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Quenelle Forcemeat

A forcemeat mixture of meat pulp, panada, butter, eggs, cream, and spices, used like cream forcemeat.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mary Ronald · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Quenelle Forcemeat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the forcemeat

  1. Rub the meat-pulp through a sieve.

  2. Add the panada, butter, yolks of the eggs, salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg.

  3. Stir well together and pass the mixture again through the sieve.

Finish and test

  1. Place the mixture on ice and slowly add the cream.

  2. Test the consistency by poaching a small piece.

  3. Use the forcemeat as you would cream forcemeat (white sauce or tomato puree may substitute for cream).

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

249Calories
7 gProtein
23 gFat
4 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Mary Ronald. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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.

  1. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,920 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  4. Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together24,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Meat + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,594 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Meat-pulp
Forms the main body of the forcemeat, giving it a firm, sliceable structure once cooked.
Panada
Starch-based binder that helps hold the forcemeat together and keeps it tender.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smoother, more tender texture.
Cream
Adds moisture and lightness, loosening the mixture to a delicate, spreadable texture.
Eggs
Yolks bind the mixture and help it set when poached or cooked.

The step that matters

Adding the cream slowly on ice. Keeping the mixture very cold while adding cream helps the emulsion stay stable; if it warms or the cream goes in too fast, the forcemeat can break and become loose or greasy.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, butter, cream, egg, pepper):

  1. Nutmegthe original
  2. Parsleyfits about as well
  3. Tarragonfits less well
  4. Thymefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, butter, cream, egg, 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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