Aspic of Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the jelly base
Pour warm savory jelly into a plain tin or copper mold to a depth of 1½ inches.
Cook the smelts
Boil fresh smelts gently in strong saltwater until cooked.
Drain the smelts.
Set and unmold
Once the jelly in the mold is cold, place the smelts on top with the best side down.
Pour a little lukewarm jelly over the fish.
Let it cool.
Fill the mold with more savory jelly.
Dip the mold in warm water.
Place a dish on top.
Turn the mold over.
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
- Savory jelly
- Forms the clear, firm gel that holds the fish and sets into a sliceable aspic.
- Fresh smelts
- The fish that is set within the jelly and forms the main visible filling.
The step that matters
Pouring lukewarm jelly over the fish. Jelly that is too hot will melt the base layer and disturb the fish, while jelly that is too cold sets unevenly. Keeping it lukewarm lets the layers bond without disturbing the arrangement.
“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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