Why it works: Veal and ham 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 ↓
Rolled Veal
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the roll
Spread a thin layer of veal forcemeat over the inside of the breast of veal.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of finely-chopped pickled gherkins over the forcemeat.
Lay a slice of ham on top.
Roll the veal tightly and bind it securely with kitchen twine.
Cook and press
Place the rolled veal in a stewpan with a plate underneath to prevent sticking.
Barely cover with stock and simmer gently for about 3 hours.
After cooking, place the veal between two dishes, add a heavy weight on top, and let it cool.
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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Veal + hamtop 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
What each ingredient does
- Breast of veal
- Forms the main body of the roll and becomes tender during long, gentle simmering.
- Veal forcemeat
- Adds a soft, moist layer that binds the filling and keeps the roll juicy.
- Pickled gherkins
- Adds a sharp, acidic note that cuts through the richness of the veal.
- Ham
- Adds a salty, savoury flavour inside the roll.
- Stock
- Gently poaches the veal, adding moisture and savoury flavour during cooking.
The step that matters
Simmering the rolled veal. Simmering gently with the veal barely covered keeps the meat tender and moist. A hard boil toughens the proteins and can break the roll apart.
“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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