Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Invalid's Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and simmer
Soak the shanks in plenty of water for some hours, and scrub them well.
Put them, with the beef and other ingredients, into a saucepan with the water, and let them simmer very gently for 5 hours.
Strain and serve
Strain the broth, and, when cold, take off all the fat.
It may be eaten either warmed up or cold as a jelly.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 6 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Mutton | not in our table | 0 |
| 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.
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Mace + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,257 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,442 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Mace + oniontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,078 recipes
Shared aroma: eugenol (clove, spicy).
-
Mutton + oniontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,531 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Mace and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 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
- Mutton shanks
- Their collagen breaks down into gelatin during long simmering, which lets the broth set as a jelly.
- Onion
- Softens and sweetens during simmering, adding savoury depth to the broth.
- Sweet herbs
- Release aromatic oils into the broth, giving it a fragrant herbal flavour.
- Mace
- Adds a warm, aromatic spice note that rounds out the broth's flavour.
The step that matters
Simmer very gently for 5 hours. Boiling vigorously agitates the liquid, which can make the broth cloudy and emulsify fat into it. A slow simmer lets collagen dissolve into gelatin while keeping the broth clear and easy to skim.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, onion, pepper):
- Garlicfits better
- Cuminfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, onion, pepper. 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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