SC - Recipe Challenge again??? with period gelatin

[allilyn at juno.com]

I happened to have open my file on jellied dishes, so, since the nice
lady not on the list--perhaps we'll lure her?--wants to make a jellied
dish, try this from Sabina Welser's Cookbook, translated by Valoise
Armstrong, and found on the internet at Duke Sir Cariadoc's site.

181 In the year of our Lord 1548 on the 25th of January the master cook
Simon, cook for the
counts of Leuchtenberg, instructed me to prepare jellied fish in the
following manner 
	First he took a pike weighing two pounds and skinned it and cut
slashed notches into it and divided it into pieces. He had also
previously prepared a dish with aspic [with] two trout, each weighing
about one pound. He scaled them a little on the back, afterwards shaping
them prettily so that the head and tail stood up high and he cooked them.
He put water into a pan over he fire, let it boil, also salted it, also
poured some vinegar over the trout, after that laid the trout in the
broth, so that the broth covered them well, afterwards let them simmer.
Do not, however, allow them to cook too quickly or else they will not
stay erect. They become entirely blue. And let the trout remain in the
broth for three hours and they them afterwards on a pewter plate. After
that he put the pike in a pan, put a little salt therein and one quarts
of Neckar wine and let it come to a boil. Next he put into it somewhat
more than one quart of isinglass water, also saffron, pepper, sugar, as
much of each as he felt was right. He let it cook very slowly over a
small fire and skimmed the froth with a skimming ladle, after that
strained the broth into a pot and laid the pike in a dish and let the
broth run three times through a wool or canvas sack, so that it became
nice and clear. Following that he poured it on the pike but did not allow
the bowl to get too full and let it stand until the following day. After
that he took the bowl in which he had put the two trout and poured into
it about two fingers high of broth from the jellied fish. Do not over
fill it. Also reserve a good part of the broth for the next day. Then
prepare white, yellow, brown, black, green as follows. First the white
color which is made like so: Pound almonds small and strains them with
isinglass water, that is the white color. Then take the white color and
color it yellow, then it is yellow. After that take trysolita [19], which
is a brown cloth, and lay the cloth in isinglass water and wring it out,
then it becomes brown. The black is made like so: Take rye bread and
toast it well on a grill, then pound it into a powder and strain it with
isinglass water, then it becomes black. After that take a handful of
spinach or chard and pound it in a mortar and strain it with isinglass,
then it becomes green. Afterwards send it to a painter and let a bowl in
which there is no fish be painted with the five colors, however you would
like it, with coats of arms or plants. Everything can be eaten. The aspic
should become firm beforehand, before you paint upon it. Afterwards, when
that which you want has been painted, also letters, then set the two
trout into it and pour the remaining broth over it, until the broth is as
full as you would like it. And then let the aspic become firm, then it is
ready. 

Between looking up Florilegium files on gelatin, aspic, et al, and on
period coloring agents, that should keep you very busy!  Good luck!
Regards,
Allison,     allilyn at juno.com


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