Why it works: Sage and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,388 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Veal Sausages
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mixture
Chop equal quantities of lean veal and fat bacon.
Add a handful of sage, salt, pepper, and a few anchovies.
Beat all ingredients in a mortar until well combined.
Shape and fry
Roll the mixture into sausages.
Fry the sausages.
Serve
Serve with fried sippets, stewed vegetables, or on white collops.
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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Sage + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,388 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Veal + sagetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together670 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lean veal
- Provides the main meaty body and firm structure of the sausage.
- Fat bacon
- Adds fat that keeps the sausages juicy and carries flavour as they cook.
- Sage
- Adds a herbal, aromatic flavour that suits the meat and pork fat.
- Anchovies
- Adds a savoury, salty depth without making the sausages taste fishy.
The step that matters
Fry the sausages. Cook over moderate heat so the fat renders slowly and the centre cooks through. Very high heat browns the outside before the inside is done and can dry out the lean veal.
Swap the sage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pepper):
- Sagethe original
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Marjoramfits less well
- Celeryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, pepper. 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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