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Green Gages in Brandy

A preserved fruit dish made by simmering green gages with water, salt, and spinach, then cooling and reheating.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Green Gages in Brandy

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 200°F (93°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the fruit

  1. Select unripe green gages and cut off half the stem.

  2. Prick the gages.

  3. Place the gages in a pan filled with water, ensuring the water is 3-4 inches above the fruit.

Soak overnight

  1. Heat the pan over moderate heat until the water is too hot to touch.

  2. Remove the pan from heat.

  3. Add a handful of coarse sea salt to the water.

  4. Add a handful of spinach to the water.

  5. Cover the pan with a cloth.

  6. Let the mixture cool overnight.

Cook and finish

  1. The next day, place the fruit on gentle heat for 2-3 hours.

  2. Ensure the water does not boil.

  3. If using a thermometer, maintain the temperature at 200°F (93°C).

  4. When the fruit is perfectly green and floats, transfer it to cold water.

  5. Finish as directed for apricots.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

Green gages
Provide the fruit that is softened and flavoured by the brandy-based preserve.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the brine and helps firm the fruit's flesh during soaking.

The step that matters

Keep the water below boiling during the gentle heating. Boiling water can split or break down the fruit, so holding it at a gentle heat keeps the gages whole and evenly green.

“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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