Why it works: Ham and veal 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 ↓
Mock-turtle Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Bone the calf’s head by making an incision from the back to the nose and clearing the scalp and cheeks from the bones.
Place the boned head in a large stewpan with cold water and bring to a boil. Skim well and boil for 10 minutes.
Remove the head and place it in a pan of cold water.
In a stockpot, butter the bottom and add the ham, veal knuckles, and roasted hen.
Moisten with the broth and boil until reduced to a glaze.
Cover the fire with ashes to reduce heat and let the soup color itself.
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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Ham + vealtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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