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PANADA (Invalid Cookery, another way)
Put a quarter of a pint of water and a glassful of sherry into a saucepan, with a lump of sugar and the very thin rind of a quarter of a lemon, or, if preferred, a little mace. Let these ingredients boil, then add three table-spoonfuls of finely-grated bread-crumbs. Boil quickly for five minutes, and serve. Probable cost, 6d. Sufficient for one person.
A bread pap thickened by boiling, from the invalid-cookery chapter — one portion, made in five minutes in a small saucepan.
- Quarter of a pintImperial measure, so 5 fl oz, a little under two-thirds of a US cup. A "glassful" of sherry means a wine glass of the period, usually reckoned at about 2 fl oz.
- Lump of sugarVictorian loaf-sugar lumps varied in size; a modern cube, roughly a level teaspoon, is a reasonable stand-in. The dish is meant to be mildly sweet, not a syrup.
- BreadcrumbsGrate stale white bread finely, or use dried plain crumbs; commercial panko or seasoned crumbs will not soften into the smooth pap intended. Three tablespoons goes into the water and sherry together, some 7 fl oz before reduction, giving a spoonable gruel.
- Lemon rindPare the zest in a single thin strip with no white pith. The recipe does not say so, but lift it out before serving.
- MaceThe alternative flavouring is blade mace, the lacy covering of nutmeg — one blade, removed before serving. Ground mace works, but use a pinch and expect a cloudier result.
- The five-minute boilThe hard boil swells the crumbs, and will drive off some of the alcohol. Stir throughout, since crumbs catch and scorch on the base of a thin pan very quickly.
- AlcoholFive minutes of boiling reduces the sherry but does not eliminate it. Not suitable for children, or for anyone the original book would have called an invalid but who today should avoid alcohol.
- YieldOne serving, as stated — roughly a teacupful. It thickens further as it cools, so serve it straight from the pan.
Panada takes its name ultimately from the Latin panis, bread, and in one form or another it is among the oldest sickroom foods in Europe: bread boiled in water, broth or wine until it collapses into a smooth pap. It sits in the invalid section because it was easy to swallow, required almost no chewing, and could be produced in minutes at any hour. The sherry is not merely flavouring; fortified wine was regarded through the nineteenth century as a restorative in its own right, and wine-based panadas, caudles and possets appear throughout the period's medical and domestic literature. The costing of sixpence, and the note that it suffices for one person, are typical of the book's practical bent.