Salmon Jelly
INGREDIENTS for large mould.-1½ pint of any savoury jelly, stiff enough to turn out, a tin of salmon or the remains of the cold boiled fish, 2 hardboiled eggs, a few slices of beetroot, some very small sprigs of parsley. AVERAGE COST, 1s. 6d.
Dip a jelly mould in water, then coat it with the jelly. Arrange in it as nicely as possible, some of the salmon cut in neat pieces, the beet stamped with a cutter, the eggs cut in rounds and the parsley in tiny sprigs, and let the jelly cool. Next (drain, if tinned salmon be used) put the rest of the fish, with a little seasoning of cayenne and salt, in the centre, and fill up with the jelly.
SEASONABLE at any time.
SALMON, TO CARVE.
A cold moulded aspic that depends entirely on the jelly setting firm and the layers being built in stages. Nothing here is difficult, but the sequence is unforgiving if you rush it.
- The hinge: build in layers, not all at onceCoat the mould, set it, lay in the decoration, set that, then add the fish and the rest of the jelly. If you pour warm jelly over an unset lining the whole pattern floats and you get a cloudy scramble.
- "Savoury jelly"Beeton means aspic: a clarified fish or veal stock set with gelatine. Period aspics are often sharpened with a little lemon and sometimes sherry, though this recipe says nothing about it. Modern equivalent is 1½ pints of well-flavoured fish or light chicken stock set with gelatine -- in the region of 15-20 g of powder, erring on the firm side deliberately so it turns out standing up.
- "Stiff enough to turn out"Test a spoonful on a saucer in the fridge before committing. Commercial gelatine strengths vary, and a jelly that slumps on the plate cannot be rescued.
- Volume and yield1½ imperial pints is about 850 ml, so a mould of roughly 1.5 litres; the fish and garnish take up the rest. The recipe specifies only a "large mould" and gives no yield.
- Dipping the mouldThe cold-water dip is the traditional aid to releasing the jelly later, and gives the first coat something to sit on. Chilling the mould in the freezer for ten minutes first makes the lining set as you swirl it, which is easier than trying to hold a wet mould still.
- Tinned salmonDrain it thoroughly, as instructed, and press out the liquid, or the brine will thin the jelly around the fish and leave a soft pocket. Pick out the vertebrae if you dislike them; the soft bones are edible.
- Beetroot bleedsPat the stamped rounds dry and set them into the jelly lining rather than letting them touch the salmon directly, or the pink will run into the fish overnight.
- Setting time and keepingAllow at least four hours, better overnight, in the fridge. This is cooked fish and egg in a low-acid jelly: keep it refrigerated until the moment it goes on the table, and eat it within two days.
- Turning outDip the mould to the rim in hot water for five to eight seconds, no longer, then invert onto a wetted plate so you can slide the jelly into position if it lands off-centre.
Moulded savoury jellies were the showpiece of the late-Victorian and Edwardian cold table, and their popularity rested on two things arriving together: reliable commercial gelatine, which removed the day-long business of boiling calves' feet, and domestic ice, which made a set jelly something an ordinary household could count on in summer. The tin of salmon in the ingredient list dates this version to the era after Pacific canning began in the 1860s and exports to Britain were established through the 1870s, the trade broadening thereafter, when tinned salmon became a staple of the modest larder rather than a luxury. The instruction to use "the remains of the cold boiled fish" is the older impulse showing through: like much in Beeton, this is a dish designed to make leftovers look deliberate, with the beetroot cut into shapes and the parsley set in rounds so that what began as yesterday's supper arrives at the table as ornament.