Jelly Sandwiches

A four-line formula from the sandwich pages, written for cooks who already knew what a tea sandwich should look like. Nearly all of the work is in the two words at the end.

• "Shape" is the whole instructionIn period sandwich chapters this generally meant trimming the crusts and cutting the sandwich into rounds, triangles, diamonds or fancy cutter shapes for a tea or luncheon plate, though the recipe itself does not say so. Cut with a sharp thin knife or a biscuit cutter after assembly, pressing straight down rather than sawing.
• Butter both slices, and do it properlyThe butter is a moisture barrier as much as a flavour, keeping the jelly from soaking the crumb. It must be soft enough to spread in a thin even film to the very edges; creamed butter, not melted.
• Jelly, not jamJelly in period usage normally meant a clear strained fruit jelly stiff enough to hold a cut edge; currant, crabapple, quince or grape would all suit. Jam or preserves are likelier to bleed at the edges and slide when the sandwich is cut.
• The breadUse a fine-grained white sandwich loaf a day old, sliced thin. Fresh bread tears under a thin spread of butter, and an open crumb lets the jelly through.
• NutsWalnuts, pecans or blanched almonds, chopped fine rather than coarse so the top slice sits flat. Toasting them first is not in the original but improves a sandwich that is otherwise all sugar and butter.
• Yield and timingThe recipe gives no quantities. As a rough working estimate a standard loaf, thinly sliced, will make something like a dozen sandwiches, or two to three dozen shapes once trimmed. Assemble no more than an hour or two ahead and keep them under a damp cloth; they go stale at the cut edges quickly.