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 ↓
Veal Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the ham and veal into small pieces, removing the skin from the veal.
Layer the veal, ham, and egg yolks in a mold.
Pour stock made from veal bones into the mold until half full.
Steam and serve
Cover the mold with greased paper and steam for 2.5 hours.
Let it cool, then turn out and decorate with parsley.
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).
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Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,058 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Veal + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,845 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal
- Lean meat proteins set as they cook, giving the cake its firm, sliceable body.
- Ham
- Contributes savoury, salty flavour and some fat that keeps the cooked meat tender.
- Egg yolks
- Their proteins set on cooking, helping bind the layers together.
- Stock
- Adds moisture and flavour during steaming, and its gelatin helps the cake hold together as it cools.
The step that matters
Letting it cool before turning out. As the cooked stock cools, its gelatin and the set proteins firm up, so the cake holds its shape when released from the mold.
“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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