Desserts and baking
'Mock ice' and 'Ginger cream'
Although 'Mock ice' suggests a frozen treat, this 19th century recipe was intended as an ice cream substitute.
It is actually a rich cream dessert flavoured with strawberries, raspberries and redcurrant jelly and set in a mould.
Before gelatine was widely available, desserts were set using isinglass, made from the bladders of sturgeons.
'Ginger Cream' was another rich dessert. It required a 'full pint of cream', with 'the finest pounded ginger and sugar to your taste'. It, too, was set in a mould with isinglass.
This is one of a number of loose sheets tucked in at the back of an 18th-century recipe book. Recipes for 'Mock Ice' and 'Ginger Cream'
Anonymous recipe book, 18th century. [Library reference: Acc.12286/1]
