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Fondu of Cheese (Grate half a pound of parmesan)
616. Grate half a pound of parmesan or any mild cheese, put in a stewpan, with two ounces of butter, set it over the stove, and keep stirring till quite melted, then take it off the stove, and mix it thoroughly with six yolks of eggs and a little cream, after which fill some small papers half full, and then bake them.
N Another. To a pint of cream put half a pound of grated cheese, and the yolks of four eggs; mix and beat all well together. Then whip the whites of the eggs to a strong froth, and mix them well with the cream, &c.; put the mixture in small paper trays, for a silver dish, and bake it in a slow oven.
GERMAN PATTIES (REMOVE FOR SECOND COURSE). 617. Cut some very thin slices of bread with a round cutter, and soak them in clarified butter, then make a mince of any cold meat, season with salt, pepper, and a table-spoonful of grated cheese, a little curry powder, some good gravy, and a little cream; thicken with flour and butter, then put as much mince as you can between two pieces of the prepared bread, press them together at the edge, egg and crumb them, fry them of a light brown, dish them on a napkin and send them to table very hot.
Two versions of a baked cheese soufflé, both built on grated cheese, egg yolks and cream, set in small paper cases. The first is dense and rich; the second, with whipped whites folded in, is the lighter of the two.
- The hinge: temper the yolksIn the first version the melted cheese and butter must be off the heat and cooled slightly before the yolks go in, or they scramble and the mixture breaks into grainy curds. Beat the yolks with the cream first, then stir that into the warm cheese in a steady stream.
- "A slow oven"Conventionally reckoned at around 300F (150C). The second version depends on a gentle heat: a hot oven will puff the whipped whites fast and then collapse them. The first version, which has no whites, is more forgiving -- though note that the recipe gives it no oven direction at all, saying only "bake them".
- Paper cases"small papers" and "paper trays" are folded cases of stiff paper. Buttered ramekins are the practical substitute; fill them half full, as the first version directs, since the mixture rises.
- "For a silver dish"The paper cases were evidently set on a silver serving dish for the table. If you are using ramekins the instruction has no force.
- The cheeseHalf a pound is about 225g, roughly 2 cups finely grated Parmesan. What passed for "parmesan" in Britain at this date need not have matched modern Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the recipe's own suggestion of "any mild cheese" is worth taking; or cut the Parmesan with Gruyere or a mild Cheddar and add no salt until you have tasted.
- "A little cream"Unquantified in the first version. About 4 tablespoons will bring six yolks and half a pound of cheese to a thick batter that drops from the spoon; much more and it may not set.
- Folding the whites"A strong froth" means stiff but not dry. Fold them into the cheese base in two additions with a light hand — the second version has no flour or starch to hold it, so the air in the whites is the only lift it gets.
- Yield and servingThe first version fills perhaps six to eight small ramekins; the second, with a full pint of cream, makes considerably more. Serve straight from the oven; these are a savoury course, and the second version in particular will sink soon after leaving the heat.