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Aspic Jelly

A savory gelatin made from brown stock, gelatin, spices, vinegar, sherry, and egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and tarragon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,563 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Aspic Jelly

Ingredients

Directions

Clarify the stock

  1. Remove all fat from the stock and place it in a saucepan with the gelatin, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaf, parsley, and both vinegars.

  2. Heat gently until the gelatin dissolves, being careful not to overheat.

  3. Beat the egg whites with 1 tablespoon of cold water and add to the mixture.

  4. Whisk the jelly briskly over the heat until it just begins to boil, then remove from heat.

  5. Simmer slowly for 10 minutes.

Strain and finish

  1. Pour boiling water through a jelly bag, then strain the jelly.

  2. Do not press the jelly bag or try to hasten the straining process to avoid cloudiness.

  3. Add the sherry, and the jelly is ready for use.

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. Parsley + tarragontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Clove + tarragontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together548 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Clove + parsleytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,768 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Vinegar + tarragontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,547 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Vinegar + sherrytop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together660 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

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

What each ingredient does

Brown stock
Forms the flavourful liquid base that the gelatin sets into a jelly.
Leaf gelatin
Sets the stock into a firm, sliceable jelly as it cools.
Egg whites
Collect fine particles as they cook, so they can be strained out for a clear jelly.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the flavour of the rich stock.
Sherry
Adds aroma and a mellow sweetness to the finished jelly.

The step that matters

Straining without pressing the jelly bag. Pressing or hurrying the bag forces fine particles through the cloth, which makes the jelly cloudy. Letting it drip slowly keeps the aspic clear.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (gelatin, parsley, vinegar, tarragon, sherry, egg):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Capersfits better
  3. Dillfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against gelatin, parsley, vinegar, tarragon, sherry, egg. 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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