Julia Child’s most disgusting recipe is Aspic 

After the movie Julie and Julia came out, my mum requested a Julia Child-themed birthday party for herself that year. She invited a few of her friends over and I made the poached eggs in aspic as a starter. Every single Boomer who grew up on dishes like aspic in the 50s thought it was delicious, whereas my sister and I could barely take a bite. Shows how much tastes change across generations!

I thought of "If you can't handle me at my liver aspic, you don't deserve me at my crêpes suzette" and now it lives in my head rent-free.

Grandma's tip for cooking liver (or heart too): soak it in milk for a few hours before cooking. Cuts of the smell when cooking it and makes it infinitely more palatable. My husband went from repulsed to fan of liver and other offals when I cooked them properly for him. Just in case you'd want to give it a try again.

Aspic is totally normal and pretty common in Eastern Europe. It's very good if you have a lot of meat dispersed evenly in savory garlicky well spiced broth. Eat it with some horseradish or very hot Russian mustard. This is a traditional dish that takes a lot of time to make, so people usually consider it too complicated for casual cooking. It's a popular choice for a classic holiday table.

Top tip for poaching an egg. When the water simmers stir the water quickly to create a whirlpool and then drop in the egg. The vortex will cause the egg to wrap around itself and keep it into one tight ball

The liver aspic reminded me of opening a can of cat food when there's that gelatin coating around the wet food.

Apparently the reason people loved to make everything in "jello" form back in the day is because of the new popularity of refrigerators. Making gelatin at home used to be extremely difficult without a fridge to set it, so once everyone got a refrigerator the once "fancy" dish became popular for home cooks!

My mother is Latvian/Russian. And I grew up in Australia. To me, Aspic or any sort of meat in gelatin/collagen is not only normal but so good! Also, you normally would eat it with some good Pumpernickel or dark rye and have it with other bits and pieces like smoked meats and fish, pickled and fresh vegetables and spreads.

This is unfortunate. I'm not sure it's supposed to be eaten by the fork load.😂 I was served beef aspic in Paris at a restaurant. It came in slivers served on toast rounds and it was the most amazing thing I had ever eaten.

When I was a child my family would visit my great-aunt who lived hours from our home. One year she served tomato aspic - the grossest shit you have ever eaten. It made me gag. Complaining about someone else's cooking was not tolerated in our family and so my very brave sister complimented my great aunt who from that time on served tomato aspic - "the kind Marcy likes so much" - at every meal.

Your facial journey when trying the aspic gave me war flashbacks to being 7 and being made to try one! I grew up in Eastern Europe, so various aspics (and liver, actually!) were super normal. Was a huge liver fan as a child, but the very idea of aspics turned my stomach since the first time I saw one. Sure enough, I gagged and spat it out so violently it went through my fingers into the carpet. On the upside, nobody ever offered me aspic after that 🤣

As a German, I'm very familiar with aspik. I have never had it as a main dish though? At least at my house, we had it on bread. My grandmother had a farm, she made aspik herself. It was really good. She'd put chicken stripes and assorted vegetables in it. Then you slice it thinly and eat it on good dark bread.

Aspic is just a savory jello. Growing up in the 1950s, aspics were the staple of Grange, 4-H, and Church dinners, especially in hot summers. They were prepared in advance and kept refrigerated on ice. It was a welcome alternative to the ubiquitous Cole slaw, pepper cabbage, potato salad, German potato salad, macaroni salad, and baked beans that were the usual offerings at those events.

As a German its so surreal seeing someone be afraid of Aspic

I inadvertently made a natural aspic of pike with fresh dill and lemon when I baked the wild-caught fish whole but did not have time to eat it before going to an evening class. I flaked the fish into a large bowl and poured the copious juices over it and placed it in the fridge. When I came back much later the whole had jelled, and I flipped it out and served it cut in wedges with honey mustard on the side. It's one of the best, most memorable, dishes I have ever made, and I've been cooking for over 50 years.

I cracked up laughing several times during this episode. Love it! I'm a 39 year old Aussie and I grew up with moulded aspic dishes on 'special occasions' when my grandparents or their brothers and sisters, were cooking. Not the biggest fan myself, but I have had it slivered on little toast triangles and its awesome, then. Hunkering down into a slab of jellied stock however, is not so much fun, I agree. As for liver - my Mum LOVES the sweetbreads, liver, kidney and especially brains. Liver is OK to eat (in tiny doses, in my opinion) - but yeah it stinks. Soak it in milk first. That helps. Kidney, I loathe and I never worked up the courage to eat brains, personally. Thankfully, organ meat and aspic is out of favour in the West these days. Its all depression era carryover, I think. Then again, that might change with the way the world is going, and we may well end up eating it all regularly, once more. Great episode!

