Why it works: Vinegar and sherry work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 660 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓
Aspic Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the aspic
Heat the stock to boiling.
Stir in the soaked gelatine and bring to a boil.
Add the vinegar and cook for 1 minute.
Strain the mixture through a thick bag without squeezing.
Add the sherry and let it cool until more than blood-warm.
Serve
Pour the mixture over the tongue.
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.
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Vinegar + sherrytop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together660 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
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Veal + sherrytop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together572 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Veal + vinegartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together948 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatine
- Sets the liquid into a firm, clear jelly as it cools.
- Stock
- Provides the flavour and the clear liquid base that becomes the jelly.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour of the savoury stock.
- Sherry
- Adds aroma and a subtle sweetness to the stock.
The step that matters
Let the mixture cool until more than blood-warm before pouring. Gelatine begins to set as it cools, so pouring too hot can melt or cloud the coating, while pouring too cool risks it setting unevenly on the tongue.
“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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