Why it works: Tarragon and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,137 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Savoury Aspic
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare a good clear broth in the style of giblet broth.
Dissolve 1 ounce of gelatin in the broth.
Clarify the broth with meat, adding tarragon and wine.
Adjust acidity with lemon juice or vinegar, but avoid excessive acidity.
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 + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,137 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatine
- Sets the broth into a firm, trembling jelly as it cools.
- Clear broth
- Forms the savory base that the gelatine sets into a jelly.
- Chablis, sauterne, or marsala
- Adds wine flavor and aroma to the clarified broth.
- Fresh tarragon
- Contributes a fresh, anise-like aroma to the aspic.
The step that matters
Adjust acidity with lemon juice or vinegar, but avoid excessive acidity.. Acid brightens flavor, but too much can weaken gelatine's setting strength and make the aspic taste sharp and dominate the dish.
“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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