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Sherried Prunes
Wash, then soak prunes over night, simmering next day, in very little water, till tender enough to pit. Have soaking a half-box of gelatine (this quantity to each original quart of prunes put to soak) and place prunes with the gelatine in stewpan till gelatine is thoroughly melted. Add a heaping teaspoon of sugar, the grated juice and rind of two oranges and one-half cup of sherry; remove from fire; let cool, then place on ice to chill. This will not make a solid form but should be of the consistency of thick custard.
A soft-set gelatine dessert of the sort that filled turn-of-the-century fruit books, and one where the original's measurements need translating before you start.
- The hinge: keep it softThe recipe tells you plainly that it should set to the consistency of thick custard, not a moulded jelly. Err on the side of less gelatine rather than more, and serve it in glasses or a shallow dish rather than turning it out.
- "A half-box of gelatine"The standard granulated gelatine box of the period held about an ounce, so half a box is roughly half an ounce: about two modern envelopes, or some four teaspoons, per quart of prunes as measured before soaking. That is a genuinely approximate conversion; boxes varied, and the loose set called for here gives you room.
- A quart of prunesThis is dry measure of unsoaked fruit, roughly 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb. Modern pitted, tenderized prunes need no overnight soak at all: simmer them 10 to 15 minutes in barely enough water to cover.
- Melting the gelatineSoften it first in cold water, then stir it into the hot prunes off a high flame. Gelatine dissolves at around 110-140F; prolonged boiling weakens the set, and this set is already deliberately fragile.
- "Grated juice and rind"Presumably the juice and the grated rind of two oranges. Zest them before juicing, and take only the coloured layer.
- SugarOne heaping teaspoon to a quart of prunes is almost nothing, which is deliberate: dried prunes and sherry both bring sweetness. Taste before chilling and adjust, since gelatine desserts read less sweet cold.
- The sherryAdded at the very end, with the pan coming off the fire immediately after, so little of the alcohol cooks away. An oloroso or cream sherry suits the fruit better than a dry fino. Not a dish for anyone avoiding alcohol.
- Yield and servingEnough for six to eight small glasses. Whipped cream, or a plain pouring cream, is the usual accompaniment.
Prunes were the workhorse of the American winter fruit shelf by 1900: cheap, keepable, and after the California orchards came into full bearing in the 1880s and 1890s, abundant. Cookbooks of the period worked hard to make them seem like something other than a laxative breakfast, and dressing them with orange, sherry and gelatine is exactly that effort. Packaged granulated gelatine, sold in small boxes, had by then put jellied desserts within reach of any household without the labour of boiling calves' feet, and the results turn up everywhere in fruit cookery of the era. The deliberately loose set here places the dish somewhere between a compote and a jelly, in the same family as the fruit "sponges" and "creams" that filled the dessert chapters of the time.