Why it works: Veal and ham are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,264 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Veal Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Assemble
Layer the veal, ham, and sliced hard boiled eggs in a mold.
Pour veal stock over the layers until the mold is half full.
Cover the mold with greased paper.
Steam and serve
Steam for 2.5 hours.
Let it cool, then turn out and decorate with parsley.
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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Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 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).
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Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,058 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Veal + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,845 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
- Forms the main body of the cake and, with the stock, gives it its savory meaty flavor.
- Veal stock
- Provides moisture during steaming and sets to a gel as it cools, binding the layers.
- Hard boiled eggs
- Add firm texture and visual contrast when the cake is sliced.
- Ham
- Adds salty, savory flavor and a firmer chew among the veal.
The step that matters
Steaming the mold. Steam for the full time at a gentle, steady heat so the veal cooks through and the stock sets properly as it cools. Too little time leaves the center underdone and loose.
“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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