CookEat Recipe
Bénédictine Jelly
A golden herbal liqueur jelly clarified with egg whites, chilled in a mould and served on a folded napkin.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Measure one and a half pints of water. Reserve a cold portion in a small heatproof bowl, enough to cover the one and a half ounces of snipped Dr. Oetker Platinum leaf gelatine; keep sufficient remaining water for the clarification. Soften the leaves in the reserved water for about ten minutes and keep all the soaking water with them.
Step 2
Warm the remaining measured water in a saucepan. Add the half-pound of granulated sugar and the rind of one washed lemon, and stir for five minutes. Lightly beat three actual egg whites, keeping their yolks for another use. Stir the whites into the warm liquid for one minute.
Step 3
Heat gently while stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Add the separate gill of cold water, move to a gentler heat and simmer slowly for ten minutes. Check that the liquid and egg whites reach at least 74°C, allowing the egg-white raft to collect suspended solids.
Step 4
Skim the white froth and carefully strain the liquid through a clean fine jelly cloth into a clean bowl, keeping the egg-white solids and lemon rind out.
Step 5
After clarification, gently warm the softened gelatine and all its reserved soaking water over a warm water bath until completely dissolved. Do not boil it. Let the clarified liquid become warm rather than hot, then stir in all the dissolved gelatine and its water until evenly mixed. This late addition keeps the modern leaf gelatine out of the boiling and straining stages.
Step 6
Away from the heat, stir in the quarter gill of standard Bénédictine D.O.M liqueur for half a minute. Keep the mixture liquid while preparing the mould.
Step 7
Pour into a food-safe one-quart jelly mould without overflowing, keeping any excess finished jelly separately. Place the mould in an external ice-water bath below its rim, then refrigerate promptly. Keep all cooling water outside the jelly. Cool the centre to 20°C or colder within two hours after the clarification heat stops, then to 4°C or colder within the next four hours; cool any excess under the same conditions.
Step 8
Keep refrigerated at 4°C or colder until firmly set and able to hold its shape when unmoulded. Begin checking after about one hour, allowing longer as needed. Do not freeze the jelly solid or use the clock alone to decide whether it is set.
Step 9
Briefly dip the outside of the mould in lukewarm water, lift it out immediately and wipe it dry. Turn the cold jelly onto a cold serving dish with a clean folded napkin and serve.
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