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Mock Terrapin Stew

A hearty stew made with calf's head, eggs, butter, sherry, brandy, sweet cream, and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Sherry and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,209 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Mock Terrapin Stew

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the head

  1. Boil the calf's head and pick the meat into small pieces, using the brains as well.

Make the stew

  1. Rub half the butter into a cream and mash the yolks of nine eggs.

  2. Stir in the spices and cook on the stove until it boils.

  3. Pour in the cream, then add the brandy and sherry.

  4. Once it boils, add the remaining butter mixed with the flour.

  5. Add the calf's head pieces, the whites of the eggs, and three chopped yolks.

Rest and reheat

  1. Let the stew rest for a few days and reheat when needed.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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. Sherry + brandytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,209 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Summer savory + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together671 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

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

  4. Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,505 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,127 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Butter
Adds richness and a silky texture to the stew.
Eggs
Yolks enrich and thicken the stew while whites add body.
Sweet cream
Adds moisture and richness, softening the stew's texture.
Sherry
Adds acidity and depth of flavour to the stew.
Flour
Thickens the butter and cream mixture into a smoother body.

The step that matters

Adding the butter and flour once the liquid boils. Flour needs to be cooked in hot liquid to thicken fully and lose its raw taste. Adding it too early or without mixing it smoothly with butter can cause lumps.

Swap the summer savory

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

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Clovefits better
  4. Summer savorythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, sherry, brandy, cream, mace, 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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