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Sago Gruel
Take two table-spoonfuls of sago, and place it in a small saucepan; moisten gradually with a little cold water. Set the preparation on a slow fire, and keep stirring till it becomes rather stiff and clear. Add a little grated nutmeg and sugar to taste; if preferred, half a pat of butter may also be added with the sugar, and a glassful of wine will be an improvement to the gruel.
A one-portion invalid's gruel from the sickroom chapters that most Victorian cookery books carried. The method is sound but the quantities are written for a cook who already knew what sago does.
- The liquid is the missing measurement"Moisten gradually with a little cold water" understates it badly: sago swells enormously and two tablespoons will absorb roughly 1 to 1 1/2 cups of liquid before it thickens. Add it in stages rather than all at once, and stop when the gruel coats a spoon.
- What sago isPearl sago is starch extracted from the pith of the sago palm, sold as small hard beads. It is not the same plant as tapioca, though small pearl tapioca behaves almost identically here and is far easier to buy.
- Soak firstModern pearl sago cooks far more evenly if left in cold water for 20 to 30 minutes before heating. Unsoaked pearls tend to gum on the outside while the centres stay chalky and white.
- "Slow fire" and constant stirringThis is the hinge of the recipe. Sago starch sinks and scorches the moment it is left alone; keep the pan at a bare simmer and stir throughout. Clear pearls with no white specks mean it is done, usually 15 to 20 minutes.
- Half a pat of butterA 'pat' was not a standard measure, merely a small moulded or cut piece, so take this as a very small amount, on the order of a teaspoon. Add it off the heat with the sugar rather than letting it sit on top.
- A glassful of wineA wineglass of the period is usually reckoned at about 2 fl oz. The recipe does not specify a wine; a fortified wine such as sherry, Madeira or port would suit. Stir it in at the end, since boiling drives off both alcohol and aroma.
- YieldOne invalid's serving, about a cupful. It thickens further as it cools, so loosen with hot water or milk if it stiffens in the bowl.
Sago gruel belongs to the sickroom cookery that occupied a chapter in many nineteenth-century British household manuals, alongside beef tea, arrowroot and barley water. These were the foods given to convalescents and invalids on the reasoning that bland starches were easily digested and gave strength without taxing the stomach. Sago came into British kitchens through the East Indies trade, made from the pith of palms grown chiefly in the Malay Archipelago. The optional wine is characteristic: alcohol was widely regarded as restorative for the sick, and a glass stirred into gruel was considered medicine as much as flavouring.