Gluten Gruel

A plain invalid's gruel of the sort served in sanitarium kitchens and sickrooms. The whole thing hinges on how the gluten meets the water.

• Guard against lumpsGluten hydrates fast and grabs itself into rubbery strands the moment it hits hot water. Sift or rain it in through the fingers of one hand while whisking hard with the other, or slake it first with a few tablespoons of cold water into a thin slurry and pour that into the boiling pot.
• What gluten meal wasAround 1900 "gluten meal" or "gluten flour" meant wheat flour with much of its starch washed out, sold chiefly as a diabetic food. Protein content varied widely from maker to maker, and commercial samples were frequently found to contain far more starch than the label claimed, so the period product was generally weaker than today's vital wheat gluten, which runs 75-80 percent protein. A modern high-gluten bread flour is probably the closer match in behaviour, though not in intent.
• Simmering timeThe recipe gives no time, only "simmer till thickened", which is a matter of a few minutes over low heat, stirring. Prolonged cooking will not soften it and tends to make the body more glue-like.
• Use a heavy pan or double boilerA protein-heavy gruel scorches on the bottom of a thin pan and the burnt flavour carries through the whole batch. Double boilers were commonly recommended in invalid-cookery books for gruels, though this recipe does not specify one.
• ConsistencyAim for something that coats a spoon and pours. If it stiffens on standing, as it will, thin it with boiling water rather than reheating it dry.
• Yield and servingAbout two cups, one or two servings. Salt is the only seasoning given; a spoonful of cream, a little hot milk, or a dusting of cinnamon are period-appropriate additions where the diet allowed them.
• Not gluten-freeThe name misleads a modern eye. This is concentrated wheat gluten and is precisely what anyone with coeliac disease or a wheat allergy must avoid.