Why it works: White pepper and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,695 recipes. Both carry myrcene, which smells balsamic, herbaceous. The science ↓
Rice Scuf
Ingredients
Directions
Make the broth
Boil the neck of veal and lean ham in 4 quarts of water until reduced by half, skimming carefully.
Season the broth with white pepper and 2 blades of mace.
Strain the broth and return it to the pot.
Finish the soup
Add the washed rice and boil until tender.
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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White pepper + macetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,695 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
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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 + ricetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together477 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Mace + ricetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together932 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Veal + macetop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
- Neck of veal
- Gives the broth body and rich meaty flavour as it simmers.
- Lean ham
- Adds savoury, salty depth to the broth.
- Rice
- Thickens the soup as its starch softens and releases into the broth.
The step that matters
Skimming the broth while it reduces. Foam and impurities rise to the surface as meat simmers; removing them keeps the broth clear and free of off flavours.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, ham, mace, rice):
- Nutmegfits better
- Clovefits better
- Celeryfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, ham, mace, rice. 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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