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Smelts in Savory Jelly

Smelts simmered in consommé and Madeira, then set in aspic jelly.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,626 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Smelts in Savory Jelly

Ingredients

Directions

Poach the smelts

  1. In a stewpan, combine the smelts, consommé, Madeira, salt, green onion, and mushrooms.

  2. Stew gently until the smelts are cooked through.

  3. Carefully remove the smelts with a skimmer and place them on a plate to cool.

  4. Strain the cooking liquid through a double silk sieve into a bowl.

Set the aspic

  1. Prepare aspic jelly using the clarified consommé as directed.

  2. In a large mold, fill it halfway with the jelly and let it set.

  3. Place the smelts in the mold head down.

  4. Cover them with just enough jelly to cover them.

  5. Fill the mold to the top with jelly and let it set again.

Serve

  1. To serve, dip the mold in warm water and turn it out onto a dish.

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. Onion + mushroomtop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,626 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Smelt + oniontop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together45 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Smelt + mushroomtop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together27 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Smelts
Form the delicate main flesh that is cooked gently and then set within the clear jelly.
Consommé
Provides the savoury liquid that cooks the fish and becomes the base for the aspic jelly.
Madeira
Adds a sweet, fortified depth of flavour to the cooking liquid and the set jelly.
Mushrooms
Contribute earthy flavour and moisture to the cooking liquid.

The step that matters

Stew gently until the smelts are cooked through. Gentle heat keeps the delicate fish tender and intact, while a hard boil would toughen the flesh and break it apart. The cooking liquid is later strained and set, so clarity and a clean flavour depend on careful handling.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (smelt, mushroom):

  1. Onionthe original
  2. Spinachfits about as well
  3. Capsicumfits less well
  4. Tomatofits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against smelt, mushroom. 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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