Paquerette Sherbet

Ranhofer writes for a kitchen with an ice-and-salt freezer and a shelf of numbered cross-references, so the page is compressed to the point of shorthand. The essentials are an apricot ice cream base, a heavy dose of spirits added at the end, and a table presentation.

• A gillHalf a cup, four fluid ounces. Read as one gill of Madeira plus one gill of brandy and noyau together, that is about a cup of spirits to one quart of base; the wording could also be taken as a gill of each, in which case more.
• That much alcohol will not freeze hardThis is deliberate. Ranhofer's sorbets are meant to be slushy and spoonable rather than scoopable; a cup of spirits per quart depresses the freezing point enough that the mixture never sets firm. Fold the liquor in after the base is already frozen, or it will barely thicken at all.
• "Imbedded freezer"A canister freezer buried in a mixture of cracked ice and coarse salt, worked by hand crank or paddle. A modern machine does the same job; churn the apricot base first, then stir in the spirits and hold it in the coldest part of the freezer for no more than an hour or two before serving.
• NoyauCrème de noyaux, an almond-scented liqueur historically made by steeping apricot or peach kernels. Buy it; commercial bottlings are generally flavoured with benzaldehyde-based almond flavouring. Do not attempt a homemade infusion from stone-fruit kernels, which carry cyanogenic compounds. Amaretto is the usual substitute if noyau is unavailable.
• MadeiraUse a drier style such as Sercial or Verdelho rather than the sweeter Bual or Malmsey, which will push the already sweet base over the edge.
• The apricot baseNo. 3451 is the apricot ice cream, described here simply as "light." If you are substituting, a fruit-and-cream base suits the purpose better than a rich egg custard; the point of a sorbet course here is lightness.
• Yield and servingOne quart for ten people, so roughly a scant half cup each, served in small glasses or cups. This is an intermezzo between courses, not dessert.
• The basketThe "inside case" is a liner that holds the ice, set into a decorative handled basket only when you are ready to serve. Any small chilled bowl set inside a presentation piece does the same work; the ribbon and flowers are pure dining-room theatre.