Why it works: Lemon and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,950 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Jellies and Jams
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the stock
Wash the calf's feet well.
Slit them in the middle, removing the fat.
Wash them again in lukewarm water.
Place them in a stewpan covered with water.
Bring to a boil.
Skim the surface.
Let simmer gently for 6-7 hours until reduced to about 2 quarts.
Strain the liquid through a sieve.
Let it cool, removing all fat and oily substance.
Make the jelly
Combine the strained liquid with sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, egg whites and shells, white wine, and cinnamon in a stewpan.
Whisk until boiling.
Let simmer for 15 minutes.
Strain through a jelly bag.
Return the first strained liquid back for clarity.
If it's cold, keep the jelly bag near a fire or warm source.
Ensure the jelly bag is clean to avoid tainting the jelly.
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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Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Lemon + white winetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,832 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
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Sugar + lemontop 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).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Calf's feet
- Release gelatin during long simmering, which sets the liquid into a firm jelly when cooled.
- Egg whites and shells
- Bind and clarify the liquid, collecting fine particles so the jelly runs clear.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps give the jelly its body.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the sweetness.
- White wine
- Adds acidity and aroma to the finished jelly.
The step that matters
Removing all fat and oily substance after cooling. Fat left in the liquid stays in the jelly, making it cloudy and greasy. Chilling lets fat rise and solidify on the surface so it can be lifted away.
Swap the cinnamon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, lemon, egg, white wine):
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Cinnamonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, lemon, egg, white wine. 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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