Name: Iceland Moss
Ingredients: 1 ounce picked Iceland moss; ½ pint hot water; 1 quart fresh milk

Iceland Moss

Ingredients

1 ounce picked Iceland moss
½ pint hot water
1 quart fresh milk

Directions

Make the jelly

Infuse the Iceland moss in hot water for 15 minutes.
Strain the water and boil the moss in fresh milk until reduced to 1½ pints.
Cool the mixture in a mold to form a jelly.

Serve

Serve with fruit jelly, such as quince or apple, if desired.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Iceland moss: Its natural polysaccharides thicken the milk and set it into a firm, wobbly jelly as it cools.
Fresh milk: Forms the body of the jelly, and its proteins and sugars give it a creamy, soft texture.

The step that matters

Reducing the milk to 1½ pints. The amount of liquid left after boiling sets the concentration of moss and milk solids. Too much liquid leaves a jelly that stays soft, while over-reducing makes it stiff and rubbery. Measure carefully before cooling.

“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.