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Aspic Jelly
1½ ozs. (3 heaping table- 4 cloves spoonfuls) powdered 12 whole white peppers gelatine I inch cinnamon stick 1¾ pints (3½ cups) water Rind and juice 1 lemon or stock 4 tablespoonfuls white vinegar 4 tablespoonfuls tarragon vinegar 1 sprig parsley 2 bay leaves I blade mace I level teaspoonful salt I small carrot I small onion I small turnip 1 stalk celery 6 drops kitchen bouquet Whites and shells of 2 eggs Put the gelatine into a clean cold saucepan, add the water or stock, then the vegetables, cleaned and cut into small pieces; add all the other ingredients, and whisk over a gentle heat until boiling. Remove the beater, allow the thick white scum to rise to the top of the pan, draw to one side of the stove, cover, and allow to stand ten minutes. Pour two quarts of boiling water through a jelly bag, then the jelly.
Turn the jelly into a wet earthenware mold and use as required when set.
Aspic jelly lends itself to a great variety of useful dishes. It is used in cold entrées where the materials are molded in the jelly, which means that the aspic must be beautifully clear and of firm consistence.
A classic clarified savoury jelly, made the old way: raw egg white and crushed shell whisked in cold liquid, brought up to the boil to trap every particle, then filtered through a scalded bag. The whole point is clarity, and clarity depends on what you do at the moment it boils.
- The hinge: stop whisking at the boilWhisk continuously only while the liquid is heating. Once it boils the egg coagulates into a raft that carries the cloud with it; further stirring breaks the raft and you will never get it clear again. Draw the pan aside and leave it undisturbed.
- Gelatine quantityThe gelatine figure in the ingredient column has lost part of its number; the parenthetical 3 heaping tablespoonfuls suggests roughly 1 1/2 oz. A firm aspic that will unmold cleanly generally needs about 1 oz (roughly 4 envelopes, 28 g) per 3 1/2 cups of liquid. Test a spoonful on a cold saucer before committing the batch.
- Liquid measureThe text gives 1¾ pints, which matches the 3½ cups in the parenthesis. Use 3½ cups of water or, far better, a well-flavoured veal, chicken or beef stock.
- Bloom the gelatine firstModern granulated gelatine should be sprinkled over a little of the cold liquid and left five minutes to swell before the rest goes in. Dumping it dry into a full pan gives rubbery lumps that survive straining.
- Kitchen bouquetA commercial browning and seasoning sauce, still sold under the same name. Six drops is for colour only, giving the jelly a pale amber cast; leave it out if you want the aspic colourless.
- Tarragon vinegarWhite wine vinegar steeped with tarragon. If you cannot find it, use plain white wine vinegar and add a sprig of fresh tarragon to the aromatics.
- StrainingThe two quarts of boiling water are poured through the bag first to scald it and stop the jelly setting in the cloth. A double layer of damp muslin or a coffee filter in a sieve works the same way. Let it drip and do not squeeze; if the first runnings come through cloudy, return them to the bag.
- The mold and settingRinse the mold with cold water so the set jelly releases. Chill three to four hours, or overnight for a large mold. Once made with stock this is a perishable, low-acid food: keep it refrigerated and use within two or three days.
- YieldAbout 3 1/2 cups of finished jelly, allowing for a little loss in the raft and the bag. That is enough to line and fill one medium ring mold, or to glaze two platters of cold meat or fish.
Aspic in this form belongs to the cold larder of the professional kitchen, where a clear savoury jelly was the medium in which cold entrees, chaud-froids and moulded eggs were set and glazed. The word came into English from French, where aspic had long meant such a jelly; the connection to the asp is often repeated and never documented. Before commercial gelatine, aspic was made by long-boiling calf's feet and veal knuckle, and its clarity was a mark of a cook's competence, which is why the clarification with egg white and shell is described here in more detail than the flavouring. That powdered gelatine appears at the head of the list, sold in ounces and cross-referenced to heaping tablespoons, suggests a book written for a household cook rather than a brigade: the tedious part had been bought ready-made, and what remained was the skill of keeping it bright.