Why it works: Carrot and chervil match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 355 recipes. Both carry methyleugenol, which smells clove, spice. The science ↓
Veal Stock
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the stock
Combine veal and bacon or ham in a stewpan.
Cover and heat over the fire for 30 minutes until pale gold.
Fill the stewpan with water and add onion, carrot, and beef if using.
Let it stew slowly until done.
Finish and serve
Strain through a fine sieve.
For a lighter version for invalids, omit bacon and beef, and add chervil.
Serve with rice or vermicelli.
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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Carrot + cherviltop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together355 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Carrot + beeftop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,606 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + cherviltop 11% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together668 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal
- Provides the main body and gelatin that give the stock its richness and body.
- Onion
- Adds aromatic sweetness and depth as it softens and cooks into the liquid.
- Carrot
- Contributes gentle sweetness and aroma to the stock's flavor.
- Beef
- Adds extra meaty flavor and depth when used in the optional version.
The step that matters
Browning the veal and bacon or ham over the fire. Heating until pale gold, not dark, builds mild roasted flavor without scorching. Scorched fat or meat turns the stock bitter and muddy, so watch the heat closely.
Swap the chervil
The recipe marks chervil as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, ham, onion, carrot, beef):
- Celeryfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Marjoramfits better
- Chervilthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, ham, onion, carrot, beef. 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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