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Dessert

Isinglass Blanc Mange

A clarified milk dessert with rose water, almonds, and peach kernels.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Gibson, Marietta Fauntleroy Hollyday, "Mrs. C. H. Gibson." · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and peach match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 466 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Isinglass Blanc Mange

Ingredients

Directions

Make the isinglass base

  1. Boil two ounces of isinglass in one and a half pints of new milk.

  2. Strain the mixture.

  3. Pour the strained liquid into one pint of cream sweetened to taste.

  4. Add one cup of rose water.

  5. Let it boil to the top of the kettle once and let it settle.

  6. Strain the mixture again and pour into molds.

Prepare the nut cream

  1. Blanch one ounce of sweet almonds and one ounce of peach kernels.

  2. When dry, grate the almonds and peach kernels.

  3. Mix the grated nuts with one quart of cream or rich milk.

  4. Put the mixture into a pan with one ounce of isinglass.

  5. Add the juice.

  6. Set on the stove and stir constantly until the isinglass is dissolved.

  7. Add eight ounces of sugar.

  8. Remove the scum as it rises.

  9. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a mold.

  10. Set the mold on ice until ready for use.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

315Calories
10 gProtein
14 gFat
39 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Peach1 medium (150g)59
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Rosenot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Gibson, Marietta Fauntleroy Hollyday, "Mrs. C. H. Gibson.". 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. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Almond + peachtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  3. Milk + peachtop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together781 recipes

    Shared aroma: phellandrene (minty).

  4. Rose + almondtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,465 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Cream + almondtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,130 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Isinglass
Sets the liquid into a firm, wobbly gel as it cools.
Cream
Adds richness and a smooth, creamy mouthfeel to the set dessert.
Sweet almonds
Contribute nutty flavour and body from the grated nuts.
Sugar
Sweetens the dessert and balances the flavours.

The step that matters

Stir constantly until the isinglass is dissolved. Isinglass left unstirred can settle or clump on the base of the pan and scorch. Constant stirring keeps it evenly dispersed so the gel sets smooth and uniform rather than grainy or patchy.

Swap the peach

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, cream, rose, almond, sugar):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raspberryfits about as well
  3. Figfits about as well
  4. Peachthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, cream, rose, almond, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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