A guide to modern cookery

When the stock is prepared its consistence should be tested, and rectified, if necessary, by means of gelatine. The quantity of this substance should on no account exceed eight leaves per quart of aspic, and, at the risk of repeating myself, I remind the reader that the less gelatine is used the better the aspic will be. The clarification should be made with fresh caviare if possible, but pressed caviare is also admirably suited to this purpose. The quantities are the same as for the clarification of fish consommé, No. 4. In flavouring white fish aspics either dry champagne or a good Bordeaux or Burgundy may be used. Take care, however— 1. That the wine used be of an unquestionably good quality. 2. That it be only added to the aspic when the latter is already cold and on the point of coagulating, as this is the only means of preserving all the aroma of the wine. Finally, in certain cases, a special flavour may be obtained by the use of crayfish, which are cooked, as for bisque, then pounded, and added to the fish stock No. 11 ten minutes before straining it. A proportion of four little crayfish 4 bisque per quart of aspic is sufficient to secure an excellent aroma. 162—FISH ASPIC WITH RED WINE This aspic stock is the Court-bouillon with red wine No. 165, which has served in cooking the fish for which the aspic is intended; this fish is generally either trout or salmon; sometimes also, but less commonly, a carp or a pike. This stock must first of all have its grease thoroughly removed; it should then be poured carefully away, reduced if necessary, and the required quantity of gelatine added. This cannot be easily determined, as all gelatines are not alike, and the stock may have contracted a certain consistence from its contact with the fish. One can, therefore, only be guided by testing small quantities cooled in ice, but care should be taken that the aspic be not too firm. The clarification of this aspic is generally made with white of egg in the proportion of one white per quart. The white, half-whisked, is added to the cold stock, and the latter is put over an open fire and stirred with a spatula. As soon as it boils, the aspic is poured through a serviette fixed on to SAVOURY JELLIES OR ASPICS 63 the legs of an overturned stool. The first drippings of the fluid are put back on to the serviette if they do not seem clear, and this operation is repeated until the required clearness is obtained. It almost invariably happens that, either during the cooking of the fish or during the clarification, the wine loses its colour through the precipitation of the colouring elements derived from the tannin. The only way of overcoming this difficulty is to add a few drops of liquid carmine or vegetable red; but, in any case, it is well to remember that the colour of red-wine aspic must never be deeper than a sombre pink. CHAPTER VI THE COURT-BOUILLONS AND THE MARINADES 163—COURT-BOUILLON WITH VINEGAR Quantities Required for Five Quarts. 5 quarts of water. 2 Ib. of carrots. $% pint of vinegar. 1 lb. of onions. 2 oz. of gray salt. A little thyme and bay. 4 oz. of peppercorns. 2 oz. of parsley stalks. Preparation.—Put into a saucepan the water, salt, and vinegar, the minced carrots and onions, and the parsley, thyme, and bay, gathered into a bunch. Boil, allow to simmer for one hour, rub through tammy, and put aside until wanted. Remarks.—Put the peppercorns into the court-bouillon only twelve minutes before straining the latter. If the pepper were in for too long a time it would give a bitterness to the preparation. This rule also applies to the formule that follow, in which the use of peppercorns is also required. This court-bouillon is principally used for cooking trout and salmon, as well as for various shell-fish. 164—COURT-BOUILLON WITH WHITE WINE Quantities Required for Two Quarts.