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Dessert

Russian Marmalade

A thick gelatinous preserve made with gelatine, sugar, glucose, soap bark, water, citric acid, and flavoring.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Russian Marmalade

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the gelatine

  1. Soak the gelatine in cold water overnight.

  2. Pour the soaked gelatine into a kettle.

  3. Cook over low heat until dissolved.

  4. Add the sugar.

  5. Cook until the mixture reaches 224°F (107°C).

  6. Remove from heat.

  7. Stir in the glucose.

Make the soap bark mixture

  1. In another kettle, combine the soap bark and water.

  2. Bring the mixture to a boil.

  3. Strain the mixture into a clean kettle.

  4. Beat the strained mixture to a foam.

Layer and set

  1. Take 1 gallon of the gelatine mixture.

  2. Mix in some of the foam, along with citric acid and flavoring to taste.

  3. Pour the mixture into a paper-lined starch board, about ¼ inch thick.

  4. Layer the first batch and the foam mixture alternately until all is used.

  5. Stack the filled boards as you would marshmallows.

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

Gelatine
Forms the elastic gel network that gives the marshmallow-like body its structure.
Sugar
Provides sweetness and, when cooked to temperature, the firm body of the candy.
Glucose
Inhibits sugar crystallization, keeping the texture smooth and tender rather than grainy.
Soap bark
Acts as a foaming agent that whips the mixture into a light, airy foam.

The step that matters

Cook the sugar syrup to 224°F (107°C). Cooking to this temperature sets the concentration of sugar so the candy firms properly when cooled. Undercooking leaves it soft and sticky, while overcooking makes it hard and brittle.

“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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