Why it works: Tarragon and chervil match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 824 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Aspic Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the aspic
Boil a handful of tarragon and chervil in vinegar until the flavor is strong.
Add jelly of white meat or poultry.
Season to taste.
Clarify the mixture.
Stir in the whisked egg whites over heat.
Continue stirring until the mixture becomes white and near boiling.
Cover the mixture.
Set aside to clarify on the stove or by the fire.
Strain and set
Strain through a jelly bag with sweet jelly.
If the jelly is not stiff enough when cold, add more calf's foot stock.
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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Tarragon + cherviltop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together824 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Chervil + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together620 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
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Tarragon + eggtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,789 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
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Meat + eggtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,432 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Tarragon + meattop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together184 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Whites of 4 or 5 eggs
- Whisked whites rise through the warm liquid and trap impurities, clarifying it into a clear jelly.
- Jelly of white meat or poultry
- Provides gelatin so the liquid sets firm when cold.
- Calf's foot stock
- Adds extra gelatin to firm up the jelly if it sets too soft.
The step that matters
Continue stirring until the mixture becomes white and near boiling. Egg whites must be stirred in evenly over heat so they coagulate and collect impurities. If the mixture is stirred too little or boils hard, the whites can scramble and cloud the jelly instead of clarifying it.
“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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