No. 2445

Molded Jelly Border

Bordure de Gelee Moulee

Incrust a metal border mold, either of tinned copper or tin, on ice; decorate it with fanciful cuts, either of truffles, tongue, egg-white, pistachio nuts or vegetables, done by dipping them in half-set jelly. When the mold is decorated, coat this decoration with a layer of jelly, done by rolling the jelly in the mold on the decoration until there is a layer sufficiently thick to protect it; fill up with jelly. When sufficiently firm unmold the border on a dish, having the basin filled with very firm jelly. The border can be filled with foies-gras, chaudfroid, etc.

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For the Modern Kitchen

This is a construction technique rather than a dish: a ring of clear aspic, lined with cut decorations, unmolded and filled at the last moment. Everything depends on the jelly setting in thin, controlled stages.

The hinge: work in layers, never all at onceThe decorations are fixed with half-set jelly, then sealed under a thin protective coat before the mold is filled. If you pour warm jelly straight onto the cutouts they float loose and the pattern is ruined. Each coat must be tacky, not liquid, and each must be firm before the next goes on.
"Incrust on ice"Ranhofer means bedding the mold in ice so its walls stay very cold while you work; he does not specify a salted ice bath here. A metal bowl of ice, or a mold chilled hard in the freezer and returned to it between coats, does the same job. Tinned copper is not essential; any thin metal ring mold conducts well.
Jelly strengthAn aspic that will stand unsupported on a dish is considerably stiffer than a modern gelatin dessert, perhaps twice as stiff. Ranhofer gives no proportions here; test a spoonful on ice before committing the mold. A stock rich in veal knuckle or pig's trotter needs less added gelatin.
"Rolling the jelly in the mold"Ladle a few spoonfuls of cool, syrupy jelly into the chilled mold and turn it continuously in your hands over ice so the jelly climbs and sets evenly on the walls. Repeat until the coat is about an eighth of an inch thick. Modern practice often substitutes several thin poured layers, chilled between each.
The decorationsTruffle, cooked egg white, pickled or cured tongue, blanched pistachio and vegetables cut into rounds, diamonds and leaves with aspic cutters. Blanched leek green, carrot, black olive and red pepper all read well and cost nothing; whatever you use must be fully cooked or cured, since nothing is heated again.
"Having the basin filled with very firm jelly"This most likely means the hollow of the border is filled with jelly set separately and stiffer than the border, so the ring has something to lean against, though the wording is ambiguous. If you intend to fill the center with foie gras, chaud-froid or a salad instead, as the recipe allows, do it only at the moment of serving.
UnmoldingDip the mold in warm - not hot - water for three or four seconds, wipe it dry, and invert onto a chilled platter. A wet platter lets you slide the border into position; it will not move once the surface tacks up again.
Holding and servingAn aspic border stands up in a cold dining room, not a warm one. Keep it refrigerated until the last minute and do not let it sit out more than about two hours, particularly if the center is filled with pate or a mayonnaise-bound salad. A standard 8-inch ring mold takes roughly a quart of jelly and serves eight to ten as a garnished cold course.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchens at Delmonico's in New York across two spells totalling roughly thirty-four years, and The Epicurean (1894) is essentially the working manual of that restaurant - some 3,315 numbered entries, many of them, like this one, components rather than finished dishes. The molded aspic border belongs to the grand nineteenth-century cold buffet, the service froid whose showpieces descended from Careme's architectural platters: a clear jeweled ring, its pattern of truffle and tongue visible through the jelly, framing something soft that could not otherwise be presented handsomely. Aspic in this period was often the natural product of long-simmered veal and calf's foot stock, clarified with egg white and lean beef, though commercial sheet gelatin existed and Ranhofer himself calls for gelatine elsewhere. The technique fell out of fashion with the buffet it decorated, though the same chilled-mold, thin-coat method survives wherever a chaud-froid or a terrine is glazed.