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Punch Jelly (Take a pound of loaf sugar one)
1094. Take a pound of loaf sugar, one ounce and a half of isinglass, the juice of four Seville oranges and four lemons, a wine glassful of brandy, and one of rum. Melt the isinglass in a pint or more of boiling water, then strain it quite hot through a fine sieve upon the punch .
Stir it, and put it in a mould.
Another Punch Jelly. - Dissolve an ounce and a half of isinglass in a pint or more of water, with the peel of a lemon. To a quarter of a pint of brandy, and half that quantity of rum, add the juice of two lemons, sweeten it with a pound and a quarter of loaf sugar. Strain the water in which the isinglass has been dissolved through a sieve upon the punch, then place it on the fire to heat, not to boil. Let it stand to settle, and pour it into the mould.
Two versions of the same set punch: a gelatine jelly carrying its full charge of spirit, meant to be turned out of a mould and eaten with a spoon. Both hinge on never letting the mixture boil, which drives off the alcohol and slackens the set.
- Isinglass to gelatineIsinglass is dried sturgeon swim bladder, sold in shreds and no longer a kitchen staple. An ounce and a half of it is roughly matched by 1 oz (about 4 sachets) of modern powdered gelatine, but strength varied enormously between grades, so test a spoonful on a cold saucer before you mould the whole quantity.
- Alcohol weakens the setA quarter-pint of brandy plus rum against a pint of liquid is a high proportion of spirit, and alcohol interferes with gelatine. Err on the generous side with the gelatine and give the jelly a full night in the refrigerator rather than a few hours.
- Heat, not boilThe second version says it plainly and it applies to both: warm only until clear. Boiling loses the spirit and the perfume of the citrus, and leaves a jelly that tastes of sugar and little else.
- Loaf sugarLoaf sugar was refined sugar broken from a cone; ordinary granulated sugar is the equivalent by weight. A pound to a pound and a quarter is very sweet by current taste, though reducing it will change the body of the jelly as well as the sweetness.
- Wine glassfulIn mid-Victorian receipts a wine glass is about 2 fl oz (60 ml), so the first version uses roughly 2 oz brandy and 2 oz rum -- notably less spirit than the second, which calls for 5 fl oz brandy and 2 1/2 fl oz rum.
- Seville orangesThese are the bitter marmalade oranges, in season only for a few weeks in midwinter. If none are to be had, use the juice of two sweet oranges plus one extra lemon to restore the sharpness.
- StrainingStrain hot through muslin or a fine sieve, then let it stand as the second version directs so the sediment falls before you pour off into the mould. The straining and settling imply a clear jelly was wanted, though the recipe does not say so.
- Yield and servingSince both versions say 'a pint or more' of water, the yield is not fixed; expect something in the region of two pints, enough for several small moulds or one quart mould. Dip the mould briefly in warm water to turn out; serve cold, in small portions, since the spirit is undiluted by cooking.