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Strawberry Solid
Dissolve three-quarters of an ounce of isinglass by boiling it in a quarter of a pint of water. Press a pint of strawberries through a sieve and add a table-spoonful of lemon-juice and a little sugar. Add three-quarters of a pint of cream and the dissolved isinglass when cool. Mix thoroughly. Pour the solid into a damp earthenware mould, as metal would spoil its colour, and when it is stiff it will be ready for use. If fresh strawberries are not at hand, jam may be used instead, but it will need to be rubbed through a fine sieve to keep out the seeds. Probable cost, 3s. 6d. Sufficient for six or eight persons. Time, about an hour to prepare.
A Victorian cream mould, set with isinglass rather than leaf gelatine. Everything hinges on the temperature at which the setting agent meets the cream.
- Isinglass to gelatineIsinglass is dried sturgeon swim bladder, still sold for fining beer but not for cooking. Its setting power varied by grade, so no exact conversion exists; for the volume here, roughly 14–17 g of powdered gelatine (two to two and a half standard sachets) or the equivalent in leaf gives a mould that stands up without turning rubbery.
- Imperial pintsThe book's pint is 20 fl oz, so a quarter pint is 140 ml, three-quarters of a pint is 425 ml. A pint of strawberries is a volume measure of whole fruit, about 350–400 g, yielding roughly 300 ml of sieved purée.
- The hinge: matching temperaturesDissolved gelatine poured into cold cream sets instantly into threads that never disperse. Let the gelatine solution cool to just warm, then trickle it into the cream and purée in a thin stream while whisking steadily. If the mixture is very cold, warm a ladleful of it, slacken the gelatine with that, and return it to the bowl.
- Which creamVictorian "cream" was unhomogenised and rich. Double or whipping cream, unwhipped, gives the right body; single cream will set but tastes thin. Do not whip it — this is a solid, meant to be dense, not a mousse.
- The mouldThe warning about metal spoiling the colour applied to tin, copper and pewter, which reacted with fruit acid. Stainless steel, glass, silicone or china are all fine. Rinsing the mould with cold water and leaving it wet still helps the turn-out.
- TimingThe hour given is preparation only. The mould needs four to six hours in the refrigerator, or overnight, to set through. To unmould, dip briefly to the rim in hot water, count to ten, and invert onto a wetted plate so the solid can be slid into place.
- Jam versionJam is far sweeter than fresh fruit, so omit the added sugar entirely and increase the lemon juice to two tablespoons to keep the flavour from going flat.
- YieldSix to eight small portions, as stated — it is rich. A 1.2 litre mould holds it comfortably.
"Solid" was a common Victorian dessert name for a set cream turned out of a mould, as distinct from the lighter creams and whips that were whisked full of air before setting. The setting agent, isinglass, is a nearly pure collagen obtained from the swim bladders of sturgeon and other fish; it was imported from Russia in quantity through the nineteenth century and was valued because it set clear and had little flavour, unlike calf's-foot jelly, which had to be laboriously boiled and clarified at home. Commercial powdered and sheet gelatine was already competing with it by the later nineteenth century, and isinglass gradually gave way to gelatine in the kitchen, surviving mainly in brewing. The instruction about metal moulds reflects a genuine period concern: fruit acid attacked tin linings and pewter, dulling the colour, and reacted with copper. The probable cost of three shillings and sixpence suggests a comfortable household's dish, cream being the expensive part.