Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Veal Loaf
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.
Prepare
Grind the veal and smoked ham through a meat chopper, removing all shreds.
In a bowl, combine the ground meat with bread crumbs, butter, beaten eggs, salt, and mixed seasoning.
Mold the mixture into a loaf shape.
Bake
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 2 hours, basting when there is enough liquid in the pan.
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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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Ham + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,475 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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 loaf, giving it its meaty structure and texture.
- Smoked ham
- Adds smoky, savory flavor and some fat to the mixture.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture and help the loaf hold together and stay tender.
- Butter
- Adds fat for moisture and richness, keeping the loaf from drying out.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture, setting as it bakes to hold the loaf's shape.
The step that matters
Basting the loaf. Basting only when there is enough liquid in the pan matters because adding fat or juices too early can make the loaf greasy, while letting the pan run dry can dry out the meat. Check the pan before each basting.
“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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