The fundamental problem with Julia Child’s first book is that she possessed the hubris (or valor. Or both) to take professional French technique and translate it into a technique that American housewives (or tangentially, gay men) could deploy into some authentic version of French cookery. You have to remember that you’re working from a book written over fifty years ago; fifty years removed from its time, from a period when France was changing radically. Even in postwar France, Oeufs en Gelée was a classic holdover from a time of very grand cuisine, where aspic was a fundamental ingredient, especially in presentation, but basically, these were products of professional restaurant kitchens and epicerie, not something one made at home. Kudos on the clarification process, but the problem here was not reducing the resulting consummé enough so it would gel on its own.

Man, I LOVE aspic. Find yourself a Russian babushka to make you a batch of shredded beef aspic and try it. First of all, jelly is jelly, there's nothing really gross about it, it's predominantly protein like egg whites. If you're disgusted by the natural source of it (cartilage, typically from trotters), then you can just buy the synthetic sheets and dissolve them into store bought beef broth. The way we make it, it tastes like a delicious beef pie, garlicy and fragrant. I usually eat it with strong mustard (east european mustard, not american or french mustard). It's a delicacy, i think people mostly have a problem with it because of the jelly part. Aside from broth and jelly, you can literally put anything you want in it, no need to put gross things like livers or kidneys. We put shredded beef with minced garlic on the bottom layer, and then decorate it wavy cut hard boiled eggs, boiled carrots, and pitted olives. They don't really contribute to the flavor, the beef and garlic are the dominant flavors, the broth 2nd dominant flavor, so you can tailor it to your taste pretty easily.

I’m from New York. 36 years old. When I was growing up my father loved cooking and loved watching Julia Childs. I watched as well. She’s such a legend. Love these videos though! Just wanted to share my short story.

I was watching this at the gym with headphones on, I was laughing so hard I was crying, people just stared at me like I was crazy. This is the most enjoyment I’ve had, in I can’t remember how long! You’re a braver man than I Gunga din!

Aspic is quite popular in Poland but the recipe is a lot simpler and it’s made with pork and carrots. You can also use chicken

I remember visiting my grandmother for the summer in 1959 (13 years old). She thought it was fancy to make aspic as part of Sunday dinner. It was gross as far as I was concerned. The one good result was that I never liked Jello. My grandmother was a lousy cook (as was my mother). Contrary to his doctor's orders, she served my grandfather fried pork chops twice a week until he died of a heart attack. Death by pork chop.

About 50 years ago, I went to a Christmas party where they served a whole smoked salmon in aspic, with lemon wheels, capers, and radish roses. It looked amazing, but was a challenge to eat.

Frying chicken livers is no joke. I worked as a line cook for a while and whenever I was on the fry station I had to bread and deep fry them. Boy let me tell you. It was like throwing a handful of firecrackers into the deep fryer. The pain...

I've been sick all day, bored, watched all of the new content from my favorites and was feeling like youtube failed me. Saw your channel pop up in my recommendations (I watch a lot of food) and have been giggling and enjoying these. Legit in tears over your duck with orange sauce episode. Thank you for just being a regular guy in a kitchen going out on a limb. This is great!!! Will be recommending you to my fellow foodies.

Jamie, I'm so sorry that aspic recipes exist. But I also want you to know that I've been binging my way through this series over the past few days, and it has brought me such joy. I live with a disability and constant pain, so laughter is rare for me, but almost every episode makes me start giggling - either with delight as you complete a tricky dish, or at your hilarious editing, or guiltily when you are horrified and disgusted by your creation. So thank you. You make my days brighter.

In Germany we have a coldcut that is just chicken and tangerines in aspic, commonly called 'Chicken in aspic Florida style'. You slice it very thinly and put it on hot toasted bread, so the gelatin melts into the bread and it's freaking delicous^^

Based on the Julia Childs cooking videos I've watched, I think Julia would approve of your cooking style. Your honest expressions as you cook challenging things feels very JC to me. If she were alive, it'd be a hoot to watch you guys cook together. I died laughing in this episode. 😂

I ate Aspic , my Whole childhood. I loved it. with Horseradish . My family is Lithuanian . My Grandmother made is all the time. I love it !

