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Lemon Blancmange
Take the thin rind of two fresh lemons, and put it into a basin with a quarter of a pint of cold water or cold milk, and a quarter of a pound of sugar, and let it stand for an hour or more. Dissolve half an ounce of isinglass or gelatine in a quarter of a pint of water, and when nearly cold mix it with the lemon-water. Add the yolks of three eggs, beaten up with half a pint of thick cream, put the mixture into a jug, place it in a pan of boiling water, and stir it over the fire for ten minutes; then pour it out, stir it again until nearly cold, to prevent it skinning, and put it into a wet mould. Time to prepare, an hour and a half. Probable cost, 1s. 10d. Sufficient for a pint of blancmange.
A stirred custard set with gelatine, moulded and turned out — closer to a panna cotta than to the cornflour blancmange of later cookbooks. The hinge is heat control: the yolks must thicken without curdling, and the gelatine must still be fluid when it goes in.
- Quantities in modern termsA quarter of a pint is 5 fl oz (150 ml) in British measure, half a pint 10 fl oz (300 ml). A quarter of a pound of sugar is 4 oz, about 115 g or a generous half cup.
- Isinglass and gelatine are not interchangeable by weightHalf an ounce (14 g) reflects the weaker leaf and fish-derived setting agents of the period. Modern powdered gelatine is standardised and much stronger: about 7 g (one sachet, roughly 2 teaspoons) is enough to set a pint of this mixture to a just-firm mould. Use the full 14 g and you get something rubbery.
- Bloom, then dissolveSprinkle the gelatine over the cold water and let it swell for five minutes before warming it gently to clear. "When nearly cold" means cool but still liquid — if it begins to set before it meets the lemon-water you will get threads in the finished cream.
- Thin rind onlyPare the zest with a peeler, taking no white pith, which turns the infusion bitter over an hour's steeping. Strain the rind out before the custard goes near the heat.
- The jug in the pan is a bain-marieKeep the water at a bare simmer rather than a hard boil and stir constantly. Ten minutes is right if the custard reaches about 175-180F (80C) and coats the spoon; pull it off at the first sign of graininess. A heatproof jug or bowl set in a saucepan does the job, or a double boiler.
- Stir until nearly coldThis is not fussiness. Cooling while stirring keeps the gelatine evenly distributed and stops a skin forming, which would show as a tough layer on the outside of the turned-out mould.
- Wetting the mouldRinse the mould with cold water and do not dry it; the film of water helps release. To unmould, dip the base briefly in warm water and invert onto a wetted plate so the blancmange can be slid into position. Chill at least four hours, preferably overnight.
- Yield and servingA pint serves four modestly. It is very rich and wants something sharp alongside — poached fruit, raspberries, or a little lemon juice sweetened and spooned over. Note that the recipe uses no juice at all, so the lemon flavour is aromatic rather than tart.
- The cost note1s 10d is Victorian money and has no bearing on what you will pay now.
"Blancmange" is simply the French blanc manger, white food, and in its medieval form it was a dish of pounded almonds, rice or capon breast stiffened into a pale mould — a savoury-sweet ancestor rather than a pudding. By the nineteenth century the name had narrowed to a moulded white sweet, made in older "cream" versions set with isinglass or calf's-foot jelly and enriched with eggs, and in cheaper starch versions thickened with cornflour or arrowroot that would eventually take over the name entirely. Isinglass, made from the swim bladders of sturgeon and other fish, was the prestige setting agent for most of the century and was gradually displaced by commercial gelatine; that the recipe offers either, without comment, places it in the transition.