Lobster Salad in Ring of Aspic

A decorated aspic ring, unmoulded and filled with dressed lobster. The text on this page breaks off mid-sentence at "Cut the meat from two" — two lobsters, dressed with mayonnaise, is the intended filling. The instructions that survive are all about the mould, and that is the part worth attention.

• The hinge: aspic at the right stageDecorations adhere best when the aspic you dip them in has cooled to about the consistency of raw egg white — thick and barely flowing. The recipe says only "liquid aspic", but fully liquid aspic tends to run off and the pieces slide, while set aspic will not coat at all. Keep the dipping bowl over cool water and stop when it begins to thicken on the spoon.
• Build it in thin layersPour a scant 1/4 inch of syrupy aspic over the olives and let it firm before adding more, or the olives float and the pattern shifts. The same applies to the side decorations: fix them with a film of aspic, chill, then fill the mould in two or three stages.
• Aspic and gelatineAspic here is clarified meat or fish stock set with gelatine. Powdered gelatine sold today may set more firmly than the sheet and shredded gelatine of the period, so err on the light side; about 1 envelope (2 1/2 tsp) per 2 cups of well-flavoured stock gives a jelly firm enough to unmould and still pleasant to eat. Cold stock, even good homemade fish fumet, may need help from a little lemon juice and salt, since jelly tastes flatter cold than warm.
• Pim-olasA trade name of the period for green olives stuffed with pimiento — pimiento-stuffed olives off any supermarket shelf. The recipe sets them whole, an inch apart, in the bottom of the mould.
• Royal custardCustard royale: eggs beaten with stock or cream, seasoned, baked gently in a shallow pan until just set, chilled, then cut into small diamonds, stars or crescents. It is firm enough to handle with a skewer. Cooked carrot and turnip, cut with the smallest aspic cutters, do the same job with less work.
• Larding needleA long thin steel needle used to thread fat through lean meat. For placing capers, any long trussing needle, thin skewer or bamboo pick works, and tweezers are easier still.
• Ring mouldA 5- to 6-cup ring mould is about right for this quantity. Metal unmoulds more readily than glass. Do not oil it — oil clouds the jelly.
• UnmouldingDip in hot water for 5 to 10 seconds only, no longer; a hot mould melts the decorated face and blurs the pattern. Loosen the edge with a wet knife, invert onto a chilled dish, and if it resists, wrap a hot damp cloth round the mould for a moment.
• Yield and timingThe recipe does not give a size; two 1 1/4-lb lobsters yield roughly half a pound of picked meat, enough for four to six as a first course. Allow several hours for the finished ring to set, and dress the lobster with mayonnaise only just before filling, so the salad does not weep into the jelly.