Aspic, Delightful in a Molded Pan.

Good Afternoon Dear Readers,

I wondered what I might contribute today and I thought I would speak about the versatility of the mold that I used in making a Bundt cake. Those molds are very popular for dessert making such as that very quick, easy to make favorite, Gelatin. Also, as I wrote of,  in an earlier post, any cake batter would do well and appear very pretty in such a mold.

But what do we say of meat? You might wonder if meat is left out of the prettiness of molded pans. Fear not, it is very much included in this category of  presentation. Many of my readers may not remember the popular dinner made from leftovers in a gelatin mold. But, for those thrifty readers, what a lovely presentation of Tuesday and Wednesday’s leftovers than merging them together into a lovely patterned mold of jellied meat stock.

I believe our ancestral grandmothers referred to this as Aspic. According to Wikipedia, Aspic was used as far back as the dark ages. Our ancestral Grandmothers discovered that thickened broth not only added moisture and flavor to meat but assisted in retarding its spoilage. Centering your meat within a log of jellied stock, prevented the inclusion of  air that was needed for the spoiling process. And how wonderful was this at a time when refrigeration had not been even a dream.

Upon the invention of the molded pan, I will conclude that Aspic took on a refinement in appearance. I suppose any good housewife who cared about her dinner presentation would have quickly purchased a molded pan, no longer serving a simple jellied meat log but a lovely crown adorned in garnishes.

Adding elegance to one’s Aspic, one could be even more clever and witty indeed with the addition of colorful leftover ingredients. One can even create individual Aspics, how lovely for a light lunch!

There is no reason to have a simple cow’s tongue log for dinner. With molded pans, one can make any leftover look lovely in a jelled meat stock base.

And should you have not acquired a molded pan as yet, please make your Aspic log desirable by at least adding a pickle to decorate the plate.

Even an old sardine can can work in a pinch as an Aspic mold. And don’t we all have homemade pickles in the cupboard? Always be as lovely as you can!

Warm Regards,

Betty