veal, beef, and any trimmings and bones from the head to the stock.
Skim the stock well before using.
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 + beeftop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,784 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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