Name: Consomme Divette
Ingredients: 4 baba-moulds of royale made from crayfish velouté; 36 small quenelles of whiting forcemeat; 1 tablespoon small pearls of truffle; 2 quarts clear boiling consomme; 1 mould of ham royale; 6 small cocks' kidneys; 2 tablespoons poached tapioca

Why it works: Crayfish and whiting work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Consomme Divette

Ingredients

4 baba-moulds of royale made from crayfish velouté
36 small quenelles of whiting forcemeat
1 tablespoon small pearls of truffle
2 quarts clear boiling consomme
1 mould of ham royale
6 small cocks' kidneys
2 tablespoons poached tapioca

Directions

Prepare the garnish

Prepare four baba-molds of royale using crayfish velouté.
Shape thirty-six small quenelles from whiting forcemeat.
Add one tablespoon of small truffle pearls.
Prepare one mould of ham royale and poach it in a well-buttered Charlotte mould.
Once cold, cut the ham royale into large lozenges and add to the soup tureen with six sliced cocks' kidneys.

Assemble and serve

Cut the royale into oval slices and place them in the soup with the quenelles and truffle pearls.
Pour two quarts of very clear, boiling consommé over the garnish.
Before serving, pour one quart of consommé thickened slightly with two tablespoons of poached tapioca over the garnish.

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.

Crayfish + whitingtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Truffle + hamtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together516 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Crayfish + truffletop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together129 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Crayfish + hamtop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together20 recipes

Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).
Whiting + truffletop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together59 recipes

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

What each ingredient does

Crayfish velouté: Forms the set royale custard, giving the garnish a firm, smooth texture.
Whiting forcemeat: Gives the quenelles a light, delicate body that holds its shape in hot soup.
Poached tapioca: Thickens the consommé slightly, giving it a fuller body without clouding it.
Cocks' kidneys: Adds a tender, meaty texture to the garnish.

The step that matters

Pouring the boiling consommé over the garnish. The consommé must be very clear and boiling so it heats the garnish through without clouding. Pouring carelessly can break the delicate royale and quenelles or disturb the clarity of the soup.

“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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Consomme Divette