Aspic and Gelee-Notes

                                      ASPIC AND GELEE


Definition: Aspic is a savory gelatin made from consommé or clarified stock. Because consommé is high in gelatin, it hardens when it cools, forming aspic.

Aspic can be prepared as a mold with various ingredients such as meat, vegetables or egg set into the mold. The aspic is chilled and then sliced and served.

Used in this way, aspic is an effective method for preserving foods because the gelatin seals off the oxygen, preventing the growth of bacteria that cause food spoilage.

Aspic can also be used as a glaze for appetizers and cold food platters.

Aspic is traditionally made from consommé, and this process can be time-consuming. To save time, some modern kitchens prepare aspic by fortifying water or ordinary stock with added gelatin. This technique produces an inferior product, in terms of both flavor and texture.


Gelee Definition:

Aspic jelly is called  GELEE in French. It is a flavorful gelatinous stock which

has been carefully clarified.

PLEASE NOTE – it is different from ASPIC- which is slices or dices of poultry,

meat, game, fish , seafood or fruit are molded in a clarified aspic jelly.

Any well made stock, prepared with large amount of bones will gel when chilled. At

this stage it is only called a savory jelly. It becomes an aspic jelly after it has been clarified.

Beef and game aspic jellies are amber in color

Veal, poultry, pork aspic jellies are light amber

 Fish aspic jelly has no color but it’s transparent

 

 

CLASSICAL METHOD OF PREPARATION

• The stock is made from more collagen rich products such as pork skin and calf’s

feet

• The stock is carefully clarified.

• This kind of aspic jelly depends solely on the gelatin present in the bones for

gelling.

QUICK METHOD OF PREPARATION

• Prepare a good quality brown stock

• Clarify as for consommé

• Chill a small portion of the clarified stock

• Rehydrate the desired amount of gelatin in the cooled portion of the stock

• Stir the bloomed gelatin into the remaining warm stock

• Chill a small sample in the refrigerator to evaluate the gel strength.

Commercial mixes are also available in dry powder form which can be reconstituted as

desired. They save time and effort but have a lower quality of flavor .

ADDITIONS OF WINES

Wines may or may not be added to the aspic jellies. In all cases the wine should be added

when the jelly is very cool, yet a liquid. This ensures that the full aroma of the wine is

preserved.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD ASPIC JELLY

1. FLAVOR- it should be intense enough. It should not be so strong so that it masks

the flavor of the main ingredients. Little amount of acids added such as lime juice

or vinegar or wines will enhance the flavor of the aspic jelly.

2. TOOTH- is the density or elasticity of the jelly. The jelly should be firm enough

to hold the desired shape, yet it should melt in the mouth.

3. CLARITY- aspic jelly should be crystal clear

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4. COLOR- the range of the color should be from rich amber to brown as in the case

of the game aspic, to white or transparent as for fish aspic jelly. Additional tones

of red can be present depending on the choice of the wine used.

Fruit aspic jellies can be colored to represent certain fruit- green to yellowish for

lime to red for the cherries. The jelly is colored using various dyes. A color

derived naturally from fruit and vegetable purees is preferable.

HANDLING AND STORAGE

• Aspic jelly is a potentially hazardous food, an ideal environment for

bacterial growth. It is high in moisture content, high in protein, and comes

from an animal source.

• Use only clean, sanitized containers for storage.

• Once jelly is set, handle it as little as possible.

• For smaller quantities pour into a proper containers and cool to 140

degrees F before refrigerating.

• Once the jelly is placed in the refrigerator allow it to set without stirring.

Aspic jelly

,or

gelée

(zhuh lay),is clarified stock that contains enoughgelatin that it solidifies when cold. The gelatine may be naturallyextracted from bones or added from a package. Good stock naturallycontains a certain amount of gelatine but, in most cases, it must besupplemented with additional unflavoured packaged gelatine. Aspic jellymay be nearly colourless (white aspic) or various shades of amber. Mostoften, however, it must be crystal clear. This is achieved by clarifying itlike a consommé. White or light-coloured aspic is used when the naturalcolours of the foods and decorations must show through. Amber or goldenaspic enhances the brown colour of foods such as roasted meats andpoultry. Aspic is used as a coating for foods and as a binding ingredient.When it is used as a coating, it has three main purposes:

1.

To protect foods from the air, which would dry them out and discolourthem.

2.

To improve appearance and give shine.

3.

To add flavour. This last purpose is, of course, best accomplished if thestock is of high quality.As a binding ingredient, aspic is used in mousses, terrines, and aspicmoulds. It is also the binding agent in chaud-froid sauce.

