Name: Aspic Op Meat
Ingredients: 4 medium-sized onions, sliced; ¼ pound of unsmoked bacon; ¼ pound of chicken, cooked and deboned; ¼ pound of game meat, cooked and deboned; ¼ pound of mutton, cooked and deboned; ¼ pound of beef, cooked and deboned; 1 calf's foot, split in two; 2 ounces of bacon rind; 2 sprigs of parsley; 2 sprigs of thyme; 1 clove of garlic; 2 carrots, cut in half; 1 clove; 4 small onions; ½ pint of water; lemon juice, to taste

Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

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.

Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,057 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Thyme + clovetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,108 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Chicken + beeftop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,148 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Parsley + clovetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,768 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Calf's foot: Adds gelatin, which lets the cooled juice set into a firm jelly.
Chicken: Contributes savory meat flavor to the stock and the layered meat.
Beef: Contributes rich meat flavor to the stock and the layered meat.
Egg whites (in the method): Bind and trap cloudy particles so the stock becomes clear when strained.
Bacon rind: Adds gelatin and savory fat flavor to the stock.
Onions: Add sweetness and aroma to the stock as they cook down.

The step that matters

Skimming and straining the juice. Removing fat and solid particles keeps the aspic clear and prevents a greasy or cloudy jelly. Any leftover fat can float on the surface and stop the juice from setting cleanly.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, chicken, meat, mutton, beef, parsley, thyme):

Garlicfits better
Marjoramfits better
Rosemaryfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, chicken, meat, mutton, beef, parsley, thyme. 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.

Aspic Op Meat

Aspic Op Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the stock

Clarify the juice

Set the aspic