Fish Forcemeat for Mousses and Mousselines

Ingredients

• 1 kg skinned and boned fish flesh (salmon, trout, whiting, sole, etc.)
• 4–5 whole egg whites
• 1.25 litre heavy cream, chilled
• 10 g salt
• 3 g white pepper

Instructions

1. This is a foundational forcemeat (farce) for preparing mousses and mousselines. The recipe provides proportions only: begin with 1 kilogram of completely cleaned fish flesh (salmon, trout, whiting, or sole are suitable), 4 to 5 egg whites, 1.25 litres of cold heavy cream, 10 grams of salt, and 3 grams of white pepper. The precise technique of combining these elements into a smooth forcemeat—typically by pounding the fish and egg whites together, then folding in the cream in stages while keeping the mixture cold—is not detailed in this passage and would have been understood by Escoffier's professional audience as standard kitchen practice.