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 ↓
Rolled Veal
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Bone the breast of veal and spread veal forcemeat over the inside.
Sprinkle the forcemeat with the chopped pickled gherkin.
Place the slice of ham over the gherkin.
Roll the veal tightly and tie it with string to hold it together.
Cook and serve
Put the rolled veal in a stewpan, cover with stock, and simmer gently for three hours.
Serve cold.
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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Breast of veal
- Forms the main body of the roll and carries the filling.
- Veal forcemeat
- Adds a soft, moist layer that binds around the filling.
- Ham
- Adds a salty, savoury layer that contrasts with the mild veal.
- Pickled gherkin
- Adds sharp acidity that cuts through the richness of the meat.
The step that matters
Roll the veal tightly and tie it with string. A loose roll can open or leave gaps during the long simmer, letting filling escape and the slices fall apart when cut cold. Tight rolling and firm tying keep the layers together as the meat softens.
“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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