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Dessert

Creme a LA Comtesse, or the Countesss Cream

A chestnut and almond cream dessert thickened with isinglass and lemon rind.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and pistachio match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 693 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓

Creme a LA Comtesse, or the Countesss Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the chestnuts

  1. Boil and pound the chestnuts.

  2. Press the boiled chestnuts through a fine sieve.

Make the custard base

  1. Dissolve the isinglass in the new milk.

  2. Add the dissolved isinglass to the chestnuts along with the bitter almonds, lemon rind, and sugar.

  3. Simmer the mixture gently for five minutes.

  4. Let the mixture sit by the fire for a while.

  5. Strain the mixture through muslin.

  6. Press the strained mixture through.

  7. Stir the strained mixture gradually into the chestnuts and cream, beating it smooth.

  8. Wait until the mixture begins to thicken.

Set and serve

  1. Pour the thickened mixture into a mould rubbed with oil or dipped in water.

  2. Set the mould in a cool place for six to eight hours until ready to serve.

  3. Decorate with pistachio nuts or candied citron if desired.

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. Almond + pistachiotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together693 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  2. Chestnut + pistachiotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together21 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Chestnut + almondtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together130 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Pistachio + nutstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together425 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  5. Lemon + pistachiotop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together431 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

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

What each ingredient does

Chestnuts
Provide the bulk and body of the cream, giving it a smooth, thick base.
Rich sweet cream
Adds fat and richness, giving the set cream a soft, smooth mouthfeel.
Isinglass
Gelatine-like setting agent that firms the mixture so it holds its shape in the mould.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps balance the nutty flavour of the chestnuts.
Bitter almonds
Contribute a strong almond aroma that flavours the cream.

The step that matters

Stir the strained mixture in gradually. Adding the warm isinglass mixture slowly while beating keeps it evenly dispersed, so the cream sets smooth rather than lumpy or streaked with gelled threads.

“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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