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Aspic Jelly

Aspic jelly is a savory gelatin made from veal or beef stock, eggs, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and tarragon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 548 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Aspic Jelly

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the gelatine

  1. Soak the gelatine in water until softened, then strain off the water.

  2. In a basin, combine the gelatine with the strong stock.

Clarify and cook

  1. Whisk the egg whites and shells with the whole egg in a clean saucepan.

  2. Add the white peppercorns, bouquet garni, tarragon vinegar, and common vinegar to the eggs.

  3. Whisk until the eggs froth slightly, then add the stock and gelatine mixture.

  4. Season with salt and white pepper if necessary.

  5. Place over low heat, whisking until it reaches a boil.

  6. Let it simmer, then set aside until clear.

Strain and cool

  1. Strain into a basin and allow to cool before using.

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. Clove + tarragontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together548 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Tarragon + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,547 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Garlic + tarragontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together884 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Garlic + vinegartop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,115 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

What each ingredient does

Gelatine
Sets the stock into a firm, wobbly jelly as it cools.
Strong stock
Provides the meaty flavour and body that the gelatine sets.
Egg whites and shells
Collect fine particles as they cook, helping to clarify the stock.
Tarragon vinegar
Adds a light acidity that brightens the flavour of the stock.

The step that matters

Whisking the stock to a boil. Whisking while the mixture heats keeps the egg whites from setting in lumps, so they can gather impurities. Once the mixture is boiling, stop whisking and let it simmer gently, because vigorous boiling can break up the clarifying raft and leave the aspic cloudy.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, egg, clove, garlic, tarragon, vinegar):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Marjoramfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, egg, clove, garlic, tarragon, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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