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Soup

Pate-LA-foie-gras

A soup of strong bouillon with foie gras, gelatin, and seasonings, served chilled.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Margaret Brown · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Pate-LA-foie-gras

Ingredients

Directions

Make the broth

  1. Make a soup of strong bouillon.

  2. Let it boil for two hours.

  3. Add a few sprigs of thyme, one sprig of onion, and a small bunch of celery tops.

  4. When done, let it cool and skim off the grease.

Clarify and season

  1. For each 1/2 pint jar of pâté‑la‑foie‑gras, mix in three pints of bouillon.

  2. Melt a half box of gelatin in a teacup of bouillon.

  3. Beat the white of one egg and two egg‑shells in the bouillon while it is cool.

  4. Stir the melted gelatin until it begins to boil, about ten minutes.

  5. Add pepper and salt.

  6. After boiling about ten minutes, strain through a flannel bag.

  7. Put the mixture on ice, but do not let it get very cold.

Layer and set in mould

  1. In a jelly mould, pour a layer of jelly.

  2. Cut mushrooms into stars and half‑moons and lay them on the jelly layer.

  3. Place a slice of pâté‑la‑foie‑gras on top.

  4. Add another layer of jelly.

  5. Cut truffles into small pieces shaped like flowers or diamonds and lay them on the jelly layers.

  6. Continue layering until the mould is filled.

  7. Put the mould on ice.

  8. Garnish to fancy.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

90Calories
7 gProtein
5 gFat
3 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
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 Margaret Brown. 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. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

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

  2. Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together50,580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Celery + eggtop 34% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,334 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

Egg and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 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

Pâté de foie gras
Provides the rich, buttery flavour that defines the soup and the layered slice.
Gelatin
Sets the clear broth into a firm jelly that holds the layers together.
Egg white and shells
Clarify the broth, collecting particles so it strains clear.

The step that matters

Keeping the mixture cool before layering. If the jelly is too warm, the garnishes sink or float and the layers blend; if it gets too cold, it sets before it can be poured. Gelatin needs to be just fluid and cool enough to hold the mushrooms and truffles in place.

Swap the celery

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

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Dillfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against 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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