Why it works: Tarragon and madeira wine work together. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 45 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Aspic Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the aspic
Boil the consommé with tarragon until reduced to 1 quart.
Remove from heat and add the vinegar or lemon juice and wine if using. If necessary, heat again.
Dissolve the gelatin in warm water and add to the mixture.
Strain and use as a mold for meats and salads, or pour into a shallow pan.
Set and cut
When cold, cut into cubes or diamonds for garnish.
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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Tarragon + madeira winetop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together45 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Clear consommé
- Forms the flavorful liquid base that sets into the aspic.
- Granulated gelatine
- Sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable jelly as it cools.
- Tarragon vinegar or lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor of the clear broth.
The step that matters
Dissolve the gelatin in warm water and add to the mixture. Gelatin must be fully dissolved before it is mixed in, or it can leave grainy specks and set unevenly. The mixture should also be warm enough that the gelatin stays evenly distributed, and it should be strained so the aspic stays clear.
“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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