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Dessert

Claret Jelly

A gelatinous dessert made from claret wine, sugar, and cochineal.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Claret Jelly

Ingredients

Directions

Make the jelly

  1. Soak the gelatine in the water.

  2. Add the sugar and stir over heat until dissolved.

  3. Pour in the claret and color with cochineal.

  4. Strain into a wetted mould.

Unmould and serve

  1. Dip the mould in hot water for a second.

  2. Turn the mould onto a glass dish.

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

Gelatine
Sets the liquid into a firm jelly that holds its shape when turned out.
Claret
Provides the main flavour and deep red colour of the jelly.
Lump sugar
Adds sweetness and balances the tannin and acidity of the wine.

The step that matters

Dipping the mould in hot water. A brief dip melts a thin layer of set gelatine against the mould, so the jelly releases whole. Too long a dip softens the edges and can melt the jelly, while skipping it can leave the jelly stuck.

“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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