This whole episode cracked.me.up🤣 Waiting for sweetbreads the “French “ way next.😂

For those watching the poaching at 7:13 and dreading having to do the same, just whirl the water around with a utensil so that the water is spinning like a whirlpool, and drop the egg into the center. Works like a charm. If you need a visual, just search out the words "poached egg vortex" (with or without quotation marks: slightly different results, but same basic stuff)! 🙂

I've been vegetarian for 7 years and fried chicken livers are one of the things I miss the most actually lol

As a Pole, to whom this is pretty much the national new year's dish, I absolutely agree with you- this is gross. We also make it with green peas, carrots, boiled eggs and shredded chicken, sprinkled with very strong vinegar.. To be fair it was made in times when people didn't really have chasers but had to do something after downing 0.5l of vodka, so I guess it worked 🤷

Aspic reminds me of thanksgiving leftovers cold in the fridge 😅

visually it looks like you added way too much gelatine to the already semi gelled aspic you had. might have altered the flavor a it because as someoe who has had raw gelatin from those packets i know i tastes weird and can alter flavors quite a bit! just something i noticed when you poured the gelatin powder in i was yelling no!

Finally found this video after YT skipped it as I watched from the oldest to the newest episodes. I haven't laughed so hard in ages. You're a trooper, Jamie!

I'm sorry for enjoying your discomfort. Personally, I love organ meat and especially liver. I also like aspic dishes, but I'm older than god, so it was more popular back in the olden days. Quick hint for poached eggs. Crack your eggs into a wire strainer. The liquid crap that always misbehaves drains off and the albumin stays intact. You wind up with beautiful looking poached eggs, which is super helpful if you are making eggs Benedict. BTW yours came out looking great.

This is a very Soviet classic dish. Julia's been traveling all over the world with her cook book.

In vietnam, we have a traditional aspic called "thịt đông". It's made with pig's trotter, wood ear mushroom and onion. The meat needs to be parboiled and cleaned, or soaked in a salt vinegar solution to get rid of the gaminess. Usually its gelatine content should be enough, but you can optionally add more pork skin. The trotter is then lightly sauteed with fish sauce and pepper, then slow cooked/pressure cooked. The onion and mushroom are added halfway toward the end to give the dish more texture. It's to be eaten with steamed rice and fermented vegetables. It's quite enjoyable

I'm not a fan of aspic but none of the aspic I have ever eaten has prompted the reaction you had. And my mother used to make curried chicken livers and they were divine. Wish I had her recipe.

That jelly broth (aspic?): i’ve seen it used in dumplings so it has meat and broth. The jelly broth melts when steamed. So it’s like eating mini soups and it’s soooo delicious too 🤤

Bro. You eat that on buttered toast. The heat melts the aspic into a gravy toast thingy....learned that from grandma.... Also, chicken livers are wonderful when breaded and pan fried like chicken fingys. This was a wonderful video man. Brings me back to grandmas liver and onions. Which honestly I loved....was too stupid to not like it, eat or get beat was the term.lol.. Soooo Many gross jelly salad dishes I had to eat as a kid...this would have been a WELCOME change....too much lime jelly mayo things....

Laughed out loud…”I don’t even want to touch it.” 😂

OMG I've never laughed so hard watching a cooking show. Thank you😂😂😂

I'm from Brazil, and around here aspic was never much of a thing. BUT people used to eat a lot of viscerae (in fact we still do: if you are curious go to a brazilian barbecue [churrasco] and ask for "coração de galinha", chicken hearts). I love beef liver (if you cook it with orange juice it will be a totally different dish), and I've tried chicken liver paté from France (marvelous). I don't like kidneys, tongue nor tripes, but apart from the kidneys many people i know do like them.

That was hilarious! And yeah, I'm French and I can confirm no one eats this anymore 🤣

Dude, I was laughing so hard I was crying. Awesome episode. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I’m not sure how stumbled in your channel but i absolutely love it!!! Keep it up!!!

I've always considered the aspic to be the bad "period piece" of culinary drama... BRILLIANT EPISODE!