Note:

When aspic is used as a binding agent, it need not beperfectly clarified. In addition, when congealed and chopped orcut into various shapes, aspic jelly is used as a garnish forplatters or servings of pâtés, terrines, and other cold items.

PREPARING ASPIC JELLY

The best aspic is a well-made, naturally gelatinous stock. It has a superiortexture and flavour, but it is time-consuming to make because a separatebatch of stock must be made in addition to the normal stock production.Consequently, most aspics are made by reinforcing regular stock withgelatin. Aspic powders and mixes are available, but the flavour of aspicmade from them does not compare with that made from stock. They canbe useful in an emergency, however, or for pieces used purely for displayor decoration

.

Classic Aspic Jelly

Prepare classic aspic jelly as you would white or brown veal stock,but withthe addition of products that release a good deal of gelatin,such as splitcalves’feet or pigs’feet,pork skin, and veal knuckle bones. If enough of these items are used, the stock will contain enough natural gelatin to beused as an aspic jelly. Follow basic stock-making procedures, except donot brown the added feet and pork skin when making brown stock.Whenthe stock is made, use the following procedure to convert it to aspic jelly.

P

rocedure for Preparing Classic Aspic Jelly

1. Test the stock for gelatin content. Ladle a small amount of cooled stockonto a small plate or saucer and refrigerate.• If the stock becomes firm, no additional gelatin is needed.• If it sets but is not firm enough, add about 1⁄2 oz or 2 tbsp (15 g)powdered gelatin per quart (liter) of stock, or 2 oz (60 g) per gallon (4liters).• If it does not set at all (which is unlikely if the stock is properly made)but merely becomes thicker, add about 1 oz or 4 tbsp (30 g) powderedgelatin per quart (liter), or 4 oz (125 g) per gallon (4 liters). In this case,you will actually be making regular aspic jelly (see next section) ratherthan classic aspic jelly. Add the gelatin by first stirring it gradually into alittle cold water, avoiding making lumps, and letting it soften. Then addthe softened gelatin to the stock.2. Clarify the stock as for consommé. For white aspic (made with whitestock), omit the carrots in the mirepoix.3. After the stock is clarified, remove all traces of fat. The aspic jelly isnow ready to use

.

Regular Aspic Jelly

This is normal meat, poultry, or fish stock reinforced with gelatin andclarified.Regular stock rarely has enough natural gelatin to enable it to beused as a jelly, so extra gelatin must be added. To test the stock forgelatine content and to convert it to aspic jelly,follow the same procedureas for classic aspic jelly, described above. However, note that if the stockcontains very little gelatin and stays watery when chilled, more than 4 oz(125 g) gelatin may be needed per gallon (4 liters).

Aspic Powder

Aspic powder

is unflavoured gelatine mixed with a powdered stockbase.To prepare it, follow the instructions on the container. Additionalunflavoured gelatine may be needed for some purposes. Procedures for

using aspic jelly are discussed following a brief consideration of a relatedtopic,chaud-froid sauce.

The Addition of Wine:

A lot of chefs recommend the addition of wines to aspic jelly to enhancethe flavor and the taste of the product. If used, the wine should be addedwhen the aspic jelly is still liquid. This will ensure that the full aroma of thewine is preserved. The recommended wines are port, madeira, sherry,marsala and crisp white wines.

Characteristics of Good Aspic Jelly:

Aspic Jelly can be graded on the following parameters

Flavour, Tooth, Clarity ,Colour

The flavour of an aspic jelly should be intense enough to make the mouthwater. Yet, it should not be so strong so as to over power the flavor of themain ingredient of the product. There are three aspects to the flavour of the aspic jelly. The first is the depth of character. This comes from theproper preparation of the stock. The flavour should not be watery andweak. It should be full bodied and robust. Seasoning is another area. Theaspic jelly needs to be properly seasoned, and here we are primarilytalking salt. The flavours of the ingredients need to be released. Andlastly, there is the matter of acidity. Slightly elevating the level of aciditywill serve to accent and enliven the flavours already present. This can bedone by adding wine, lemon juice or a flavoured vinegar. However, addingacid must be done with care. Remember, acid can interfere with thegelling of the aspic jelly and alter the strength of the gel. Tooth is the density or the elasticity of the jelly. The jelly should be firmenough to hold the desired shape, yet, once it is in the mouth, it shoulddissolve immediately. The jelly should not be rubbery or chewy. There aretwo factors which determine the mouth feel of aspic jelly. First is the ratioof gelatin in the jelly. The other is the service temperature of the jelly.Aspic jelly must be strong enough to allow clean slicing, yet delicateenough to offer a good tooth. The best way to achieve this is to slice theproduct as soon as it comes out of the refrigerator and then allowing theslices to warm up slightly, softening the gel, before service .Aspic jellyshould be absolutely crystal clear. The range of colors in aspic jelly lie between the rich amber almost browncolor that can be used for game, to a nearly colorless one for fish.

