Chef Juliette
Various Almond Preparations
Five almond preparations, one discipline: remove the skins cleanly, dry every kernel through, then cut, toast, or cloak it in pale caramel without letting its fragrant oils escape.
Culinary Explorer
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Jellies à la Moscovite
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2656, Jellies à la Moscovite, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Gelées à la Moscovite turn an ordinary clear fruit jelly into a lesson in cold: sealed metal moulds, salted ice, and the nerve to stop at a delicate frosted coat.
Desserts
French
Special Occasion
Celebration
Dinner Party
25 min
Active Time
10 min cook•1 hr 15 min total
Yield4 individual jellies (4 servings)
Gelées à la Moscovite (salted-ice frosted jellies) teach one true thing: cold is an ingredient, and the cook must stop it at exactly the right moment. The jelly should leave its mould with a thin, snowy coat around a clear, tender centre. Another few minutes in the freezing mixture turns delicacy into a block.
The original assumed brigade quantities, tightly closing metal moulds, twenty-five pounds of ice, freezing salt, and saltpetre. For one cook, one stove, one evening, four small stainless-steel moulds, two kilograms of crushed ice, and one part coarse salt to five parts ice do the same work. Saltpetre goes because the smaller moulds and salted ice provide sufficient cold without it. The chemical and the brigade bulk were scaffolding; the sealed mould and sharply timed freezing are the dish.
The entry specifies a treatment rather than one fixed flavour, so clear apple and lemon provide the ordinary jelly, pale enough to show its frosted coat. Cool it until faintly syrupy before sealing the moulds, then stay beside the ice. Pull them when the centres quiver together and the outer edge has just turned cloudy. That judgment is the step that matters most.
Gelées à la Moscovite belong to the formal French service table and the grand-kitchen repertory of moulded jellies; the Russian name describes their unusually severe cold, not a Russian flavour or pantry. Professional kitchens sealed metal moulds with butter and buried them in ice fortified with coarse salt and saltpetre, producing an opaque frozen skin around an otherwise tender jelly. As service moved into silver bowls and deep dishes, cooks often placed macédoine beneath softer jelly and used less gelatine, but the brief salted-ice frosting remained the preparation’s defining act.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
clear unsweetened apple juice
Quantity
2¼ cups (540 ml / 540 g)
divided
unflavoured powdered gelatine
Quantity
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml / 12 g)
granulated sugar
Quantity
⅓ cup (80 ml / 65 g)
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g)
finely strained
macédoine of poached pear and canned apricot
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 90 g)
cut into small dice and drained very well
unsalted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
softened, for sealing the moulds
crushed ice
Quantity
About 14 cups (3.3 litres / 2 kg)
coarse rock salt
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 400 g)
for the freezing mixture only
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| clear unsweetened apple juicedivided | 2¼ cups (540 ml / 540 g) |
| unflavoured powdered gelatine | 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml / 12 g) |
| granulated sugar | ⅓ cup (80 ml / 65 g) |
| fresh lemon juicefinely strained | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g) |
| macédoine of poached pear and canned apricotcut into small dice and drained very well | ½ cup (120 ml / 90 g) |
| unsalted buttersoftened, for sealing the moulds | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| crushed ice | About 14 cups (3.3 litres / 2 kg) |
| coarse rock saltfor the freezing mixture only | 1½ cups (360 ml / 400 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Four lidded stainless-steel pudding moulds, 6 ounces (180 ml) each
- •Deep 5-quart (5-litre) nonreactive pot or small insulated cooler
- •Fine-mesh sieve
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Insulated kitchen gloves and sturdy tongs
Instructions
- 1
Prepare moulds and fruit
Rinse four lidded 6-ounce (180 ml) stainless-steel moulds with cold water and leave the interiors barely wet; that fine film helps the jellies release without oil. Dry the rims thoroughly. Divide the macédoine, the small mixture of poached pear and apricot, among the moulds and keep them cold while you make the jelly.
