Why it works: Ham and meat are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,095 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. 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.
Assemble the pie
Season veal cutlets with white pepper.
Layer veal and ham in a pie dish, adding veal stuffing between layers.
Pour veal gravy or water over the meat.
Cover with meat pie paste.
Bake
Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours at 350°F (175°C).
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 + meattop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Veal + meattop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,890 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Veal + white peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,057 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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White pepper + hamtop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together535 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal cutlets
- Form the main body of the pie, becoming tender and juicy as they cook slowly.
- Ready-dressed ham
- Adds savory, salty flavor that contrasts with the mild veal.
- Veal gravy or water
- Provides moisture so the meat steams and stays tender during baking.
- Meat pie paste
- Encloses the filling and browns in the oven to form a crisp crust.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, ham, meat):
- Celeryfits better
- Thymefits better
- Pepperfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, ham, meat. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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