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Aspic

Aspic is a clear gelatinous dish made from veal, egg whites, wine, lemon juice, and spring water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: White wine and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,832 recipes. Both carry myrcene, which smells balsamic, herbaceous. The science ↓

Aspic

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Boil the aspic in a large stewpan, skimming off any scum for 10 minutes.

  2. Allow the aspic to cool slightly.

Clarify

  1. In a separate stewpan, mix the egg whites, veal, wine, and a little spring water until well combined.

  2. Add this mixture to the aspic and whisk over heat until the eggs begin to coagulate.

  3. Stir in the lemon juice mixed with a little spring water.

  4. Cover the stewpan and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.

  5. Strain the mixture through a flannel jelly-bag until bright and clear.

Set

  1. Pour the aspic into deep pans and refrigerate until firm.

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. White wine + lemontop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,832 recipes

    Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

  2. Veal + lemontop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together44,316 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

  4. Veal + white winetop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together666 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  5. Veal + eggtop 28% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,845 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Egg and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 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

Egg whites
Coagulate as they heat, trapping cloudy particles so the aspic can be strained clear.
Veal
Adds meaty flavour and body, and its protein helps collect impurities during clarifying.
White wine
Adds flavour and aroma and contributes acidity to the finished aspic.
Lemon juice
Adds sharp acidity and brightness to balance the savoury flavour.

The step that matters

Whisk until the egg whites just begin to coagulate, then keep the liquid below a boil. As the egg whites set, they form a raft that traps cloudy particles. Vigorous boiling breaks up the raft and leaves the aspic cloudy, so it will not strain clear.

“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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