Why it works: Beef and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Veal Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a rather hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the filling
Wash the veal shank and cover it with boiling water, adding a few strips of fat beef or pork.
Cook slowly until the veal is tender and ready to fall from the bones.
When cool, remove the bones and cut the meat into pieces no larger than 2 inches.
Return the meat to the cooking liquid, adding enough water to create a juicy stew.
Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, and thicken slightly with flour.
Assemble and bake
Line a baking pan with dough about ½ inch thick, pour in the meat mixture.
Roll out the top crust, cut 4 holes for steam escape, and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 to 30 minutes.
Serve in the dish in which it was baked.
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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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Veal + beeftop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,784 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Beef + flourtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,677 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Beef and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,677 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 shank
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender and gelatinous during slow cooking.
- Strips of fat beef or pork
- Adds richness and moisture to the cooking liquid and the meat.
- Flour
- Thickens the cooking liquid into a slightly thick stew-like sauce.
- Dough
- Forms the crust that encloses the filling and bakes to a golden, sturdy shell.
The step that matters
Thicken the stew before filling. Flour needs to come to a boil to thicken fully. If the filling stays thin, it will run out of the crust and leave the pie soggy.
“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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