Ices

Instructions

1. There is no real difficulty in making ices for the table; but for want of the proper means of freezing them, and of preventing their being acted on by a too warm atmosphere afterwards, in many houses it cannot very easily be accomplished unless the weather be extremely cold.
2. Equipment: a vessel called a freezing-pot, an ice-pail, a strong wooden mallet, and a copper spatula or an ice-spoon are all that is positively required for this branch of confectionary. Suitable moulds for iced puddings, and imitations of fruit, must be had in addition when needed.
3. When the composition which is to be frozen is ready, beat the rough ice quite small with the mallet, and either mingle it quickly with two or three handsful of powdered saltpetre, or use it with a much larger quantity of salt.
4. Place the freezing-pot firmly in the centre of the ice, and press the ice closely into the vacant space around it until it reaches the top.
5. Remove the cover of the ice-pot, or freezer, and pour the preparation to be iced into it.
6. Turn it by means of the handle at the top, quickly backwards and forwards, for eight or ten minutes.
7. Then scrape well from the inside, with the ice-spoon, the portion which will have frozen to it, and mingle it with the remainder: without this the mass would be full of lumps instead of being perfectly smooth as it ought to be.
8. Continue the same process until the whole of its contents are uniformly frozen.
9. Acton's preference: the water-ices which are made in such perfection on the continent are incomparably superior to the ice-creams and other sweet compositions usually served in preference to them here. One or two receipts are appended as guides for many others, which may easily be compounded with any variety of fresh summer fruit.
10. Red Currant Ice: rub two pounds weight of fine ripe currants, stripped from the stalks, and half a pound of raspberries, through a fine sieve.
11. Mingle thoroughly with them sufficient cold syrup to render the mixture agreeably sweet and, unless the pure flavour of the fruit be altogether preferred, add the strained juice of one large or of two small lemons; then proceed at once to freeze the mixture as above.
12. Proportions for the Red Currant Ice: currants, 2 lbs.; raspberries, 1/2 lb.; sugar, 3/4 to 1 lb.; boiled for 6 or 8 minutes in 1/2 pint of water and left till quite cold. (Juice of lemon or lemons at pleasure.)
13. Strawberry and raspberry water-ices are made in precisely the same manner.
14. To convert any of these into English ice-creams, merely mingle the juice and pulp of the fruit with sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten them, or with the syrup as above, and then blend with them gradually from a pint and a half to a quart of fresh sweet cream, and the lemon-juice or not at choice.
15. The Queen's Custard, the Currant, and the Quince or Apple Custard of pages 481 and 482 may all be converted into good ices with a little addition of cream and sugar; and so likewise may the Countess Cream of page 472, and the Bavarian Cream of page 477, by omitting the isinglass from either of them.
16. Acton's footnote on moulding: ices for desserts should be moulded in the form of fruit or other shapes adapted to the purpose, the natural flavour and colouring being then given to the former; but it is generally only experienced cooks or confectioners who understand this branch of ice-making, and she says it is better left to them.