Why it works: Thyme and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓
Roast Veal
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Keep the veal at a distance from the fire at first.
Roast and stuff
Baste the shoulder well until nearly done.
Dredge with flour and baste with a little butter.
Stuff the veal with a mixture of thyme, marjoram, parsley, savoury, lemon peel, mace, pepper, nutmeg, bread crumbs, eggs, and marrow suet.
Lay the stuffing in the udder and any remaining in holes in the meat.
Serve
Serve with melted butter and garnish with sliced lemon peel.
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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Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,225 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
-
Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Marjoram + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,979 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Marjoram + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together957 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal shoulder
- Forms the main body of the roast, providing the meat that is cooked and served.
- Eggs
- Bind the stuffing so it holds together when cooked.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture and give the stuffing body and texture.
- Marrow suet
- Adds fat that keeps the stuffing moist and rich during roasting.
- Flour
- Dredged onto the surface, it helps the outside brown and form a crust.
- Butter
- Basting fat that promotes browning and adds richness to the surface.
The step that matters
Keep the veal at a distance from the fire at first. Starting farther from direct heat lets the thick meat cook through gently before the surface browns, reducing the risk of a scorched outside and an undercooked center.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, flour, butter, thyme, marjoram, parsley, lemon):
- Sagefits better
- Winter savoryfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, flour, butter, thyme, marjoram, parsley, lemon. 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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