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A broth made by simmering lean ham and veal with vegetables and spices for several hours.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Modern Cookery

Ingredients

Directions

Make the broth

  1. In a large pot, combine the meat and 4 to 6 quarts of cold water.

  2. Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that forms.

  3. Add the salt, onions, celery, carrots, white pepper, and mace.

  4. Reduce heat and let the soup simmer gently for 5 to 6 hours until the meat falls from the bones.

Strain and store

  1. Strain the soup into a clean deep pan and cool it before storing.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. White pepper + macetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,695 recipes

    Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

  5. Carrot + macetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,592 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Veal
Releases collagen and gelatin into the water, giving the broth body and a rich mouthfeel.
Lean ham
Adds savory, salty depth to the broth as it simmers.
Onions
Contribute sweetness and aromatic flavor to the broth as they cook down.
Celery
Adds aromatic, herbal flavor to the broth during the long simmer.
Carrots
Add gentle sweetness and aromatic flavor to the broth.

The step that matters

Skim the scum after the boil. Foam that rises as the water heats carries impurities and proteins; removing it keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting rather than cloudy or greasy.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, veal, onion, celery, carrot, mace):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Marjoramfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, veal, onion, celery, carrot, mace. 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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