Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Veal Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cutlets
Cut the veal cutlets into serving-sized pieces.
Dip each piece into beaten egg, then coat with cracker crumbs.
Fry the cutlets in a pan until browned.
Make the gravy and cook
In a double boiler, melt the butter and stir in the flour until smooth.
Add 1 cup boiling water and the ketchup to the butter and flour mixture.
Remove the cutlets from the frying pan, season with salt and pepper, and add them to the sauce.
Cook the cutlets in the double boiler for 1½ to 2 hours.
Serve
Serve the cutlets with the gravy poured around them on a platter.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Ketchup + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,435 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal cutlets
- Provide the meat that is coated, browned, and then simmered until tender.
- Egg
- Binds the cracker crumbs to the surface of the cutlets.
- Cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned coating on the outside of the cutlets.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries the flour for a smooth base.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter into a roux that gives the gravy body.
- Ketchup
- Adds sweetness and acidity to the gravy.
The step that matters
Cook the cutlets slowly in the double boiler. Gentle, long simmering over indirect heat keeps the veal tender and lets the gravy thicken without scorching. Too much heat can toughen the meat and burn the flour-based sauce.
“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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