A new use for Port

[Andy Velebil]

Making a Ruby and White Port pudding....

A few weeks back I visited the leading port house Quinta do Noval in the Douro region of Portugal. And while I was tasting some of their heavenly vintages
, I started to think of ways that I could incorporate some of them into a pudding.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 26045.html

[Frederick Blais]

Hummm ! Yummy!!

I'll probably do some with Tawny Port and Pear Ice wine. Served with Tawny/Pear sorbet!! Should be good :)

[Moses Botbol]

Pretty cool looking.

My neighbor is a sorbet mastress and she loves Madeira, so I can see a new dessert on the horizon!

[Glenn E.]

I think I'll have to try those, they look fun!

What is a "leaf" of gelatin, though? Is that a British measurement?

[Eric Menchen]

http://www.ochef.com/253.htm
http://britishfood.about.com/od/glossary/g/gelatin.htm

The recipe says to pour the white in first, then the "black," but the picture seems to show the opposite after you turn out the jelly from the mold. I think it looks more interesting as pictured. Now that I think about it, however, you might be able to make something interesting if you pour the white first, don't let it fully set, and then pour in the ruby. I may have to try this.

[Mark D]

Looks fabulous!

[Peter W. Meek]

I think I'll have to try those, they look fun!

What is a "leaf" of gelatin, though? Is that a British measurement?

Gelatin can be sold as sheets of dry material which have to be soaked a bit to dissolve. You would have to find an equivalents table to convert a "leaf" to an equal amount of dry powdered gelatin. Either that or find a place that imports kitchen supplies from the UK (or have someone mail you some).

Or go online and search for jelly mold recipes that use powdered gelatine and adapt the given recipe to use the powdered version.

[Eric Menchen]

I think the two links I posted have conversions.

[Frederick Blais]

It is always good to add some lemon to the recipe as acidity brings lingering flavours.

[Roy Hersh]

A leaf or sheet of gelatin is what those in the pastry world or cooks use for thickening agents; for aspic, for adding in with bones for specific types of stock, etc. They come in a box and are in preformed sheets. It is available in the USA, not just Europe.

As to Moses' comment on yogurt, that would be interesing. I am in the development phase for putting in a new self-serve frozen yogurt concept at the Fair this year with about 10 flavors. This gives me an idea and I appreciate it.

[Frederick Blais]

Here is my try.

http://www.fortheloveofport.com/portrai ... at=0&pos=0

[Glenn E.]

It looks fantastic! How did it taste?

[Frederick Blais]

Flavour wise it was fantastic. Though it is bloody sweet. Next I'll either reduce the size of the servings or try it with less sugar and see if it holds jelly the same way.

[Andy Velebil]

Fred,
Looks tasty for sure. While I admit I'm not the best cook, I'll have to try my hand at making this.

[Roy Hersh]

Warning: Evacuate California ... NOW!!!

[Eric Menchen]

The link I posted said that 4 leaves was equivalent to 1 packet of 1/4 oz., so I went with one packet plus one teaspoon. So far that seems to be fine, although I wonder if just one packet would have been enough. Since Frederick said it was "bloody sweet," I cut the sugar from 3/4 cup to 2/3 cup. I was tempted to go all the way to 1/2, but not brave enough. Layer one has set, layer two is chillin' now. I'll report back.

[Eric Menchen]

IMG_8415sml.jpg (69.26 KiB) Viewed 2530 times

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Quinta do Noval Lágrima on the bottom, then 1977 Warres VP, then a dollop of double Devon cream. The recipe called for Jersey cream and I think this is thicker than that, but hey, it was all yummy. We drank the Noval Lágrima with it, so it didn't seem so sweet in comparison. The Warres was left over from the weekend before. I think a bigger darker fruitier ruby might work better, but you work with what you have available Marijke gets credit for the photos.

[Glenn E.]

My attempt is now setting in the fridge. Will post a picture once it is done!

I used Broadbent Auction Reserve and Porto Rocha Branco Lagrima. The Auction Reserve looks like it's going to come out slightly darker than Eric's '77 Warre, but not by a whole lot. I considered using Graham's Six Grapes, and that might have resulted in an even darker color.

I'll be topping it with Devonshire Cream.

[Glenn E.]

Looks like I messed up the ratios when I reduced the recipe to fit a single packet of gelatin, because these never set up properly. Next time I think I'll just go overboard on the gelatin - a slightly too firm gelee is better than a slightly too soft gelee!

I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup and while it is still quite sweet, it doesn't seem to be overpoweringly sweet. If I use the Rocha Lagrima again next time I might try even less sugar... the Lagrima is pretty sweet on its own. I might also reduce the amount of water used and replace it with more Port - more flavor that way. But it is really quite tasty just with the sugar reduced to 1/2 cup.

I also adjusted the ratio of ruby to white slightly, because I noticed in the pictures that others have posted that the second layer added (which ends up being the bottom) ends up looking thinner because the top of the mold is typically wider. I made 4.5 oz white and 3.5 oz ruby, which seemed to help but isn't obvious because the gelee didn't set up firm enough.

I also tried two different molds just for fun.

This one came out of a plastic cup. Advantage: single serving makes removal less complicated. Disadvantage: cup is far too tall, making removal more difficult.

P1010532 resized.jpg (149.89 KiB) Viewed 2516 times

This one came out of a mini donut baking tray. Advantage: the donut hole becomes a convenient reservoir for the Devonshire Cream. Unfortunately the gelee wasn't firm enough to retain the weight of the cream, so it split and started to leak. Easily solved next time, though! Disadvantage: very difficult to remove just one gelee from the baking sheet, which makes 12 mini donuts at a time. This easily out-weighs the advantage, so I won't be using this baking tray again. However the hole in the middle is useful, so I'll probably experiment with other ways to create that!

P1010535 resized.jpg (150.34 KiB) Viewed 2516 times

[Eric Menchen]

Glenn, as firm as mine was I'm slightly doubtful that cutting back the gelatin alone would make such a difference. I believe I read on one of the sites when I was looking for gelatin conversions that the amount of sugar also affects the solidity. I think it was both the gelatin and sugar reduction combined that made the difference, but that's just a suspicion.