Blot the fruit carefully before it enters the moulds. Loose syrup clouds the jelly and can soften the gel immediately around each piece. - 2
Build the clear jelly
Pour ½ cup (120 ml) of the cold apple juice into a bowl, sprinkle the gelatine evenly over it, and leave it for 10 minutes to swell. Warm the remaining apple juice with the sugar just until the sugar dissolves; don't boil it, because hard boiling dulls the fresh flavour and traps bubbles. Remove from the heat, stir in the swollen gelatine until completely clear, then add the strained lemon juice. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve without pressing.
- 3
Cool until syrupy
Set the pan in a bowl of cold water and stir gently until the jelly is cool and faintly syrupy, about 10 to 15 minutes. It should coat a spoon lightly but still pour in a clean stream. If it sets around the edges, don't force it through the sieve. Ça se rattrape: stand the pan over barely warm water and stir just until fluid again.
- 4
Fill and seal
Pour the cooled jelly among the moulds, leaving about ¼ inch (5 mm) of headroom. Smooth a continuous thread of softened butter around each dry lid edge, close the mould firmly, and wipe away the excess. The butter is a gasket, not a garnish; any gap admits salt brine and ruins the jelly.
- 5
Pack the freezing bath
Put a layer of crushed ice in a deep pot or small insulated cooler. Stand the sealed moulds upright, then alternate the remaining ice and rock salt around them, keeping the source proportion of one part salt to five parts ice by weight. Pack the mixture firmly to just below the lids. Melting ice will make its own brine, so add no water. Wear insulated gloves and use tongs, because this bath becomes cold enough to injure bare skin.
The bath should fall below 18°F (-8°C). If it remains warmer, stir and repack the ice so the salt is distributed evenly. - 6
Catch the frosted coat
Begin checking after 10 minutes. Lift one mould out, wipe every trace of brine from it, open the lid, and tilt it gently. The centre is ready when it moves as one trembling mass and a narrow cloudy band has appeared around the edge. If the centre still flows, reseal with a fresh thread of butter and return it to the ice for 2 minutes at a time. Remove all four as soon as that coat forms, usually within 10 to 18 minutes. If a jelly becomes hard throughout, leave it sealed in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes until it yields; if it then weeps, melt it gently and reset it as an ordinary jelly. The frosted coat is lost, but dessert is not.
- 7
Unmould and serve
Rinse the closed moulds briefly under cold water to remove the last salt, then dry them completely. Remove the lids, invert each mould over a chilled dish, and lift straight upward. If one clings, wrap the outside in a lukewarm, well-wrung cloth for no more than 2 seconds; too much warmth erases the frosted coat you worked to make. Serve immediately while the edge remains pale and icy and the centre still trembles. À table!
Chef Tips
- •The entry defines à la Moscovite as a freezing treatment and leaves the ordinary jelly’s flavour open. Clear apple and lemon keep the jelly transparent enough to display the frosted coat; clear white grape juice can replace the apple juice measure for measure.
- •Avoid raw pineapple, kiwi, papaya, or fresh fig in the macédoine. Their enzymes can prevent gelatine from setting. Cooked or canned versions behave properly.
- •Saltpetre belonged to the professional freezing mixture, but it isn't needed for four small moulds. Preserve the useful proportion instead: 400 grams coarse salt for 2 kilograms crushed ice.
- •For the book’s simpler deep-dish service, reduce the gelatine to 9 grams, arrange the macédoine in a chilled silver bowl or glass dish, and pour the jelly over it. The result is softer and more delicate, though it will not carry the Moscovite frosted coat.
- •A small glass of demi-sec Champagne suits the apple, lemon, and cold clean texture without overwhelming them.
Advance Preparation
- •The clear jelly mixture can be made a day ahead and chilled. Warm it gently over hot water until fluid, then cool it to the faintly syrupy stage before filling the moulds.
- •Prepare and drain the macédoine up to 4 hours ahead. Keep it covered and cold, then blot it once more before placing it in the moulds.
- •The salted-ice treatment must happen immediately before serving. A refrigerator melts the frosted coat, while a freezer turns the entire jelly hard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 190g)
Calories
180 calories
Total Fat
3 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
8 mg
Sodium
15 mg
Total Carbohydrates
36 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
33 g
Protein
3 g
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