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Burlington Whimsey

A savoury mould of minced calf's head and gelatinous meat set in gravy, with ham, lemon, herbs and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 14 ingredients
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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 ↓

Burlington Whimsey

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the head

  1. Set aside half a dressed calf's head until cold.

  2. If the gelatinous part is not tender, trim and mince it.

  3. Mince additional calf's head to make 1 lb total after trimming.

Make the filling

  1. Combine minced gelatinous part with 1 pint of gravy and stew gently for 10-15 minutes.

  2. Add 3 oz chopped ham, lemon rind, parsley, thyme, mace, nutmeg, salt, and cayenne to the mixture.

  3. Stir well and add ½ pint more gravy.

  4. Boil the mixture for 4-5 minutes.

Mould and serve

  1. Pour into molds lined with slices of tongue and let cool until firm.

  2. Garnish with dry parsley before serving.

  3. Serve with salad sauce for supper or luncheon.

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 + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,037 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Lemon + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,973 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,062 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Thyme + nutmegtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,907 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Calf's head
Provides the gelatinous meat and natural gelatine that set the jelly.
Gravy
Supplies the liquid and savoury body that the jelly is built from.
Lean boiled ham
Adds savoury flavour and a firm, meaty texture to the mould.
Lemon rind
Adds aromatic brightness that lifts the rich meat and gravy.

The step that matters

Boil the mixture for 4-5 minutes. Gelatine from the calf's head only sets well once it is fully dissolved in hot liquid, so the mixture must be properly heated before moulding. Careful timing also keeps the jelly clear and avoids a weak set.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, lemon, parsley, thyme, nutmeg):

  1. Marjoramfits better
  2. Winter savoryfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, lemon, parsley, thyme, nutmeg. 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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