Veal Pie

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. Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together6,557 recipes

   Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

2. Truffle + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,900 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

3. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together13,015 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

4. Veal + truffletop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together815 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

5. Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together13,580 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

Small neck of veal

Provides the main meat, whose tender texture forms the body of the pie.

Forcemeat

Adds a seasoned, fine-textured binding that keeps the filling moist and cohesive.

Eggs

Bind the mixture and help it set firm when baked.

Rich gravy

Adds moisture and savoury depth to the baked pie.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pepper, ham, nutmeg, egg, truffle, mushroom):

1. Marjoramfits better
2. Parsleyfits better
3. Thymefits better
4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, pepper, ham, nutmeg, egg, truffle, mushroom. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.