Name: Roast Veal
Ingredients: Breast of veal; Salt; Pepper; Butter; Water

Why it works: Veal and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,049 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Roast Veal

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Season the breast of veal with salt and pepper.
Place the veal in a roasting pan and add a few tablespoons of butter.
Pour in enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.

Roast and serve

Roast for about 1.5 to 2 hours, basting occasionally.
Ensure the internal temperature reaches 145°F (63°C) before serving.

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.

Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,049 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together85,593 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Veal + buttertop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,381 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

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

What each ingredient does

Breast of veal: Is the main cut of meat that becomes tender and juicy during slow roasting.
Butter: Adds fat and richness, helping the surface brown and the meat stay moist.

The step that matters

Roast to the right internal temperature. Veal is lean, so overcooking dries it out, while undercooking leaves it unsafe. Checking that the internal temperature reaches 145°F (63°C) rather than relying only on time helps the meat cook evenly and stay juicy.

“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.