Fish Ice Cream

This is a presentation direction rather than a full formula: it assumes you already have a cream or a sherbet on hand and tells you how to shape, tint, flavour and plate it. Two decisions carry the whole effect, the mould and the colour.

• No base givenThe entry assumes you already have an ice cream or sherbet to hand, presumably from elsewhere in the book. Any custard or Philadelphia-style ice cream works, as does a plain fruit-free sherbet; reckon on roughly 1 quart to fill six small fish moulds.
• "Fish of ice on a foundation of cream"Most likely a water ice moulded in the fish shape and set on a layer of plain ice cream, so the fish appears to lie on a pale bed. If you attempt it, freeze the cream layer firm first and pack the ice against it.
• MouldsPeriod fish moulds were hinged pewter or block tin, packed in a tub of crushed ice and coarse salt for two to three hours. A modern silicone fish mould in the freezer does the same work; allow 4 to 6 hours to set hard, and overnight if the mould is deep.
• UnmouldingDip the closed mould in lukewarm water for five to ten seconds, no longer, then turn out onto the chilled plate. Return the unmoulded fish to the freezer for fifteen minutes before serving so the surface refirms.
• Pistachio flavouringCommercial "pistachio" flavouring of this period was frequently almond-based and tinted, not nut at all. For real flavour use pistachio paste, about 3 tablespoons per quart, and expect a dull khaki colour that still needs tinting.
• MintThe book says only "mint" and does not specify a form; oil of peppermint is one likely reading and it is strong, a drop or two per quart of base stirred in before freezing. Fresh mint steeped in the hot custard gives a gentler result but very little colour.
• The greenAim genuinely pale. Some Victorian confectioners' greens were copper-based, which is worth knowing before you romanticise period colouring; modern food colouring is fine, added a drop at a time to the liquid base before freezing.
• The paper seaweedFrilled tissue was decorative only and was not eaten. If you want the effect, use dyed paper clear of the ice itself, or substitute an edible garnish such as thin candied angelica strips.
• Yield and serviceOne fish per person, on a chilled plate, served as the sweet course. Plate at the last moment; a small moulded ice on a warm plate loses its shape in a few minutes.