Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 27,047 recipes mention both. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Veal and Ham Pates
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the filling
Combine the minced veal, minced ham, bread crumbs, salt, cayenne, lemon juice, and ketchup in a bowl.
Moisten the mixture with stock and heat it in a double boiler.
Remove from heat and stir in the beaten egg.
Bake and serve
Turn the mixture into heated pastry cases.
Place in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until the egg is set, about 5 minutes.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
-
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cooked veal
- Forms the main body of the pâté and gives it its meaty texture.
- Cooked ham
- Adds savory flavor and a firmer, more distinct meaty texture to the filling.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture and sets when heated, holding the filling together.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb the stock and juices, helping the filling hold together and stay moist.
The step that matters
Stirring in the beaten egg off the heat. Egg proteins set when heated, so adding it to a very hot mixture can scramble it unevenly. Removing the pan from heat first lets the egg blend smoothly and set evenly in the oven.
“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.
You might also like
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.
Brown Bread461 recipes
Lemon Sauce236 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Bread Omelette60 recipes