Why it works: Lemon and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,273 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Calfs-foot Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Clarify the stock
When the stock is cold, remove all the fat with a spoon dipped in hot water.
Wipe the top of the stock with a soft cloth dipped in hot water.
In a saucepan, combine the stock, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice, avoiding the white pith and seeds.
Wash the eggs and add the whites and shells to the stock mixture.
Place the saucepan over heat and whisk until frothy.
Remove the whisk and let the jelly boil.
Move the pan to the side of the fire and cover it, allowing it to sit for 20 minutes.
Strain and finish
Cover the legs of a kitchen chair with a clean, loose linen cloth and secure it.
After 20 minutes, pour boiling water through the cloth 2-3 times, then remove the water.
Place a heated basin under the cloth and pour the jelly into it, replacing the basin as needed until the jelly is clear.
Add the sherry or brandy to the clear jelly.
Set and unmold
Pour the jelly into a mold and let it set in a cool place for about 10 hours, or less if on ice.
To unmold, dip the mold in tepid water and invert it.
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 + sherrytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,273 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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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).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,141 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Stock
- Provides the liquid base and gelatin that sets the jelly.
- Eggs
- Whites and shells collect impurities, so the jelly comes out clear when strained.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the sharpness of the lemon.
- Lemons
- Add acidity and aroma from the zest and juice.
- Sherry or brandy
- Adds aroma and flavour to the finished jelly.
The step that matters
Let the jelly boil only once, then rest it undisturbed before straining. Boiling the egg whites makes them coagulate and trap impurities. Resting the pot off the heat lets them settle, so the strained jelly comes out clear rather than cloudy.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, sherry):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Pineapplefits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, sherry. 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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