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Gelatine Jelly
Where economy is a consideration, as it is in the majority of homes, pretty and palatable dishes may be made from gelatine. The objection to the use of this article is that it often imparts a gluey taste to the jelly, the only remedy for which is that care should be taken to obtain as good a quality of gelatine as possible, and not to use a larger quantity than is necessary for the firmness of the dish. Soak the gelatine in water until it swells; this will be in about an hour. Dissolve it in a little boiling water for a few minutes, add wine, lemon-juice, sugar, and flavouring according to taste, and pour into a damp mould. Keep it in a cool place until firmly set. If very stiff, it may be turned out more easily if dipped in boiling water for a moment. Probable cost, 6d. per quart.
The original assumes you know how much gelatine to use, which is exactly the thing it never says. Everything else here is straightforward once you fix the ratio and stop the gelatine from boiling.
- The hinge: never boil itGelatine dissolved in a little boiling water is fine, but prolonged boiling breaks down the protein and the jelly sets soft or not at all. Dissolve it off the heat or over the barest heat, stir until no grains remain, then combine with the cold liquid.
- How much gelatineThe recipe gives no quantity. As a working figure, use about 1/2 oz (14 g, two standard envelopes) of powdered gelatine per pint of total liquid for a jelly firm enough to turn out of a mould, less if it is to be eaten from a glass. Victorian gelatine varied in strength, and modern gelatines vary in setting power too, so err on the low side and test a spoonful in the fridge before committing the batch.
- Soaking timeAn hour was needed for the coarse sheet and shred gelatine of the period. Modern powdered gelatine blooms fully in 5 to 10 minutes sprinkled over cold water; leaf gelatine needs about 5 minutes in plenty of cold water, then squeeze it out.
- The gluey tasteThe complaint was real, and it came from crude gelatine made from hide and bone with poor purification. Present-day food gelatine has no appreciable flavour. If a jelly tastes dull today it is usually over-set rather than off-flavoured, so keep the quantity down.
- Wine and acidLemon juice and wine both thin the set slightly, so count them as part of the liquid and allow a little extra gelatine if the jelly is strongly acidic. Add the wine after the gelatine has dissolved, not before, so the alcohol and aromatics are not driven off.
- Fruit to avoidFresh pineapple, kiwi, papaya, figs and fresh ginger contain proteases that digest gelatine and will leave you with a syrup. Tinned or cooked versions of these are harmless because the enzymes have been heat-killed.
- Damping the mouldWetting the mould, as directed, is still the correct trick; it stops the jelly gripping. To unmould, dip in hot tap water for a few seconds only, not boiling water, or the outer surface melts to slush.
- Setting time and yieldA quart of jelly needs at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, and overnight is better for a moulded shape. A quart serves six to eight as a dessert.
- The priceSixpence a quart is given as the mark of economy, which is how the entry frames the dish.
Gelatine jelly belongs to the moment when a luxury became a grocery item. Well into the nineteenth century, a clear jelly meant simmering calves' feet for hours, skimming, and clarifying with egg white and shell, or else buying isinglass made from sturgeon swim bladders, both of which put moulded jellies firmly in the territory of households with a cook and time to spare. Commercially packeted gelatine, sold in sheets, shreds and later powder, put the same dish within reach of a modest kitchen, which is why Cassell's files it under economy rather than under confectionery. The wariness about a gluey taste is a genuine period complaint about early manufactured gelatine, whose quality varied considerably between makers, and the advice to buy the best grade available and use as little as will hold the shape is the standard nineteenth-century workaround. Moulded jellies of this kind were also a fixture of invalid cookery, being thought light and easily taken, which accounts for their frequency in general household dictionaries of the era.