Name: Veal and Ham Cutlets
Ingredients: flank part of a fillet of veal; slices of ham (fat and lean); oil or fat for frying; salt; pepper

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 ↓

Veal and Ham Cutlets

Ingredients

Directions

Trim the veal and cut it into cutlets the size and shape of lamb cutlets.
Cut slices of ham to match the size and shape of the veal cutlets.
Fry the ham first until browned, then remove some fat from the pan.
Fry the veal cutlets in the remaining fat until nicely browned.
Arrange the cutlets on a dish, alternating veal and ham, and serve with sauce in the middle.

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.

Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,264 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,049 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,058 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).