Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Veal Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the veal into pieces about 4 inches long and 3 inches wide.
Mix the parsley, mixed herbs, pepper, and salt on a plate.
Melt the frying fat in a pan.
Dip each cutlet into the melted fat, then into the herb mixture.
Cook and serve
Fry the cutlets in plenty of fat until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Arrange the cooked cutlets in a circle on a hot dish.
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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Veal + parsleytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,766 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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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
- Veal fillet
- Forms the main body of the cutlets, cooking to a tender, sliceable texture.
- Melted fat
- Carries the herb mixture to the surface of the veal so it adheres during frying.
- Parsley
- Adds fresh, green aroma and a mild herbal flavour to the coating.
- Mixed herbs
- Adds aromatic flavour to the coating that season the outside of the cutlets.
The step that matters
Fry the cutlets in plenty of fat until golden brown. Frying in deep enough fat heats the surface quickly, driving off moisture and browning the coating through the Maillard reaction. Too little fat or too low heat leaves the cutlets pale, greasy, or dry inside.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pepper):
- Sagefits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Marjoramfits about as 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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