FoodNet

The spirit of cookery

1895

Page 370

Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
We quote a few titles from our great record of tested recipes : Iced Custard in Shells of Parisian Cake, loith Com- pote of Greeiujarjes ; Iced Bice Puddimj, with Conipdte of Oranges ; Iced Gauffre and Custard Pudding, vjiih Macd- dmne ; Iced Custard and Strawherry, with Compound Mace- doine; Iced Pineapple Purde Custard, with Mcccddoine in Water Ice ; Iced, Custard, with Boast Almonds, and a centre of Apricot or Orange Jam; Iced Bice Custard with Iced Apricot Jam; Iced Almond and Custard with Iced Apricot Jam; Iced Filbert and Kentish Cherry Purde with Cream; Iced Batafia Custard with Maraschino ; Iced Chestnut and Fruit Pudding (called Nesselrode) ; Walmd Purde and Green- gage Jam Ice ; Iced Souffles, flavoured with Liqueurs. Sqwngadas, or frozen froths, like ices in general, are Italian inventions. The recipes which have been given out are explicit enough as to the details of the ingredients, but they one and all fail to describe the mode incautiously alluded to by a single recipe, in which is introduced the fixed air necessary to promote its lightness, and by means of which its vohme is increased twofold. There is therefore here undoubtedly a trade secret concealed, which, however trivial it may be (perhaps mere white of egg, or it may not amount to mor’e than the addition of a tablespoonful of effervescent mixture of bicarbonate of soda and citric acid), is essential to the complete success of the opera- tion. Every froth is a spongada, or may be called so, in allu- sion to the resemblance of its structure to a sponge. We have the appellation in sponge-cake, but spongada is still more expressive, as including the idea of a thing made to appear like a sponge. From this point of view soufflds may be termed spongadas, many bavaroises the same, and SPONGADAS AND FRUIT ICES 5S7 evei'y preparation containing much lohippcd cream, or being whij^pecl cream itself, may justly receive the same name. We give a few titles of recipes from our approved collec- tions : Chocolate Spongada with Pistachios and Ginger Com- fits— these and other comfits, little white or coloured sugar beans flavoured with specific essences, are cdements of diver- sion, requiring crunching and evolving flavour contrasting to the other materials of the composition (Spongada di Eoma); Sj)07igada of Almonds and Crea^n (Spongada di Toledo), flavoured with Kirsch-icass, French abbreviation of Kirschenwasser , cherry-water ; Compound Spongada of Pis- tachio Puree u'ith Apricot Icc ; and variations. Special hinds of ices are Apricot Ice, once in favour with Mesdames de France — one of their cooks, Cohier de Lompier, left a recipe for its confection ; Pineapple Ice — the recipes relating to this ice appear to us not very practical ; Iced Vanilla and Custard Cream, probably better defined as a crecmi custard with excess of cream; Iced Custard Cream with Flou-ers of Cedrat — all other kinds of flowers (suitable for confections) may be used in the same manner : cddrat is the Citrus medicct (Risso), better known in the Bast than with us ; Iced Custcml Cream tuith Pistachio Purde and Spinach Green — for the cream which is omitted a mixture of sugar syrup and white of egg is substituted. A variation of the spongada, omitting the cream, could not attain the quality of the original cream ice, and for this reason was complictead with Jced Apricot Parde. Iced Chocolate Custard Cream and Iced Cofee Custard Cream close the selection.