Why it works: Veal and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,784 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Pot-au-Feu
Ingredients
Directions
Make the broth
Simmer the calf's foot, salt, and savory herbs in water for 5 to 6 hours.
Pour the broth over fresh meat instead of water to make a consomme or strong jellied stock.
Add additional beef and glaze to convert the broth into an amber-colored gravy-soup.
Add the soaked and cleaned ham to the pot when first adding water, and boil for 3.5 to 4 hours.
Finish and serve
Truss and stew poultry, pigeons, or game in the broth until tender, then serve with a good sauce.
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 + beeftop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,784 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Meat + beeftop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,533 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Meat + hamtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Beef + hamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,729 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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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
- Calf's foot
- Adds gelatin, which gives the broth body and a jellied set when chilled.
- Fresh meat
- Releases flavor and gelatin into the broth, deepening its richness and strength.
- Glaze
- Adds concentrated meat flavor and rich amber color to the finished gravy-soup.
- Ham
- Contributes smoky, savory flavor to the broth during the long simmer.
The step that matters
Pour the broth over fresh meat instead of water. Using broth rather than water concentrates flavor and gelatin. Starting with a clear, well-simmered broth helps the result turn out as a clear consommé rather than a cloudy stock.
“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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