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Jelly Fish
Make a quart of jelly according to the directions given for JELLY MEAT FOR COLD PIES. If at hand, the head and trimmings of turbot, whiting, or skate may be stewed with the calf's foot, but they are not indispensable. Pass the jelly through the tamis until quite clear, and clarify it, if necessary, with the beaten whites and crushed shells of four eggs. Pour a layer of the jelly, about an inch in depth, into a wet mould, and when it is firmly set arrange some prawns or crayfish round the edges, and add the remainder of the jelly. The fish must be put into the jelly backs downward, as it must be remembered that their position will be reversed when turned out. Time, about three hours to set each layer. Probable cost, 3s. Sufficient for six or seven persons.
A savoury fish aspic built in layers, of the sort a Victorian kitchen turned out for a cold buffet. The whole thing depends on the jelly being properly clear and on each layer being fully set before the next is poured.
- The hinge: set each layer hardIf the second pour goes on while the first is still soft, the prawns drift and the layers marble together. Chill until the surface is firm to a fingertip, then add the next layer barely warm — hot jelly will melt a channel through what is already set.
- Three hours per layer is a cellar, not a fridgeThe timing assumes a cool larder. In a modern refrigerator an inch-deep layer will set considerably faster, though how much faster depends on the strength of the jelly. Judge by firmness rather than the clock.
- Calf's foot jellyThe base recipe relies on a calf's foot simmered for hours for its gelatine. Trotters or veal knuckle from a butcher will do the same; otherwise use a well-reduced fish or light chicken stock set with powdered gelatine, roughly 1 tablespoon (about 10 g) per pint of liquid for a jelly firm enough to unmould.
- Quart and costAn imperial quart is 40 fl oz, about 1.1 litres. The "probable cost, 3s." is in Victorian shillings; without comparative prices from the same book it tells us little beyond that the dish was costed at all.
- Fish trimmingsTurbot, whiting and skate are lean white fish, and their heads and bones give body and a clean flavour. Oily fish such as salmon or mackerel are generally avoided in clear jellies, as they cloud and dominate them. Note that the recipe has the trimmings stewed with the calf's foot, which needs long cooking; simmered on their own, fish bones are usually given only 20 to 30 minutes.
- Tamis and clarifyingA tamis is a fine woven straining cloth; a double layer of muslin in a sieve replaces it. For the egg-white raft, whisk whites and crushed shells into the cool stock, bring it to a bare tremble without stirring, hold ten minutes, then ladle through the cloth and do not press.
- The prawns must already be cookedThe jelly is not hot enough for long enough to cook shellfish. Use cooked, peeled prawns or crayfish tails, thoroughly chilled, and arrange them backs down so they curve correctly once the mould is inverted.
- Unmoulding and servingWetting the mould, as directed, is what lets the jelly release; dip the mould briefly in hot water and invert onto a wet plate so you can slide it into position. Serves six or seven as a cold course, with cucumber or a green salad.
Clarified meat jelly was the backbone of Victorian cold cookery, and this is essentially that technique applied to fish. Calf's-foot jelly was a common setting agent in British kitchens through much of the nineteenth century, though packaged isinglass and gelatine were also on sale by mid-century and gradually displaced the long, skimmed simmer of trotters. Moulded aspics of this kind belonged to the cold table and the supper buffet, where a dish had to look composed and survive a spell on display, and the instruction to lay the prawns "backs downward" is a reminder that the mould was designed to be read from the outside in. The name "Jelly Fish" here means nothing more than fish in jelly.