Why it works: Sugar and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 30,777 recipes mention both. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
How to Make Calf's-feet Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stock
Boil two calf's feet in two quarts of water very gently for at least two hours.
At the end of this time, the liquid will have boiled down to one half of its original quantity.
Strain the liquid into a pan and leave to cool until the next day.
Scrape and wash off all grease from the cooled stock.
Dab a clean cloth over the surface to absorb any remaining grease.
Make the jelly
Put the calf's-foot stock or broth into a very clean saucepan.
Add three ounces of lump sugar, a bit of lemon peel, the juice of a lemon, a little bruised cinnamon, and half a pint of white wine.
Boil all together for ten minutes.
Skim the surface.
Strain through a doubled piece of muslin into a basin.
Set the jelly in a very cold place to cool and become firm.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together30,777 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
White wine + cinnamontop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together546 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Sugar + white winetop 19% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together2,382 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and cinnamon share little aroma chemistry, yet 30,777 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Calf's feet
- Release gelatin into the water during long gentle simmering, which sets the jelly when cooled.
- Lump sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the savoury stock flavour.
- White wine
- Adds acidity and aroma to the finished jelly.
- Lemon juice (in the method)
- Adds acidity and brightness that cut the richness of the stock.
The step that matters
Skimming and straining the grease. Fat left in the stock floats and makes the jelly greasy and cloudy. Chilling lets the fat solidify on top so it can be scraped off, and muslin catches remaining particles for a clear set.
“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.
You might also like
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipes
Cinnamon Cake42 recipes
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.