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Gravy Panada
Take about a gill of gravy from a joint of beef or mutton, and half the measure of fine bread-crumbs. Mix both in a saucepan, and bring to boiling point, stirring all the time; then beat well with a fork, and let it stand a few minutes covered; season nicely, and serve in a hot cup. If not sufficiently strong, add a spoonful of Bovril to improve taste and appearance.
A thickened savoury drink from the invalid-cookery tradition, meant to be sipped from a cup rather than eaten with a spoon. It is barely a recipe by modern standards, but the proportions and the handling of the crumbs are worth getting right.
- The gillIn this British book a gill is a quarter of an Imperial pint, about 5 fl oz or two-thirds of a US cup. American books of the same era usually mean half a cup, so scale accordingly; the ratio of two parts gravy to one part crumbs matters more than the absolute volume.
- What "gravy from a joint" meansNot thickened flour gravy but the clear meat juices and dripping that collect in the roasting tin. Skim most of the fat first, or the panada will taste greasy when it cools in the cup.
- Bread-crumbsThe recipe does not say whether these are soft crumbs from the inside of a stale white loaf or dried, sieved crumbs; period books use 'fine bread-crumbs' for both. Soft crumbs give the smoother result here, since dry crumbs absorb far more liquid and tend towards a paste. Modern packaged crumbs seasoned with herbs are not what is meant.
- The hingeStir continuously as it comes to the boil, then beat well with a fork and let it stand a few minutes covered, as directed. The standing time lets the crumbs swell and the beating breaks them down, which is presumably what keeps the result smooth rather than lumpy.
- BovrilStill sold, and still concentrated. The recipe calls for a spoonful, added only 'if not sufficiently strong'; taste before committing to it. Between the meat juices and the extract the mixture salts itself quickly, so season at the end.
- YieldA single teacupful. It is one serving, and crumb panadas of this kind stiffen as they stand.
Panada is one of the oldest dishes in European cookery, from the Latin panis, bread: any preparation of bread soaked and cooked in liquid. By the time Cassell's was compiled in the late nineteenth century, panada had largely retreated into two roles, as a binding base for forcemeats and quenelles, and as sickroom food. Invalid cookery of the period was built on the belief that a patient needed nourishment in the most concentrated and least taxing form possible, so meat juices, bread and milk were reduced to something that could be drunk from a cup. The instruction to add Bovril offers a rough guide to the entry's age: the beef extract is generally traced to Johnston's fluid beef of the mid-1870s, with the Bovril name adopted in the later 1880s. Since Cassell's ran through many editions, the mention may belong to a later revision rather than the original compilation, but it shows how quickly a branded product could be absorbed into the standard household repertoire.