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Dessert

Blanc Mange

A gelatinous almond dessert made with isinglass, almonds, egg whites, and cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and rice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,456 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Blanc Mange

Ingredients

Directions

First method

  1. Dissolve the isinglass in a small amount of water.

  2. Add sweet almonds, then bitter almonds, then spinach juice for color, then a spoonful of French brandy.

  3. Heat over low heat until almost boiling.

  4. Strain through a fine sieve.

  5. When thick, pour into a mold and refrigerate overnight.

Second method

  1. Boil 1 quart of water with 1 ounce of isinglass until reduced to 1 pint.

  2. Add egg whites, then rice water, then sweeten to taste.

  3. Strain through a jelly bag.

  4. Add sweet almonds and bitter almonds, then scald the almonds in the jelly.

  5. Strain again, pour into a mold, and refrigerate overnight.

  6. Decorate with blanched almonds before serving.

Third method

  1. Skim fat from calf's feet jelly.

  2. Beat in egg whites and heat until boiling.

  3. Strain through a jelly bag until clear.

  4. Mix with almond paste and cream, then heat again until almost boiling.

  5. Pour into bowls.

  6. Stir until cool before filling molds.

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

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Almond + ricetop 6% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  3. Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together1,465 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Almond + creamtop 16% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together5,130 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  5. Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together15,679 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Isinglass
Gelatin-like protein that sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable pudding when chilled.
Egg whites
Help clarify the jelly as they coagulate and are strained out, leaving it clear.
Sweet almonds
Provide the main almond flavor and body through the pudding base.
Bitter almonds
Add a sharper, more intense almond aroma to the pudding.
Cream
Adds richness and a softer, creamier texture to the third method's pudding.

The step that matters

Straining the jelly until clear. Egg whites must be fully coagulated and strained through a jelly bag so solids are removed; rushing this leaves the pudding cloudy and grainy instead of clear and smooth.

“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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