Peptonised Milk-gruel
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare a thick gruel from any farinaceous articles.
While the gruel is still boiling hot, mix it with an equal quantity of cold milk.
Peptonise and finish
Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of liquor pancreaticus and 20 grains of bicarbonate of soda to the mixture.
Keep the mixture warm in a covered jug for a couple of hours.
Boil for a few minutes. Then strain the mixture.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Liquor pancreaticus
- Enzymes that break down the starches and proteins in the gruel and milk, making them easier to digest.
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Neutralises acidity so the enzymes can work effectively in the mixture.
- Cold milk
- Adds protein and fat, and cools the hot gruel so it can be mixed safely.
The step that matters
Keep the mixture warm for a couple of hours. Peptonising enzymes work best at body-level warmth over time. Too cool and the breakdown stalls; too hot and the enzymes are destroyed before they act.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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