No. 3515

Roman Punch

Punch a la Romaine

This is made with one quart of lemon water ice (No. 3604) well worked in a freezer packed in ice; add to it a little citron peel or extract; the composition should be put in a rather large freezer to allow two Italian meringue egg-whites (No. 140) to be incorporated; it should first be added slowly in small quantities, working it well with the spatula to have it acquire much lightness, then add two gills of rum and a quarter of a bottleful of champagne; work it well and detach from the sides of the freezer. The rum should be poured in gradually, as well as any kind of spirits in different punches; continue until sufficient be added to suit the taste. It is almost impossible to designate the exact quantity, that depending entirely on the quality of the ingredients composing the punch; generally the liquors are only put in just when serving. The punch should be sufficiently liquid to be drank without using spoons and as soon as served. Serve the punch in upright glasses provided with handles. This is sufficient for twelve persons.

← No. 3514 Pargny Punch Ices & Ice Creams No. 3516 Siberian Punch—Lalla Rookh →

For the Modern Kitchen Do not make this as written.

Ranhofer's Roman punch is a slush, not a scoop: a lemon sorbet lightened with Italian meringue and slackened with spirits at the last moment. The whole thing hinges on adding the alcohol gradually and late.

Gills and bottlesTwo gills of rum is one cup; a quarter of a bottleful of champagne is about 6 fl oz of a standard 750 ml bottle. Together that is a lot of alcohol against a quart of ice, which is exactly why it never sets hard.
"Freezer" means the churnIn 1894 a freezer is the pewter or tin can inside a bucket packed with ice and salt, not an appliance. A modern ice cream machine's bowl does the same job, but Ranhofer's instruction to use a larger vessel than you think you need still applies once the meringue goes in.
The lemon water iceNo. 3604 is Ranhofer's lemon water ice, i.e. a sorbet. Any well-made lemon sorbet of about a quart substitutes directly, though a firmly frozen commercial one should be softened and re-worked before the meringue is folded in.
Italian meringueNo. 140 is whites whipped while hot sugar syrup is poured in, which stabilises the foam and partly cooks the whites, though it does not reliably pasteurise them. Two egg whites' worth is the intended quantity, not two whole batches.
Add the spirits last and slowlyAlcohol dropped in all at once will collapse the meringue and thin the ice to lemonade. Ranhofer's advice that liquors go in just as you serve is the operative instruction; work in a spoonful at a time with a spatula and stop when the mixture pours thickly.
Citron peelCandied citron, minced very fine, or a few drops of citron extract. Chop it small or it will read as chewy fruit in a drink meant to be drunk.
Texture and servingIt should be loose enough to sip, and it will not hold in a home freezer for long without either hardening at the edges or weeping. Make it within the hour, serve immediately in the upright handled glasses Ranhofer specifies, and expect twelve small servings.

A Little History

At a formal nineteenth-century dinner, Roman punch was served as a palate-clearing interlude between courses, and Charles Ranhofer places it here among the ices because that is structurally what it is "decked with meringue" — a frozen sorbet stiffened with meringue and loosened with rum and champagne. By Ranhofer's day at Delmonico's it had become a fixture of American banquet menus. The technique it depends on is the older one: alcohol depresses the freezing point, so a punch of this strength cannot be frozen solid.