High-quality veal When the calf has been fed exclusively on its mother's milk (the most ancient and natural method), it gives a very pale pink meat smelling of milk, with satiny white fat having no tinge of red (which would indicate that the animal had eaten cereals or grass). In certain regions, including Normandy, the calf used to be "finished" for the market by giving it up to ten eggs per daily, the yolks of which coloured its mouth: it was then said to have a palais royal (royal palate). According to L'Art culinaire, published at the beginning of the 20th century: "The calf of the Seine valley, or river calf, so esteemed for the whiteness of its meat, is the product of special breeding. Its diet ... consists only of milk and raw eggs, sometimes barley flour mixed with milk and échaudés." The Pontoise calf, also fed on biscuits soaked in milk, had an equally high reputation. today the best localities for veal include Corrèze and Lot-et-Garonne, where the calves are raised au pis (on the udder) and their delicately grained flesh is slightly pink.

When the meat is reddish, or greyish white and rather soft and damp with thick shiny tendons, the animal has been fed not with its mother's milk but with reconstituted milk; at the worst, it may have received hormone treatment (totally prohibited since 1976); its meat, of mediocre quality, cooks badly, gives off water and reduces in volume, whereas "white" or "pink" veal remains moist and does not dry out. Amoung the best products of French breeding is the Saint-Étienne calf (not weaned, but fed supplements of protein rich flours), whose pink meat is very tender, as well as the Lyon calf (weaned and intensively fattened indoors), which provides roasting and grilling (broiling) joints of excellent flavour. The Limousin milk calf, raised exclusively at the udder, is the only one to have been awarded the seal of approval. the label rouge.

Calf's offal is the most prized animal offal, particularly the liver, sweetbreads, kidneys and spinal marrow, but the head, brains, tongue, feet and mesentery are also valued. Calf's foot is used to prepare stocks, stews and braised dishes.

The energy value of veal, the least fat of meats, is 160 to 190 Cal per 100 g with 19 g protein and 9 to 12 g fats; it is also the meat richest in iron (2.9 mg) and phosphorus (205 mg).

The best known classic veal dishes are fried escalopes, fried or cassroled grenadins (small thick fillet steaks) and chops, stuffed paupiettes (called oiseaux sans tête), roast joints, fricandeaux, braised tendrons (cut from the breast), blanquettes ans sautés. Garnishes often call for pronounced flavours: fricandeau with sorrel, Foyot veal chops with onion, rump of veal à l'angeveon accompanied by Soubise purée and loin of veal stuffed with mushrooms. Aubergines (eggplants), tomatoes, or spinach go equally well with this meat, which is often prepared with cream, wine and spirits, or cheese: veal chop vallée d'Auge (with cream and Calvados) or à la Dreux (larded with ox tongue, fat bacon and truffle, simmered in Madeira); veal steamed in red wine; Lorraine veal with pork rind (sliced almost through, interleaved with the pork rind and simmered with marc brandy); escalopes Franche-Comté (browned, then cooked au gratin with Franche-Comté cheese and cream); etc. In the past, famous recipes were perfected for this "chameleon of cooking", as Grimod de la Reynière called it, notably stuffed breast if veal, cutlets en surprise, brésolles, saddle of veal Orloff, feuilleton and veal sauté Marengo. Regional dishes are equally numerous, particularly for veal offal: casse of Rennes, veal mesentery au gratin, tripous (a tripe dish), calf's head Sainte-Menehould and calf's lung bourguignon.