Jamie and fellow anti'chefniks, In 1970, my first year in college, I was determined to expand my palette and try to like foods I didn't previously. I'd been cooking Julia's recipes for years by then. I was eating in Vanderbilt's cafeteria everyday and they had liver (and beets) around 4 times a week so I got it everytime it was available. The first bite I couldn't even swallow, the second I got one piece down and after a YEAR, I came to love the flavor of liver. If you can't stand something your really can't just eat it. try it a little at a time. If you grow to love it you'll be grateful forever. If not just never eat it again. I've been cooking for 58 years now and there are some things I still just cannot do. Tapioca pudding, crepes (well), and I still cannot poach an egg. I shirr my eggs in the oven. Love the antics and the falling mixing bowls.... By the way sweetbreads have a very mild flavor, I've always liked them. I made Julia's liver aspic in the 1970's and enjoyed it. I have never made it again, however. It's just too labor intensive which is why I think folks don't bother with it anymore. I'll be looking in from time to time All the best JIM

Most Europeans adore aspic dishes. My grandmother's fave dish was meats in aspic. I confess that I love it myself. The jellied part of it is just derived from Agar-agar, but maybe they have different sources now. Utterly delicious!

If you think you can stomach it, chicken livers are really good if they are breaded and fried, kind of like fried oysters. I mean that's what a good pate is made of. Usually duck or goose liver, but often chicken liver.

Ha! To me aspic is one of those terrible out of date holiday dishes that linger due to nostalgia. While not gut wrenching, I place them in the same undesirable category as jell-o salad. My last encounter with aspic was at dinner party where the host prepared a tomato based version in his late mother’s family heirloom fish shaped aspic mold.

I have had chicken liver in aspic and I thought it was delicious. However, I'm not a big fan of the gelatinous consistency. It is much nicer to put some on a cracker and eat it instead of just taking a big bite of it.

here a few tips for the next time: If you try to poach eggs, than stir the water befor you put the eggs in. That way the egg stays together and you donˋt have to do it on your own. The Aspik became runny because you reheated it. If you wanna clear it, you shouldn't let it cool down. Don't use that much Aspik. Just take a container, put something you like in there (for example vegetables) and only use Aspik as much as needed to hold everything together. It's easier to eat that way. Funny you compare Jello to Aspik, because its basicly the same, but sweet. If you ever try liver again: Try it with caramaliezed onions and caramalized apples. A complete different expirience.

😂😂 do look alot like Fear Factor at the end lol. But did an amazing job 👏🏾👏🏾

Just discovered your channel and I LOVE this!!! 100% support your efforts with Jamie and Julia

We have a dish called Pacha in Bulgaria, which is basically meat jelly , my grandma loved making it , I can't for the life of me find it in any way appetizing . That and a whole cooked sheeps head, although that one at least was delicious once the meat was taken off it. The brain and tongue really are a delicacy.

I’ve only ever had tomato aspic, which was quite refreshing and tasty- sort of like a gelled gazpacho… interesting reading the comments about how it is served in restaurants in Europe!

The doom and gloom music when earing the liver aspic 😂

RESPECT for your commitment to such a laborious recipe and delivering it with such a light and humorous heart.

Poland here and I can tell you we still make it especially for family occasions and we all love it :P

Yum! I love this ❤️ It's so healthy. It's just cold broth. It contains gelatin, collagen, chondroitin etc. The good stuff that keeps your body nourished. Isn't it fun to eat soup with a fork?

Good thing that there's someone on youtube always willing to do things I would NEVER do. :p

When you said that you were going to cook through all of "Mastering", my first thought was..."you know what's in there, right?" To be honest if you use it as a stock instead of a molded salad, it's delicious.

This looks like the stuff my grandparents made in the 50s when they couldn't afford a refrigerator. The Aspic acted as a way to preserve the food from rotting since it's keeping the air out.

The first time I heard of Aspic was back in the 80s, when I was finishing off my 1960 - 1970s King Crimson album collection. "Lark's Tongues in Aspic" was the name of their 5th album

Yeah there's a Russian (and Ukrainian) well Eastern European dish called 'holodets' that's basically meat jello lol. It's delicious if you use the correct meats (lots of connective tissues and collagen) but of course after you clean and strain the broth you are supposed to separate the good meaty bits from the gross boney and collageny bits for the final dish so the end result is delicious and is cooked properly. You do need to season it intensely for maximum flavor and it should 'jelly' naturally in the fridge. Part of the issue with the texture might be the extra gelatine powder that had to be added in the end for your test run. It's a shame it didn't turn out to your taste because the dish is quite delicious when done properly (as is liver). Happy cooking! Great video!

The jelly is just supposed to taste like the stock and i'm sure it did do that in your case as well. I have no idea why you're disgusted by it. Is it the consistency? It's also quite nice since the jelly will melt in your mouth and you basically have the broth you made that is flavouring the egg. In our supermarkets we have version with some boiled egg, some pickledy cucumbers, some thin slices of ham rolled and filled with mayonaise, some tomoato... It can be filled with whatever you like.

Gelatin has always been savory. This is literally bone broth that naturally gels when cold. Pork version of this is better.

