Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Wine Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the calf's feet
Chop each calf's foot into four pieces.
Wash the pieces in a basin of clean water.
Place the pieces in a stew-pan and cover with cold water.
Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let sit.
Transfer the pieces to a basin of cold water and wash again.
Empty the stew-pan and wash it well.
Make the stock
Return the pieces to the stew-pan with 5 pints of cold water.
Bring to a boil and skim often.
Let it boil gently for 5 hours.
Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a basin.
Cool the basin in a cool place until the stock sets into a 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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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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 + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Lemon + clovetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,150 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Provide gelatin, which sets the stock into a firm jelly as it cools.
- Lemons
- Add acidity and fresh flavour to balance the sweetness of the jelly.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps give the jelly its body and clear flavour.
- Sherry
- Adds wine-like aroma and flavour to the jelly.
- Brandy
- Adds warmth and aroma while strengthening the jelly's flavour.
The step that matters
Skim often while the stock boils. Foam and impurities rise to the surface during boiling. Skimming them off keeps the stock clear and clean-tasting, so the finished jelly is clear rather than cloudy.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, cinnamon, clove, sherry, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Applefits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, cinnamon, clove, sherry, 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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