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Currant Custard
Express the juice from some fine fresh ripe currants. This is best done by putting them in a jar, which must be covered closely and placed in a large pan of cold water, and simmered gently until the juice flows freely. Mix a pint of water with every pint of juice, add a little sugar, and put the liquid on the fire. Mix a small portion of ground rice smoothly with a little of the liquid while cold, and add this gradually to the rest. Let it simmer gently, stirring it constantly, until it is quite smooth and well thickened, then pour it into cups or glasses to be taken as custard. Grate a little nutmeg, and put one ratafia on the surface of each custard. The custards are the better for standing a night to stiffen. If set in some very cold place-for instance, in a tin pail plunged in a tub of cold water fresh drawn from the pump-these custards will be as pleasant to the palate in sultry weather as iced custards, without their disadvantages. Arrowroot may be used instead of ground rice. By increasing the quantity of either ingredient, the custard may be made stiff enough to be set in a mould, and turned out before serving. Time, a quarter of an hour to boil; about two hours to express the juice. Probable cost, 8d. Sufficient for six persons.
A thickened fruit drink rather than a true custard — no eggs, no dairy, just currant juice set with ground rice. The vague quantities are the only real obstacle.
- Extracting the juiceThe jar-in-a-pan method is a water bath: a heatproof jar or bowl, closely covered, standing in a pan of cold water that is then brought up and held at a gentle simmer for about two hours, until the fruit collapses and runs. Strain through a jelly bag or several layers of muslin without pressing if you want it clear.
- Which currantsProbably red currants, a common English garden fruit for juice and jelly; black would work but gives a much heavier flavour and needs more sugar. Fresh red currants are seasonal and scarce in supermarkets eadily.
- \Quantity of thickener -- The recipe never says. For a pouring or spooning consistency reckon on about 1 oz (30 g) ground rice per pint (570 ml) of the diluted liquid; for something firm enough to unmould, 2 oz or more. Slake it with cold liquid first, as directed, or it will lump.
- Ground rice and arrowroot are not interchangeable by weightArrowroot thickens more powerfully and sets clearer and glossier, so use rather less of it, and stop cooking as soon as it thickens — prolonged boiling breaks arrowroot down and the mixture thins again. Ground rice, by contrast, needs the full quarter hour to lose its raw graininess.