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Aspic Border
One quart of aspic jelly, white of one hard boiled egg. two slices of cooked beet, two slices of cooked carrot. Put in tin border mold in a pan, and surround it with broken ice. Into the border pour the liquid jelly to the depth of about an inch. Let this harden; then, with a small cutter stamp out some pieces from the vegetables and white of egg. Decorate the congealed jelly with this. Wet the decorations with three tablespoonfuls of liquid jelly, and let this stand for half an hour, that the decorations may become fixed. Now gently pour the remainder of the jelly into the mold. Set away for twenty-one hours on ice or in a cold place. When the dish is to be served, dip the mold into tepid water for a few seconds; then see that the jelly comes away from the sides. Place a flat dish over the mold and invert the mold simultaneously. Wait a few seconds before lifting the mold. This border may be filled with any kind of salad, with boned birds, or with any kind of cold meat, cut in dainty pieces, and served with mayonnaise dressing.
A garnish rather than a dish: a ring of clear savoury jelly, decorated from the inside out, that gets turned onto a platter and filled with salad or cold meat. The method is sound, and the only real difficulty is patience with the layers.
- The jelly itselfAspic jelly is a clarified, well-seasoned stock set with gelatine — the book assumes you have made it from another entry. A quart is 4 cups; for a jelly firm enough to unmold and stand up as a border, count on roughly 2 to 3 tablespoons of powdered gelatine per quart (about three to four envelopes), which is stiffer than a spoonable jelly.
- The hinge: three layers, three chillsThe decorations must be anchored before the bulk of the jelly goes in, or they float and slide. The base inch sets hard, the cutouts are laid on it, they are tacked with a spoonful or two of jelly that is liquid but only just, and that film sets before the rest is added. Jelly poured on warm will melt the base layer and lift everything.
- Remember the mold is upside downWhat you decorate first is what shows on top when unmolded. Lay the beet, carrot and egg white face down, and think about the pattern in reverse.
- Ice bath or refrigeratorThe pan of broken ice is the chilling equipment the book assumes. A modern fridge does the same work; the ice is still useful if you want a layer to set faster.
- Twenty-one hoursAn overnight chill of 8 to 12 hours sets a gelatine border completely. The longer rest does no harm, but it is not a requirement.
- UnmoldingTepid, not hot — a few seconds only, with the water below the rim. Loosen the top edge with a fingertip, invert onto a wetted platter so the border can be nudged into position, and give it a moment to release rather than shaking it.
- Mold size and yieldA quart suits a ring mold of about one-quart capacity; a larger 8- to 9-inch ring will hold more than a quart. As a garnish ring it will go round a table of eight or so, but the filling determines the actual number of portions.
- Serving temperatureAspic softens and weeps at room temperature, and a filling of cold meat, poultry or mayonnaise-dressed salad should not sit out more than two hours. Assemble it cold and return leftovers to the refrigerator promptly.
The molded aspic border belongs to the professional garde-manger tradition that filtered into American household cookery in the later nineteenth century, cooking-school teaching being one route by which French method reached home kitchens. Its logic is display: a ring of clear jelly, decorated with stamped-out rounds and diamonds of beet, carrot and egg white, turns a bowl of chicken salad or a plate of cold sliced meat into a centerpiece without any further cooking. Aspic of this kind became a more practical home project once clarified, granulated gelatine was sold in packets — before that a cook rendered her own from calf's feet, a day's work in itself — and the twenty-one hours on ice indicates a household with reliable access to ice through a full day.