Imitation Claret

Ingredients

• 71b. of raisins
• lib. of the 'mother of Claret'
• lgall. of boiled red rhubarb or red gooseberry juice
• a pinch of crimson salts
• 1 pint of plain spirit
• lib. of refined loaf sugar
• 1 gill of elder-flower water
• 1 gill of orange-flower water
• 2oz. of gelatine

Method

1. 1

   Chop fine or pass through a mincing machine 7 pounds of raisins, put them with 1 pound of the 'mother of Claret' and 1 gallon of boiled red rhubarb or red gooseberry juice into a barrel with a tap at the bottom.

2. 2

   Add a pinch of crimson salts, cover with a cloth, and allow to ferment for eight or ten days.

3. 3

   When fermentation ceases, draw off into a cask, add 1 pint of plain spirit mixed with 1 pound of refined loaf sugar, and leave to work for a fortnight longer.

4. 4

   When it has ceased working, add a little of the liquor kept back, 1 gill each of elder-flower water and orange-flower water, and 2 ounces of gelatine soaked and dissolved in wine.

5. 5

   Mix well, bung up securely, and let it stand for three months.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The encyclopædia of practical cookery (1890) by Theodore Francis Garrett, page 383. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Imitation Claret. — Chop fine, or pass through a mincing machine, 71b. of raisins, put them with lib. of the “ mother of Claret” (a cake formed of Claret leaves), and lgall. of boiled red rhubarb or red gooseberry juice, into a barrel with a tap at the bottom, add a pinch of crimson salts, cover over with a cloth, and allow the whole -to ferment for eight or ten days. When the fermentation has ceased, draw off into a cask, add 1 pint of plain spirit mixed up with lib. of refined loaf sugar, and leave it to work for a fortnight longer. When it has ceased working, add a little of the liquor (which should have been kept back), put in 1 gill each of elder-flower water and orange-flower water, and 2oz. of gelatine

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.