Additional tomes of red can be obtained and achieved depending on thewine used in the preparation.

Handling and Storing Aspic Jelly:

Aspic Jelly is a potentially hazardous food, an ideal environment for thegrowth of bacteria. It is high in moisture content, high in protein andcomes from an animal source. In order to prolong its shelf life and toensure its wholesomeness, car must be taken in storing prepared aspic jelly.Use only clean sanitized containers for storage. Once the jelly has set,handle it as little as possible. This will help minimize the growth of bacteria. Allow the jelly to set without stirring. When it sets as a singleblock, it seals itself exposing only the top surface to contamination. Onceset, the gel should be covered. Cooling of the aspic jelly should beachieved rapidly.

procedure for Cooling Aspic Jelly

The following procedure is used for chaud-froid as well as aspic jelly.1. If the jelly is congealed, it must first be melted. Set the pan or containerof jelly in a hot-water bath. Stir it gently from time to time until it iscompletely melted.2.Place the warm aspic jelly in a stainless-steel bowl.3. At all times, be careful not to make any bubbles. Bubbles in the jellymay get transferred to the surface of your food item and mar itsappearance.4. Select a ladle that fits the curve of the bowl. Set the bowl in crushedice, pushing it in so that it sits in a well of ice. With the edge of the ladleagainst the inside of the bowl, rotate the bowl so the ladle continuallyscrapes the inside of the bowl. This method prevents the formation of lumps that occur when jelly touching the cold bowl solidifies too quickly.5. Continue to rotate the bowl until the jelly is thick and syrupy but not yetset. The jelly is now ready for use. Remove from the ice bath and workquickly, because it will set very fast.6. Re melt and re cool the jelly as necessary.

Procedure for Coating Foods with Aspic Jelly

1. Chill the food to be coated. For best results, the surface of the itemshould be as smooth and as free of fat as possible.2. Place the item on a wire rack over a tray or sheet pan. Excess aspicthat falls onto the tray can be remelted and reused.3. Cool the aspic jelly according to the procedure above.4. Use the aspic as soon as it is ready. Various methods can be used tocoat foods with aspic, depending on the size and shape of the item.• For smooth, regularly shaped items, use a large ladle and nap them witha single smooth stroke, as illustrated in Figure 27.1. Working too slowlymay produce an uneven, bumpy coat.• Large items and items with steep sides or irregular shapes are harder tocoat. Using a ladle, coat the sides first and then the top for best results.• For small items, it may be more convenient to use a kitchen spoon thana ladle.• A pastry brush can be used to coat small items. A brush is often used forsmall portions, such as canapés, that need only a light glaze rather than aperfectly smooth coating of aspic.5. Chill the items until the jelly is thoroughly set.6. Repeat with additional coats, if necessary, until the aspic is of thedesired thickness.7. To decorate, dip pieces of decoration in liquid aspic and place on theproduct in the desired pattern. Some items appropriate to use fordecorating aspic are Leek leaves Black olives Tomato peels ,Fresh herbs,especially flat-leaf Truffles, real or artificial Carrots parsley andtarragon ,As appropriate, cut the items for decoration into very thin slicesand then into desired shapes. For most vegetable decorations, such ascarrots and leek leaves, blanch to make them more limber and to intensifythe color.8. If decorations have been used, cover the decorated item with a finallayer of aspic jelly to protect the design.

Uses of Aspic Jelly:

To coat showpieces such as whole turkeys and hams.1.For Aspic sheets, Aspic mirrors and Aspic cut outs. Decorative centerpieces can be made using colored aspic.2.To fill cavities in Pates.3.To line moulds for cold buffet presentation.

4.To glaze whole terrines and galantines and items coated with chaudfroid.5.To prepare aspic croutons which can be used to garnish cold platters oreven added into salads6.Chopped aspic, which can be used as a base to present a variety of cold meats on the buffet.7.To glaze canapes, zakuski and other hors d’oeuvres.Gelee also has its uses in the kitchen. As explained earlier,

gelee

is stockthat has been reduced and cooled down to a gelatinous consistency. Itcan be used to enrich soups, sauces and gravies. It can also enhance thetaste of stews an sauces. Gelee can be used to glaze cold meat productsto prevent them from drying out during the long presentation times onthe buffet counter.

 

 

PLEASE NOTE – it is different from ASPIC- which is slices or dices of poultry,

meat, game, fish , seafood or fruit are molded in a clarified aspic jelly.

Any well made stock, prepared with large amount of

has been carefully

ified.

bones will gel when chilled. At