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Jelly, Beef (for Invalids)
INGREDIENTS.-3 lbs. of lean shin of beef, flavouring of lemon-peel, celery, or whatever may be preferred.
Cut the beef into small pieces and put it into a jar with the seasoning and just enough water to cover it. Tie it closely down with brown paper and put it into a cool oven for from 4 to 5 hours. Then strain off the liquor into small moulds or cups, out of which it should turn a firm jelly. It will sometimes, being cold, be retained on the stomach when ordinary beef tea would not, but very little flavouring should be used if it is made for such a patient.
Jelly, Isinglass, or Gelatine. (Substitutes for Calf's Feet.) - INGREDIENTS for 2 quart moulds.-3 oz. of Swinborne's isinglass or gelatine, 2 quarts of water. AVERAGE COST, with flavouring, 2s.
Put the isinglass or gelatine into a saucepan with the above proportion of cold water; bring it quickly to boil, and let it boil very fast, until the liquor is reduced one-half. Remove the scum as it rises, then strain it through a jelly-bag and it will be ready for use. If not required very clear, it may be merely strained through a fine sieve, instead of being run through a bag. Rather more than ½ oz. of isinglass JELLY MOULDED. is about the proper quantity to use for a quart of strong calf's-feet stock, and rather more than 2 oz. for the same quantity of fruit juice. As isinglass varies so much in quality and strength, it is difficult to give the exact proportions. The larger the mould, the stiffer should be the jelly; and where there is no ice, more isinglass must be used than if the mixture were frozen.
This forms a stock for all kinds of jellies, which may be flavoured in many ways.
TIME.-1½ hour.
SEASONABLE at any time.
Note. The above, when boiled, should be perfectly clear, and may be mixed warm with wine, flavourings, fruits, &c., and then run through the bag.
Fruit, or Macédoine de Fruits.-INGRE- Jelly Moulded with Fresh DIENTS for quart mould. Rather more than 1½ pint of jelly, a few nice strawberries, or red or white currants, or raspberries, or any fresh fruit that may be in season. AVERAGE CosT, 2s.
Have ready the above proportion of jelly, which must be very clear and rather sweet, the raw fruit requiring an additional quantity of sugar. fruit; pick off the stalks, unless currants Select ripe, nice-looking are used, when they are laid in the jelly as they come from the tree. Begin by putting a little jelly at the bottom of the mould, which must harden; then arrange the fruit P JELLY MOULDED WITH CHERRIES. round the sides of the mould, recollecting that it will be reversed when turned out; then pour in some more jelly to make the fruit adhere, and, when that layer is set, put another row of fruit and jelly until the mould is full. If convenient, put it in ice until required for table, then wring a cloth in boiling water, wrap it round the mould for a minute, and turn the jelly carefully out. Peaches, apricots, plums, apples, &c., are better for being boiled in a little clear syrup before they are laid in the jelly; strawberries, raspberries, grapes, cherries, and currants are put in raw. In winter, when fresh fruits are not obtainable, a very pretty jelly may be made with preserved fruits or brandy cherries these, in a bright and clear jelly, have a very pretty effect; of course, unless the jelly be very clear, the Blanc Mange.
Pear Ice.
Meringue.
Orange Jelly.
Chantilly Basket.
Lemon Jelly.
Fancy Jelly.
Vanilla Ice.
Trifle.
Apricot Cream.
Apricot Ice.
Tipsy Cake.
Sweet Dishes.
JELLY, ORANGE. beauty of the dish will be spoiled. It may be garnished with the same fruit as is laid in the jelly; for instance, an open jelly with strawberries might have, piled in the centre, a few of the same fruit prettily arranged, or a little whipped cream might be substituted for the fruit.
TIME.-One layer of jelly should remain 2 hours in a very cool place before another layer is added.
SEASONABLE, with fresh fruit, from June to October; with dried, at any time.
A beef essence set by its own collagen, from the sickroom chapter of the Victorian household manual. The whole point is that shin of beef supplies enough gelatine to firm up on cooling with nothing added.
- Cut of meat"Lean shin of beef" is beef shank, sold on or off the bone. It is the collagen in the shank that makes the liquor set; a lean cut such as round will give you broth that stays liquid.
- "A cool oven"Read that as 250-275F. The aim is to draw the juices out without ever bringing the liquid to a boil, which would cloud the jelly and toughen the meat fibres before they release their gelatine.
- The jar and the paperThe original puts the meat in a jar and ties it closely down with brown paper. Use a lidded ovenproof jar or a small casserole with a tight lid, or cover with foil crimped at the rim. The seal matters because the liquid must not evaporate; there is very little of it to begin with.
- Water"Just enough to cover" is literal: only as much as barely submerges the meat once it is packed into the jar, perhaps a pint or so for 3 lb, depending on the vessel. More water gives a weak jelly that will not turn out of the mould.
- Strain and degreaseStrain through a fine sieve while hot, then chill. Lift off the disc of fat that sets on top before turning the jelly out, or the surface will be greasy and grey.
- FlavouringLemon peel and celery are suggestions, not requirements, and the text is right that for a genuinely delicate stomach they should be nearly absent. No salt is called for at all, which is worth remembering if you are eating it yourself rather than feeding a patient.
- Yield and keepingExpect about a pint, enough for four small cups. It is a fresh, unpreserved meat stock: refrigerate at once and use within two days, or freeze it.
- Isinglass, where it appearsIsinglass is a fish-derived setting agent, largely replaced by leaf or powdered gelatine. Beeton says herself that its strength varied too much to give exact proportions, so any old isinglass quantity should be ignored in favour of the setting instructions on a modern packet.
Invalid cookery had its own chapter in many nineteenth-century household books, and beef tea was among its central preparations - a clear, almost meatless extract given to the feverish and the convalescent on the belief that the goodness of the meat lay in its juices. Cold beef jelly was the refinement of the idea: the same essence, set stiff by the gelatine of the shin, and, as the text notes, sometimes retained on the stomach when ordinary beef tea would not be. Nutritionally this was a thinner gruel than the Victorians supposed, since most of the protein stays behind in the discarded fibres, but the dish survived in hospital and nursery use into the twentieth century. It also explains why shank appears so often in these books: cheap, sinewy, and richer in collagen than prime cuts.