Historic Cookery

Many early receipts for making ice cream were, at best, a bit
vague. Oftentimes, the author assumed you already knew what
to do. Here’s one, however, that, although it is basically similar
to many of the previous ones we’ve seen, it is also so specific
and detailed, anyone can follow it, whether now or 200 years ago.
It’s from Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes and Sweetmeats,
(1828), by A Lady of Philadelphia (aka Eliza Leslie). Note, too,
the different layout of the receipt itself, with the ingredients
listed first, followed by the instructions.

ICE CREAM.

A quart of rich cream.
Half a pound of powdered loaf-sugar.
The juice of two large lemons, or a pint of strawberries or raspberries.

Put the cream into a broad pan, and squeeze
the lemon juice into it, or stir in gradually
the strawberries or raspberries, which must
first be mashed to a smooth paste. Then stir
in the sugar by degrees, and when all is well
mixed, strain it through a sieve.
Put it into a tin that has a close cover, and set
it in a tub. Fill the tub with ice broken into very
small pieces, and strew among the ice a large
quantity of salt, taking care that none of the salt
gets into the cream. Scrape the cream down with
a spoon as it freezes round the edges of the tin.
When it is all frozen, dip the tin in lukewarm water;
take out the cream, and fill your glasses; but not
till a few minutes before you want to use it, as it
will very soon melt.
You may heighten the color of the red fruit, by
a little cochineal.*
___________

If you wish to have it in moulds, put the cream
into them as soon as it has frozen in the tin.
Set the moulds in a tub of ice and salt. Just
before you want to use the cream, take the
moulds out of the tub, wipe or wash the salt,
carefully from the outside, dip the moulds
in lukewarm water, and turn out the cream.

*cochineal: an insect; it is still used today for food coloring,
cosmetics, and fabric dying

Read Full Post »