Why it works: Pepper and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,580 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Veal and Ham Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Season the veal pieces with pepper and salt.
Assemble and bake
Layer the veal and ham slices alternately in a pie dish.
Top with sausage meat, stewed mushrooms, and crumbled hard-boiled egg yolks.
Pour the water over the filling.
Cover with a pie crust and bake 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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Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Ham + meattop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Veal + mushroomtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,446 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Meat + mushroomtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,423 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Ham + mushroomtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,486 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal cutlet
- Forms the main meat body of the pie, becoming tender as it cooks.
- Ham
- Adds savoury, salty flavour that contrasts with the mild veal.
- Sausage meat
- Adds fat and richness to the topping, keeping the filling moist.
- Hard-boiled egg yolks
- Add a rich, creamy texture to the filling.
- Button mushrooms
- Add earthy flavour and moisture to the filling.
The step that matters
Covering with the pie crust and baking until golden brown. The crust must seal the dish so steam stays in and the meat cooks through, while the surface browns from dry heat. Checking colour and doneness together prevents a pale crust over undercooked filling or a dry, overbaked pie.
“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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