You didn’t see that coming: aspic is making a comeback
Pleated trousers came back, vinyl records are hip again, and culinary trends can be recycled too. Take aspic, for example. You thought those gelatin creations had stayed in the sixties for good, but no: they’re being spotted again in American restaurants and delicatessens.
In the film Julie & Julia, aspic is the catalyst for one of Julie’s many meltdowns. That gelatin! That slippery mess! And why would you want to eat it—it doesn’t even taste good, does it? And everyone who saw the film wholeheartedly agreed with Julie. What’s so delicious about cold chicken or hard-boiled eggs, with cooked vegetables in a jacket of savory gelatin? Chef Nicholas Delaroque disagrees. He sells plenty of aspic at his trendy patisserie in San Francisco. ‘Aspic is a real showstopper. And once people have tasted it, they’re sold.’
Lobster with aspic
Well, Nicholas is French. Maybe only the French understand that love of aspic? Mais non, aspic is also on the menus of American restaurants. Christopher’s restaurant in Phoenix serves lobster with seaweed aspic, restaurant Dear Margaret in Chicago has created a dish with pork and spinach in gelatin, and delicatessen Beast and Cleaver in Seattle has jambon persille—a specialty made with ham, parsley and, yes, gelatin—in its display case.
Head cheese
Where does this love of aspic come from? Food & Wine magazine considers it a logical continuation of the growing interest in charcuterie. More and more chefs are trying their hand at curing and smoking ham, and making their own sausages and pâté. In the Netherlands too—just think of the success of Meneer Wateetons’s courses and Diny Schouten’s Pasteibakkerij. It also fits nicely with the trend of cooking from nose to tail, because aspic is a great way to use leftovers such as brains and head cheese.
That’s what they do at the renowned Le Cochon d’Or in Brussels too. We recently visited this business, and they proudly showed us their classics, including parsley ham and Parisian hure with pig’s tongues. The pig’s tongues lie neatly side by side here; you can barely see any gelatin between them. Delicious with a fresh vinaigrette or cut into cubes and served with a dipping sauce.
Leave it there
Will this trend catch on in the Netherlands? We spotted mackerel aspic on the menu of the now-closed &Moshik, and Albert Heijn has a vegetable aspic in its range. ‘Delicious as a starter,’ the webshop says. But otherwise? When a small terrine with aspic is placed on their plate, most people still involuntarily feel as though they’re being served cat food. Perhaps it’s better to leave this trend in America; we probably have different memories of the sixties in the Netherlands, making it difficult to see aspic’s cult appeal here.
But then again, we thought the same about pleated trousers.
Read also:
- The past wasn’t all better, part 2
- These are the nastiest mixed drinks you used to drink before going out
- 30 dishes from the past that will make you feel sorry for your parents
Source: Food & Wine
