Irish Moss Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the moss
Wash two handfuls of carrageen or Irish moss through two or three waters, then drain.
Make the jelly
Pour three pints of boiling water over the moss.
Let it simmer until the moss becomes a complete pulp.
Strain the mixture.
Sweeten to taste.
Add the juice of two large lemons.
Serve
Do not eat until cold.
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
What each ingredient does
- Carrageen or irish moss
- Seaweed that releases gelling compounds into the water, so the liquid sets into a jelly as it cools.
- Lemons
- Juice adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the sweetening.
The step that matters
Simmer until the moss becomes a complete pulp. The gelling compounds only release fully when the moss breaks down in hot water. If it is undercooked, the strained liquid may not set firmly as it cools.
“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.
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Lemon Custard64 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.