Why it works: Sherry and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,209 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Dutch Flummery
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
Combine water, isinglass, and lemon rind in a lined saucepan.
Simmer gently until isinglass dissolves.
Strain the mixture into a basin.
Thicken and flavour
Stir in well-beaten eggs, strained lemon juice, and wine.
Sweeten to taste with pounded sugar and mix well.
Pour the mixture into a jug.
Place the jug in a saucepan of boiling water.
Stir continuously until it thickens, ensuring it does not boil.
Stir in brandy just before pouring into the mold.
Set and serve
Strain into an oiled or water-prepared mold.
Let it set in a cool place.
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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Sherry + brandytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,209 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Lemon + sherrytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,273 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Isinglass
- Dissolves to form a gel that sets the flummery as it cools.
- Eggs
- Thicken the mixture gently when heated and add richness and body.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sweetness and balances the wine.
- Sherry, madeira, or raisin wine
- Adds flavour and aroma, and a mild acidity to the set dessert.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dish and balances the acidity of the lemon and wine.
The step that matters
Stir continuously over simmering water without boiling. Egg proteins set into a smooth custard when heated gently; if the mixture boils, the eggs can curdle and the texture turns grainy.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sherry, sugar, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sherry, sugar, brandy. 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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