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Veal Gravy

A savory gravy made from veal, giblets, ham, onion, mace, parsley, cayenne, salt, and water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,843 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Veal Gravy

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the giblets and veal into small pieces.

  2. Place them in a stewpan with the water and bring to a boil.

  3. Skim the surface well, then add the onion, parsley, and other ingredients.

Simmer and finish

  1. Re-boil, then reduce heat and simmer slowly for 2 to 3 hours, skimming constantly.

  2. Strain the gravy and let it cool, then remove all fat.

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.

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.

  1. Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,843 recipes

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

  2. Mace + parsleytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,268 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  3. Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,264 recipes

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

  4. Onion + macetop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together7,078 recipes

    Shared aroma: eugenol (clove, spicy).

  5. Veal + oniontop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,841 recipes

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

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Giblets of fowl
Provide the main meaty body and rich flavor that forms the base of the gravy.
Lean veal
Contributes savory meat flavor and gelatin that gives the gravy body as it simmers.
Onion
Adds aromatic sweetness and depth to the simmering liquid.

The step that matters

Skim the surface during simmering. Foam and fat rise to the surface as the meat cooks. Skimming them off keeps the gravy clear and prevents a greasy, cloudy result.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, ham, onion, parsley):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Celeryfits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, ham, onion, parsley. 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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