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Aspic, or Clear Savoury-jelly

A clear savory jelly made from veal knuckle, ham, herbs, and spices, clarified and set with egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Eliza Acton · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and carrot are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 21,601 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Aspic, or Clear Savoury-jelly

Ingredients

Directions

Make the stock

  1. Boil a couple of calf's feet, with three or four pounds of knuckle of veal, three quarters of a pound of lean ham, two large onions, three whole carrots, and a large bunch of herbs, in a gallon of water, until it is reduced more than half.

  2. Strain the liquid off.

Clarify the jelly

  1. When perfectly cold, remove every particle of fat and sediment, and put the jelly into a very clean stewpan, with four whites of eggs well beaten.

  2. Keep it stirred until it is nearly boiling.

  3. Then place it by the side of the fire to simmer for a quarter of an hour.

  4. Let it settle, and pour it through a jelly-bag until it is quite clear.

Season

  1. Add, when it first begins to boil, three blades of mace, a teaspoonful of white peppercorns, and sufficient salt to flavour it properly, allowing for the ham, and the reduction.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

389Calories
35 gProtein
20 gFat
17 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 8 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pork100g cooked242
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Vealnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0
Macenot in our table0

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

By Eliza Acton. 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. Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Carrot + macetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,592 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  3. Veal + carrottop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,015 recipes

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

  4. Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,264 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Onion + macetop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together7,078 recipes

    Shared aroma: eugenol (clove, spicy).

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

What each ingredient does

Knuckle of veal
Releases gelatin from bones and connective tissue, giving the stock its body when it sets.
Four whites of eggs
Egg whites coagulate and trap cloudy particles, clarifying the jelly as it is heated.
Lean ham
Adds savoury, meaty flavour to the stock.
Two large onions
Contribute savoury sweetness and depth to the stock.
Three whole carrots
Add mild sweetness and background flavour to the stock.

The step that matters

Clarifying the jelly with egg whites. Stir gently until nearly boiling, then let it simmer undisturbed. Vigorous boiling or stirring after the whites set breaks up the raft that traps impurities, leaving the aspic cloudy.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, ham, onion, carrot, egg):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Celeryfits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, ham, onion, carrot, egg. 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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