Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Veal Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the veal
Wipe the veal slices.
Remove bone and skin.
Cut into pieces for serving.
Roll the irregular-shaped pieces and fasten with small wooden skewers.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Dip in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs.
Fry and braise
Fry slowly in salt pork fat or butter until well browned.
Transfer cutlets to a stewpan.
Pour over the Brown Sauce.
Cook slowly on the back of the range for 40 minutes, or until tender.
Serve
Arrange on a hot platter.
Strain the sauce and pour over the cutlets.
Garnish with parsley.
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.
-
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Veal + porktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,930 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
-
Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Pepper + porktop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Forms the main body of the dish, becoming tender through slow cooking in the sauce.
- Flour
- Dry coating that helps the egg and breadcrumbs adhere and promotes browning in the frying fat.
- Egg
- Binding layer that holds the breadcrumb coating to the veal during frying.
- Breadcrumbs
- Crisp outer crust that browns during frying, adding texture to the cutlets.
- Brown sauce
- Liquid that moistens the cutlets and, simmered slowly, turns them tender while flavoring them.
The step that matters
Fry slowly until well browned. Gentle frying lets the breadcrumb coating brown evenly through Maillard browning without burning before the veal cooks, and a well-browned crust gives flavor and color before the long braise.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pepper, flour, egg, pork, sauce):
- Capersfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Sagefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, pepper, flour, egg, pork, sauce. 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.
More veal cutlets recipes
You might also like
Pork Cake107 recipes
Roast Pork82 recipes
Veal Patties50 recipes
Beef, Mutton, or Veal Broth6 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.