There is even at the present day a dim suspicion among"
otherwise intelligent people that ices are more or less in-
digestible ; but looking at the fact that fruit ices are
prepared with fruit-juices strained and mixed with thick
cold syrup, juice of lemon and orange, and a little of their
peel, and that ice-creams are only so nmcli syrup, cream,
and fruit, or other flavouring, carefully frozen, it would not
appear that these delicious dainties contain any indigestible
or otherwise unwholesome element.
CHATS ABOUT COOKERY. 71
Children are, as a rule, passionately fond of ices ; but
when their parents delight the little ones' hearts and palates
with these delicacies, they should be very careful not to
let Master Tommy or Miss EtKe eat an ice when he or she
happens to be over-heated. Ices are best eaten in the cool
of the evening of summer days, or at the conclusion of a
well-prepared repast, when an equal temperature reigns
throughout the frame. Adults, as well as juveniles, should
avoid ices Avhen they are perspiring through the sultriness
of the season or of an over-crowded and ill-ventilated room,
just as they should avoid, under similar conditions, drinking
a glass of iced, or even of very cold, water.
Touching the precise period at which ices, either cream
or water ones, were first introduced into England, I am
inclined to think that the epoch suggested by Lady
Combermere was only that of a revival, and that ices in
some shape or another had been consumed, with intervals
of capricious unpopularity, ever since the days of the
Restoration. Lord Chesterfield's cook de la chapclle was an
excellent hand at ice making ; and the process of freezing
is very accurately described by Mrs. Hannah Glasse, and
does not to any material extent differ from the processes
employed at the jDresent day.
There is no earthly reason why ices should be con-
sidered an expensive delicacy, quite unfitted for the eco-
nomical scheme of a small family with moderate means.
The necessar}^ apparatus can be purchased for a very reason-
able sum, and half a dozen lessons from a confectioner would
teach a plain cook most of the mysteries of ice making.
You have only to imbed your circular metal ice-box in
salted ice ; when this is Avell set, your prepared liquor is
poured into it, and it must be then incessantly Avorked until
it is thick ; but in order to make the ices quite smooth,
a rotary motion must be given to the ice cylinder. It must
not be forgotten that the more they are worked the smoother.
72 THE THOBOUGE GOOD COOK.
mellower, and more elastic tliey will become. While you
are turning the cylinder in its bed of salted ice, be very
careful to strip off any bits of ice which may adhere to
the sides or the bottom of the metal box. If you do not
attend to this, there wall always be a peril of the pre-
paration within becoming more hardly frozen in one part
than in another ; in other words, your ice will be lumpy,
and a lumpy ice is confusion.
Page 51
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
There is even at the present day a dim suspicion among" otherwise intelligent people that ices are more or less indigestible ; but looking at the fact that fruit ices are prepared with fruit-juices strained and mixed with thick cold syrup, juice of lemon and orange, and a little of their peel, and that ice-creams are only so much syrup, cream, and fruit, or other flavouring, carefully frozen, it would not appear that these delicious dainties contain any indigestible or otherwise unwholesome element.
Children are, as a rule, passionately fond of ices ; but when their parents delight the little ones' hearts and palates with these delicacies, they should be very careful not to let Master Tommy or Miss Ethel eat an ice when he or she happens to be over-heated. Ices are best eaten in the cool of the evening of summer days, or at the conclusion of a well-prepared repast, when an equal temperature reigns throughout the frame. Adults, as well as juveniles, should avoid ices when they are perspiring through the sultriness of the season or of an over-crowded and ill-ventilated room, just as they should avoid, under similar conditions, drinking a glass of iced, or even of very cold, water.
Touching the precise period at which ices, either cream or water ones, were first introduced into England, I am inclined to think that the epoch suggested by Lady Combermere was only that of a revival, and that ices in some shape or another had been consumed, with intervals of capricious unpopularity, ever since the days of the Restoration. Lord Chesterfield's cook de la chapelle was an excellent hand at ice making ; and the process of freezing is very accurately described by Mrs. Hannah Glasse, and does not to any material extent differ from the processes employed at the present day.
There is no earthly reason why ices should be considered an expensive delicacy, quite unfitted for the economical scheme of a small family with moderate means. The necessary apparatus can be purchased for a very reasonable sum, and half a dozen lessons from a confectioner would teach a plain cook most of the mysteries of ice making. You have only to imbed your circular metal ice-box in salted ice ; when this is well set, your prepared liquor is poured into it, and it must be then incessantly worked until it is thick ; but in order to make the ices quite smooth, a rotary motion must be given to the ice cylinder. It must not be forgotten that the more they are worked the smoother.
mellower, and more elastic they will become. While you are turning the cylinder in its bed of salted ice, be very careful to strip off any bits of ice which may adhere to the sides or the bottom of the metal box. If you do not attend to this, there will always be a peril of the preparation within becoming more hardly frozen in one part than in another ; in other words, your ice will be lumpy, and a lumpy ice is confusion.