Why it works: Pepper and beef 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 Chops
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the veal
Cut veal chops about 1 inch thick.
Flatten them with a rolling pin.
Pour boiling water over the chops and heat for 5 minutes.
Remove and dry the chops.
Rub each chop with salt and pepper.
Coat and cook
Dip each chop into beaten egg, then coat with rolled crackers.
Fry in hot lard or beef drippings, or broil over a clear fire.
For broiling, place chops on a dish with sweet butter and turn them gently in the butter before serving.
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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Pepper + beeftop 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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Beef + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,847 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 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
- Egg
- Acts as a binder so the cracker coating sticks to the chop.
- Rolled crackers
- Form a crumb coating that browns and turns crisp in the heat.
- Lard or beef drippings
- Hot fat conducts heat evenly, browning the coating and adding rich flavor.
- Sweet butter
- Adds fat and richness to the broiled chops and keeps them moist.
The step that matters
Remove and dry the chops. Surface moisture keeps the egg and cracker coating from sticking and makes the chop steam instead of brown. Patting the chops fully dry before coating helps the crust set crisp in the hot fat.
“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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