Why it works: Carrot and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,555 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Veal, Stuffed and Stewed Shoulder of
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the veal
Bone the shoulder of veal by carefully detaching the meat from the blade-bone without piercing the skin.
Cut the bone from the knuckle and remove it.
Fill the cavity where the bone was with forcemeat.
Roll and bind the veal tightly.
Stew
Place the stuffed veal in a pot with the carrots, onions, seasoning, herbs, and mace.
Add enough water to cover the veal.
Simmer gently for about 5 hours.
Check doneness by inserting a larding needle; it should penetrate easily.
Finish the gravy
Strain and skim the gravy.
Thicken the gravy with butter and flour.
Bring the gravy to a boil.
Pour the gravy around the meat.
Garnish with boiled young carrots and green peas if in season.
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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Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Carrot + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,029 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal shoulder
- Provides the meat that becomes tender and juicy during long, gentle simmering.
- Forcemeat
- Fills the cavity left by the bone, adding moisture and a seasoned, savory center.
- Butter and flour
- Form a roux that thickens the strained cooking liquid into a smooth gravy.
- Onions
- Release sweetness and aromatic flavor into the cooking liquid as they stew.
The step that matters
Simmer gently for about 5 hours. A gentle simmer breaks down connective tissue slowly, making the veal tender. Boiling vigorously toughens the meat fibers and can dry the exterior, so keep the liquid barely moving.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, ham, carrot, onion, pepper, butter, flour):
- Parsleyfits better
- Celeryfits better
- Thymefits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, ham, carrot, onion, pepper, butter, flour. 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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