Name: Veal Pates
Ingredients: 3 cups cold veal, finely chopped; ½ cup cream; 1 egg, beaten; ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt; 1 teaspoon sweet marjoram; ¼ teaspoon powdered mace; 1 cup breadcrumbs; butter for frying

Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Veal Pates

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

In a bowl, combine the chopped veal, cream, beaten egg, salt, marjoram, and mace. Mix well and shape the mixture into cones or patty-cakes using your hands.
Roll each shaped patty in breadcrumbs.

Cook

Fry the patties in a buttered pan or bake them in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden brown.

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.

Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Marjoram + macetop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together767 recipes

Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Veal + marjoramtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together525 recipes

Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
Veal + macetop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,761 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

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

What each ingredient does

Veal: Forms the main body of the patties and gives them their meaty flavor.
Egg: Binds the mixture so the patties hold their shape when cooked.
Cream: Adds moisture so the patties stay tender rather than dry.
Breadcrumbs: Form a crisp, golden coating that browns during frying or baking.