Why it works: Onion and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,518 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
White Stock
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stock
In a large pot, combine the veal, bacon or ham, and cold water.
Add the chopped onions and celery.
Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until nearly done.
Add coarse sea salt to taste and cook for an additional hour.
Strain and skim
Strain the stock and let it cool.
Once cooled, remove the fat from the surface and the stock is ready to use.
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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Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Veal + oniontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,841 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Ham + oniontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,159 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Veal + celerytop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,336 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal knuckle
- Releases gelatin and collagen that give the stock body and a silky mouthfeel.
- Bacon or ham
- Adds savory, smoky depth to the stock's overall flavor.
- Onions
- Contribute sweetness and aromatic flavor as they cook slowly in the liquid.
- Celery
- Adds a fresh, vegetal aroma that rounds out the stock's flavor.
The step that matters
Simmer gently rather than boil. A gentle simmer extracts flavor and gelatin while keeping the stock clear. A rolling boil emulsifies fat into the liquid and makes it cloudy and greasy.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, ham, onion):
- Garlicfits about as well
- Celerythe original
- Capersfits about as well
- Thymefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, ham, onion. 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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