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Arrowroot Jelly (for Invalids)
INGREDIENTS for pint. -1 dessertspoonful of arrowroot, 1/2 pint of water, sugar to taste. nutmeg or other flavouring. AVERAGE COST, 1d.
Mix the arrowroot to a smooth paste with a little water and put the rest to boil in a lined saucepan. Pour the arrowroot into the water when it boils, stir it briskly for 5 minutes, then flavour and sweeten to taste. Pour into a wet cup or small mould.
A sickroom staple built on two ingredients, where the only real technique is knowing when to stop cooking. It sets to a soft, translucent jelly rather than a firm one.
- Do not boil it for five minutesArrowroot reaches full thickness the moment it clears, within about 30 seconds of hitting boiling liquid, and prolonged heat breaks the starch down again so the jelly turns thin and slippery. Stir briskly until it goes glossy and translucent, then take it off the heat.
- A dessertspoonfulTwo level teaspoons, or a scant 5 g. That is a light ratio to half a pint of water and gives a jelly that barely holds its shape when turned out; use up to a tablespoon for something that unmoulds cleanly.
- Half a pintAn imperial half pint is 10 fl oz, or 285 ml. The heading says "for pint" while the ingredients give half a pint of water, which is an inconsistency in the original rather than a hidden instruction; work from the half pint.
- A lined saucepanVictorian copper pans were tinned inside, so "lined" simply means non-reactive. Any stainless or enamelled pan does the job.
- Arrowroot, not cornflourArrowroot is the starch of Maranta arundinacea and sets clear and neutral, which is why it was preferred for invalids over cornstarch's cloudy, cereal taste. They are not interchangeable here without losing the point of the dish.
- FlavouringGrated nutmeg is the one flavouring the recipe names; lemon peel, a spoonful of sherry or brandy, or a little cinnamon appear as flavourings in other invalid recipes of the period. Add flavourings off the heat so nothing volatile boils away.
- A wet mouldRinsing the cup or mould with cold water and not drying it leaves a film that lets the jelly slide out. Leave it to cool and set before turning out.
- YieldOne invalid's portion, about 10 fl oz. It is best eaten the day it is made.
Arrowroot jelly belongs to the large section of Victorian cookery written for the sickroom, where the aim was food that was bland, easily swallowed and thought to be gentle on the digestion. Arrowroot itself is the powdered rhizome of a Caribbean plant, imported in quantity through the nineteenth century and marketed specifically as an invalid and infant food; St Vincent arrowroot was a grade frequently named in British advertising. Its reputation rested on being almost pure starch with no flavour of its own, which made it acceptable to patients who could keep nothing else down, and the cost noted here, a single penny, shows how thoroughly it had come within reach of ordinary households. The origin of the name is uncertain: it is often traced to an Arawak word, variously given as aru-aru and glossed as 'meal of meals', while the explanation that the plant was used to draw poison from arrow wounds circulated widely in Victorian print and is repeated in cookery books of the period.