[Sca-cooks] OOP - Food for a 19th Century Parisian Courtesan

[Johnna Holloway]

Irish moss or carrageen moss was used to created molded dishes.
It's a gelling agent. (I've actually made gellied milk dishes with it.)

See:
http://www.crunchycarrot.co.uk/crunchy_carrot/Irish_Moss.html
Description
This section is from the book "Mrs. Rorer's Diet For The Sick", by  
Sarah Tyson Rorer.

How To Make Irish Moss Jelly

Press into an ordinary measuring cup sufficient Irish moss to make a  
half cupful, soak, and wash it through several cold waters; make sure  
it is free from sand and grit. Put one quart of milk into a double  
boiler, add the moss, bring to boiling point, cover and cook a half  
hour. Strain, add a half cupful of sugar, take from the fire, cool and  
flavor with sherry, brandy, a grating of nutmeg, or if admissible, a  
little vanilla; turn at once into molds and stand aside to harden.  
This will make five molds.

For an individual recipe, take but two sprigs of moss and cook in a  
half pint of milk.

Irish Moss Jelly No. 2

Wash two full sprays of Irish moss through several cold waters; soak  
an hour in fresh water, then lift the moss, throw it into a half pint  
of boiling water, cover and simmer until the moss is dissolved; add  
four lumps of loaf sugar and a tabelspoonful of lemon juice, strain  
and turn into glasses or molds.

This is especially nice in cases of tuberculosis, tonsilitis, quinsy  
and whooping cough.

Johnnae

On Feb 1, 2011, at 6:52 PM, V O wrote:

> Hummmmm?  When did sea-moss become a "norm for blanc-mange?  Here is  
> one from
> 1904 a publication from gold medal flour, and no longer in the  
> "sick" catagory
> of foods. snipped
> Is the sea-moss a coagulant/thickner?   I know there is a sea-weed  
> that is used
> in a lot of things like dog food, carnageehan or something like that  
> (I know
> that is spelled wrong) could that be what they are talking about?
> Mirianna