Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Veal Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the veal into thin slices and trim them into neat fillets.
Beat the egg in a bowl and mix in the parsley, lemon rind, salt, and pepper.
Coat and fry
Dip each fillet into the egg mixture, then coat with breadcrumbs.
Fry the coated fillets in butter or fat until golden brown.
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 + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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 cutlet, cooked tender when sliced thin.
- Egg
- Binds the breadcrumbs to the veal so the coating adheres during frying.
- Breadcrumbs
- Form a crisp golden crust that browns when fried.
- Butter or fat
- Conducts heat to brown the coating and adds rich flavour.
The step that matters
Fry the coated fillets until golden brown. Frying in hot butter or fat browns the breadcrumb coating through the Maillard reaction, which builds flavour and colour. Fry at a steady heat so the crust browns before the thin veal overcooks and dries out.
“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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