Why it works: Egg and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Veal Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut veal into nice pieces and season with salt and pepper.
Dip each piece in beaten egg, then coat with cracker crumbs.
Cook and serve
Heat butter and lard in a pan until hot.
Add the coated veal cutlets and cook slowly until browned on both sides.
Serve with rich brown gravy.
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.
-
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Veal + buttertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,381 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Veal + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,845 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
- Veal cutlets
- Forms the main protein that is cooked and browned in the pan.
- Egg
- Binds the cracker crumbs to the veal so the coating adheres during cooking.
- Cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned coating on the outside of the cutlets.
- Butter
- Adds flavour and helps the coating brown in the pan.
- Lard
- Adds fat for frying, which conducts heat evenly and promotes browning.
The step that matters
Cook slowly until browned on both sides. Cooking over gentle heat lets the coating brown evenly without scorching before the veal cooks through. Too much heat burns the crumbs while the centre stays underdone.
“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
Veal Patties50 recipes
Beef, Mutton, or Veal Broth6 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 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.