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Peptonised Gruel

A thick gruel enriched with Benger’s liquor pancreaticus, boiled, cooled, stirred, and strained.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Peptonised Gruel

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the gruel

  1. Boil the gruel until well cooked and very thick.

  2. Pour into a jug or basin and let it cool to 140°F (60°C).

Peptonise

  1. Stir in the liquor pancreaticus well.

  2. Keep warm under a cozy near the fire for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on desired peptonisation.

  3. Taste to ensure it does not become too bitter.

Finish

  1. Bring the mixture to a boil and strain.

  2. Serve the strained gruel.

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

Gruel
Forms the thick base that the enzymes act on and gives the dish its body.
Benger's liquor pancreaticus
Pancreatic enzymes break down the starch and protein in the gruel, making it softer and more digestible.

The step that matters

Stirring in the liquor pancreaticus after cooling. Enzymes are destroyed by high heat, so the gruel must cool to 140°F before the liquor is added. Holding it warm too long lets the enzymes over-break down the protein, which turns the mixture bitter. That is why the taste check matters.

“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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