Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
To Pickle and Dress a Tongue to Eat Cold
Ingredients
Directions
Cure
Lay the tongue for a fortnight in the pickle, turning it every day and ensuring the spices are well pounded.
Put the tongue into a small pan just large enough to hold it.
Bake and shape
Place some pieces of butter on the tongue.
Cover the tongue with a common crust.
Bake in a slow oven until so tender that a straw would penetrate it.
Take off the skin.
Fasten the tongue down to a piece of board by running a fork through the root and another through the tip, straightening it and putting it into shape.
Finish and serve
When cold, glaze the tongue.
Put a paper ruche round the root, which is generally very unsightly.
Garnish with tufts of parsley.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Clove | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 7 |
| Allspice | 1 tsp ground (1.9g) | 5 |
| Mace | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Clove + macetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,400 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Mace + allspicetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,189 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tongue (in the method)
- Is the main meat, which the pickle cure penetrates and softens during the long soak.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds richness and moisture to the tongue as it bakes under the crust.
- Cloves
- Contribute warm aromatic flavour to the pickle that the tongue absorbs during curing.
- Mace
- Contributes a warm, delicate aroma to the pickle that the tongue absorbs during curing.
- Allspice
- Contributes warm, peppery aroma to the pickle that the tongue absorbs during curing.
The step that matters
Bake in a slow oven until tender. Tongue is a tough muscle rich in connective tissue. A slow, gentle oven lets that tissue break down into gelatin and soften, while a fast oven would toughen and dry the meat. Test for tenderness with a straw rather than by time.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clove, allspice):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against clove, allspice. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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