Skip to main content
Main

Salpicon of Eggs in Casseroles, Patty-shells, Etc

A chilled egg mixture served in molds and sliced, often accompanied by sauces.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Salpicon of Eggs in Casseroles, Patty-shells, Etc

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the custard

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Beat the egg whites and yolks separately until well broken up.

  3. Add the cream, chicken broth, salt, and pepper to the eggs and mix well.

  4. Strain the mixture into two well-buttered molds, one for yolks and one for whites.

Poach and cut

  1. Poach in the oven until the centers are firm.

  2. Let cool, then unmold and cut into thin slices, stamping out figures.

Reheat and serve

  1. Reheat the slices with truffles and smoked tongue in a Bechamel, velouté, or supreme sauce.

  2. Serve in patty shells, Swedish timbale cases, cocottes, china, or paper cases.

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. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

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

  2. Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,902 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  3. Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,958 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

  4. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg whites
Set into a firm, sliceable structure when heated, holding the shape of the salpicon.
Egg yolks
Set into a firm, sliceable structure when heated, giving a richer color and flavor contrast.
Thin cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the set eggs tender rather than rubbery.
Chicken broth
Adds savory flavor and moisture to the egg mixture before it sets.

The step that matters

Poach in the oven until the centers are firm. Egg proteins set gradually as they heat, and overheating makes them tough, watery, or pocked. Stopping when the centers are just firm keeps the custard tender and sliceable.

“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.

You might also like

Chicken BrothChicken Broth257 recipesChicken SoupChicken Soup156 recipesCreamed ChickenCreamed Chicken89 recipesChicken PanadaChicken Panada75 recipes