Why it works: Celery and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
White Stock
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
In a large pot, combine the veal or chicken with the water.
Add the herbs, salt, peppercorns, onion, celery, turnip, and carrot.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 4-6 hours. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
Strain the stock through a fine sieve and discard the solids.
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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Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Turnip + carrottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,002 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Celery + turniptop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,418 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Onion + turniptop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,585 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal knuckle or chicken
- Releases gelatin and flavour into the water, giving the stock body and depth.
- Onion
- Adds savoury sweetness and aroma as it cooks slowly in the liquid.
- Carrot
- Contributes gentle sweetness and aroma to the background of the stock.
- Celery root
- Adds earthy, aromatic flavour that rounds out the stock.
The step that matters
Skimming the foam. Foam is coagulated protein and impurities that rise during the boil. Skimming it keeps the stock clear and prevents off-flavours from mixing back in.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, celery, turnip, carrot):
- Parsnipfits better
- Leekfits better
- Beetrootfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, celery, turnip, carrot. 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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