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French Gelatine (Two Whites of Eggs whipped) (II)
Two Whites of Eggs whipped and the shells crushed.
Put all these ingredients into a stewpan together and whisk over the fire until it boils, then draw it to the side of the fire and let it stand for about five minutes, strain it as usual through a clean cloth, scalded and put on a soup-stand; when it is set it is ready for use.
This is the second of two paired entries: the ingredients (gelatine or calf's-foot stock, sugar, wine, lemon and so on) are given in the first, and this note supplies only the clarifying and straining. Read it as the finishing method for a clear jelly rather than a standalone formula.
- What it actually is"French gelatine" here means a clarified jelly base, cleared with beaten egg white and crushed shell in the same way as a consommé. The whites coagulate as the liquid heats and carry the cloudiness up into a raft.
- The hinge: stop whisking at the boilWhisk steadily only until the liquid rises and boils, then take it off the direct heat. Continued whisking breaks the coagulated raft into shreds that pass through the cloth and leave the jelly hazy.
- Egg shellsThe crushed shells are usually explained as giving the albumen extra surface to cling to. Rinse them first; modern shells are not sterile, though the boil that follows settles that.
- "Strain as usual through a clean cloth, scalded"A doubled square of muslin or a jelly bag, rinsed in boiling water and wrung out so it does not absorb and hold the jelly. Let it drip; squeezing forces sediment through and undoes the clarification.
- Soup-standProbably a stand on which the strained jelly was set aside to cool and firm undisturbed; the recipe says only that it is put there until set. Any bowl on a rack will do; keep it out of a draught and do not stir it as it sets.
- Two whites is the working ratioThe quantity of liquid is not stated here, but a common working allowance for clarifying is one white per pint or so.
Clearing a jelly with egg white and shell is the same operation as clearing a consommé. A cloudy jelly was a visible failure at table, and a jelly that could be read through was the point of the exercise. Why the method is labelled "French" here is not explained in the book. Prepared sheet gelatine was in this period increasingly used in place of boiling down calves' feet for the same result.