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A boned calf's head rolled around a tongue, simmered in veal broth and set to cool in its own soup.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and celery 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. Combine the veal, carrots, onion, celery, herbs, mace, peppercorns, and salt in a pot. Simmer gently until the meat falls from the bones, then strain the broth.

Prepare the head

  1. Pour the cold broth over the veal and simmer until the veal is tender.

  2. Remove the brains from the calf's head. Bone the calf's head and return the bones to the pot.

  3. Strain the soup again. Let the soup cool and skim off the fat.

Roll and set

  1. Roll the head with the tongue inside and secure it.

  2. Pour the soup over the rolled head. Bring to a gentle boil and skim.

  3. Simmer for 1 to 1.25 hours.

  4. Transfer the head to a deep pan and add the soup. Let it cool to prevent dark edges.

Garnish

  1. Dice the ham, removing all fat and rind.

  2. Slice the shallots.

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. Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Carrot + oniontop 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. Carrot + shallottop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together803 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Onion + shallottop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,431 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Veal knuckle or neck
Releases gelatin into the broth, which helps the finished soup set into a jelly.
Calf's head
Its skin and meat add gelatin and body, giving the jellied texture.
Tongue
Firm, tender meat that is rolled inside the head and sliced when served.
Lean undressed ham
Adds savory, salty flavor and firm meat to the finished dish.
Carrots
Add gentle sweetness and depth to the broth.

The step that matters

Let the head cool in the soup. Cooling the head slowly in its own soup keeps the exposed surfaces from darkening and lets the gelatin set evenly. Sudden temperature changes or air exposure can cause dark edges and a cloudy jelly.

Swap the mace

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

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Macethe original

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