17:17 - this what my cats food looks like when I pull it out the fridge 😂😂😂

your videos are supremely entertaining--you are an excellent comedian---but this one really made me belly laugh (the part of the eating)- you are a real sport!

I really thought you were going to lose it with the chicken liver! You are a brave man, and a fearless chef. I know you won’t make this dish again, but another “cheat” would be a gelatin sheet. I love using those. So simple and they get the job done. Love every episode…❤️

Thank you for taking one for the team. I was with you up until you looked like you were about to dry heave. I felt my gag reflex trigger and it was all I could do to keep my lunch down. At least you can say you've tried it. Next.

Dude, you’re funny!!! I totally enjoyed this video!!! Make more!

Dude! You are amazing on all levels. Crazy how texture really impacts food. You earn gold stars in my book on this one and I’m glad you made and tried these so I don’t have to lol!

I'm not a fan of Jello in general let alone liver so this one is a huge NO for me, but I still think I would eat both of these over the Canadian/Alaskan Delicacy that is Jellied Moose Nose.

Your channel is so damn under rated. I love this stuff so much lol the knocking on the aspect was great lol

When I need to laugh, I come here, to this video! Thanks Jamie

Absurd recipe but I am glad you made it! So much work for so little payoff! Great video!

Nobody ever made liver in my house, but my great grandma made liver and onions when I was like 6 or something... Maybe younger. To this day liver and onions is a delicacy to me. I never cook it myself, I find a family owned hole in the wall that sells liver and onions and stop in when I'm stressed.

This is pure collagen! So good for anti-aging. Julia knew what’s up.

I love how after every quarter turn the pot was in the same place over the fire

Dang dude you really did this one justice!!! kudos to you for trying it!! :)

i like that he likes us enough to the point that he committed to have a bite of each of them! 😍😍

One of THE funniest episodes ever! The slo-mo voice cracks me up every time and when you got to the liver part and described my exact childhood I sat in horror/laughed till I cried! You’re a brave soul. 🤢🤮

Can I ask where you got the ceramic pots and pans? I have been looking in second hand stores (I am on a limited budget)

Watching you struggle thru eating the chicken liver was definitely reminiscent of the good ole fear factor days lmao. IM weak. Subscribed lol

I prefer the pork foot and shank version with skin on in a garlic aspic, made with the smoked meat version (I add pork loin bits too) is great, and the garlic tenderizes the skin and meat so well it's easy to eat and very tasty carrots and onion added hot Hungarian wax pepper too. If you've ever eaten a pork roast and you love the jell at the bottom that's what you're shooting for, a bowlful of spicy pork jelly love. I love it and I guess it's an acquired taste and an all-day sucker to accomplish it. correctly. On a hot day with crusty bread ... mmmmm! good. and of course, beer!

The footnote to this recipe made me laugh. My mom and I watched The French Chef religiously, and I vividly remember the episode about Aspic. We looked at each other and shook our heads; she said, "I don't think I want to make this." I nodded.

The look @17:32 is heartwrenching. You are clearly asking to be relieved of your burden. Thank you for taking one for the team.

I can eat Jello, but I'm afraid I would not be able to eat aspic! Loving your channel, and you really are honoring Julia Child in a truly special way! Thank you!

I actually don't mind aspic. I didn't like liver as a kid either but I actually like it now. Maybe when you do the organ meat section of the recipe book, you'll change your mind too. Just don't hold on to your bias since childhood.

My grandma made something similar when I was a kid. I loved it. Then my hubs stepson came from Ukraine and he made it as well! I was in heaven!! I got to get my hands on the recipe … too bad it takes like 3 days to make!!

"The first time I've ever heard of Aspic has been from this book" Me: _Flashbacks to that DHMIS episode_

First, I do SO enjoy your videos. Second, I could feel your throat closing up as the liver approached. Kudos for trying! 😮 ❤❤❤

This recipe would have mostly been made around the time they discovered Jello and so most housewives were obsessed with using them as desserts or appetizers. They were the centerpiece at dinner time, people were so entranced by them in the 60's, they had entire cookbooks dedicated to putting things in them.

When I got COVID last week I seriously thought I’d never find anything funny again. Thank you for the LOls Love this series. I grew up watching Julia’s show with my mom so very nostalgic as well.

Funnily, as someone who occasionally goes through phases of only wanting to eat pudding/jello consistency foods, I'm now inspired to look into aspics when I want that texture in savory foods.

I love how he looks like he’s in pain and being tortured the entire video