Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly
Peaches encased inside jelly flavored with Chartreuse Green liqueur
City/Region: Titanic | United Kingdom | France
Time Period: 1903 | 1912
Dining first class aboard the RMS Titanic was serious business. Everyone dressed to the nines for a meal that was 10 to 11 courses. The dessert collection included Waldorf pudding, chocolate and vanilla eclairs, French ice cream, and peaches in Chartreuse jelly.
Jelly or gelatin may not seem like a fancy dessert to us today, but at the time, it was a showstopping, centerpiece-worthy confection. In my opinion, it’s better served as a centerpiece than a dessert. Chartreuse is made of 150 herbs and can taste quite medicinal. That flavor is mellowed by the sugar and peaches to be more subtle, but it’s not my favorite. I also don’t much care for the texture of gelatin, but if you like jelly and you like Chartreuse, this is one for you!
The recipe below is a mixture of recipes from the (mostly) contemporary culinary giants Agnes Marshall, Isabella Beeton, and Auguste Escoffier.
“[when using peaches in jelly,] they should be dipped into boiling water so as to remove the skin. They are then cooked in a syrup and allowed to cool in it”
Ingredients:
- 3 cups (750 ml) water
- 1/2 cup (50 g) sugar
- 16 sheets or 4 envelopes gelatin
- 1 cup (250 ml) Chartreuse Green*
- 2 to 4 peaches, or canned peaches in syrup
- 1 cup simple syrup*
*See notes below.
Instructions:
- Grease a gelatin mold well. If you don’t have a period gelatin mold, a bundt pan works well.
- Stir together the water and sugar in a large saucepan. Bring it to a simmer.
- While the water and sugar heat, soak to gelatin leaves or bloom the powdered gelatin in cold water.
- After 10 minutes, squeeze all the excess water out of the gelatin leaves. If using powdered gelatin, it should be fully hydrated and be one mass. Add the gelatin to the hot water and sugar mixture. Stir until it dissolves. Do not boil the mixture after you’ve added the gelatin because that will make it lose its gelatinous properties. Stir in the Chartreuse, then pour into the prepared mold.
- Refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours. The time will depend on the size and width of the pan. It should be starting to set and thicken, but not fully set because you’re going to be adding fruit into it.
- If you’re using fresh peaches, score a small X in the bottoms and put them into a pot of boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds. Take them out and immediately put them in ice water for 10 to 15 seconds. The skins should then slough off very easily, but if they’re not ripe it might be a bit harder to do. Alternatively, you can just peel them by hand or use canned peaches.
- Slice the peaches. Heat the simple syrup in a saucepan, then add the peach slices. Gently turn and stir them until the slices are coated in simple syrup. Turn off the heat and leave them to cool.
- When the gelatin has started to thicken, insert the peaches into it in whatever style you like. Return it to the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or until fully set. My mold was fairly wide, so it took closer to a full day to set.
- After it has set, dip the mold in hot water for just a few seconds. Set an oiled plate over the top and flip it over to unmold. If it doesn’t plop out, dip it in the hot water again.
- Garnish with whipped cream, Italian meringue, or leave it as-is, and serve it forth.
Notes
- You can find Chartreuse Green in my curated collection at Curiada
- If Chartreuse Green is sold out, Curiada has a list of substitutes
- You can make simple syrup by heating equal parts water and sugar until the sugar dissolves
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