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Soup

Consomme Economique

A clear soup made from veal knuckle, calves' feet or cow‑heel, poultry remains, water, carrot, onion, and cloves.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,873 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Consomme Economique

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. In a stewpan, combine the knuckle of veal, calves' feet or cow-heel, and poultry remains.

  2. Add enough water to moisten the ingredients.

Simmer and strain

  1. Bring to a boil and skim off any impurities.

  2. Season to taste, then add the carrot, onion, and cloves.

  3. Let it stew until fully cooked, then strain through a fine sieve.

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. Carrot + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,873 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + clovetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together16,901 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  4. Veal + carrottop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,015 recipes

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

  5. Veal + oniontop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,841 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Veal knuckle
Adds body and gelatin-rich richness to the broth as it simmers.
Calves' feet or cow-heel
Releases collagen that gives the consommé a silky, full-bodied texture.
Poultry remains
Contributes savory poultry flavor to the stock.
Carrot
Adds subtle sweetness and aromatic depth to the broth.
Onion
Contributes savory aroma and mellow sweetness as it cooks.

The step that matters

Skim off any impurities after bringing to a boil. Once the liquid boils, proteins and fats rise to the surface as scum. Removing them early keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting instead of cloudy and greasy.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, carrot, onion):

  1. Celeryfits better
  2. Parsleyfits better
  3. Cuminfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, carrot, 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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