Name: Stock for White Soup
Ingredients: 1 knuckle of veal or part of the neck, thoroughly washed; 1 pound lean ham, skin and fat removed, cut into thick slices; ½ pound Jewish smoked beef, smoked surface and fat removed (optional); cold water

Why it works: Veal and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,784 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓

Stock for White Soup

Ingredients

1 knuckle of veal or part of the neck, thoroughly washed
1 pound lean ham, skin and fat removed, cut into thick slices
½ pound Jewish smoked beef, smoked surface and fat removed (optional)
cold water

Directions

Place the washed veal or neck in a clean soup pot or a large stout iron saucepan.
Layer the thick slices of ham on top of the meat.
If using, add the prepared smoked beef on top of the ham.
Pour in 1 pint of cold water for each pound of meat for a rich soup, or adjust as desired.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Veal + beeftop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,784 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Ham + beeftop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,729 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,264 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).