Why it works: Onion and carrot are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 21,601 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Aspic, or Clear Savoury-jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the calf's feet, veal, ham, onions, carrots, and herbs in a gallon of water.
Reduce the mixture by more than half.
Strain the liquid to remove solids.
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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Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Veal + carrottop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Veal + oniontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,841 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Ham + oniontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,159 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Calf's feet
- Release gelatin into the liquid, which lets the finished stock set into a firm jelly.
- Knuckle of veal
- Adds collagen and body, contributing to the stock's richness and gelling strength.
- Lean ham
- Adds savory, salty flavor to the stock.
- Onions
- Add aromatic sweetness and depth to the stock.
- Carrots
- Add gentle sweetness and aroma to the stock.
The step that matters
Reduce the mixture by more than half. Reducing concentrates the gelatin and flavor from the bones and meat. If the liquid is too thin, the aspic may fail to set firmly.
Swap the carrot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, ham, onion):
- Leekfits about as well
- Carrotthe original
- Potatofits about as well
- Mustardfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, ham, onion. 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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