The 1751 recipe for a Jaune Manger was discovered in an eighteenth century manuscript recipe book believed to have been kept by Eleanor Hunter of Beech Hill (ref. D/EZ224/1). You can discover more about the recipe book in a previous blog post.

The recipe read:

Steep two ounces of Isinglass one hour in a pint boiling water then put to it near a pint of White Wine ye juice of three lemons ye juice of but one and ye yolks of eight eggs.

Sweeten wth loaf sugar to your tast. Boil it all together then strain it off into what you will and when cold turn it out and serve it up for use.

‘Tis best to be made ye day before you use it.

One of our Archives Assistants gave the recipe a go and actually made a jaune manger! In this blog, they reveal how it all went.

To try it out, the recipe was modernised slightly as follows:

• Dissolve 8 leaves of gelatine in 1 pint of boiling water.
• Add just under a pint of white wine, the juice of three lemons, the peel of one lemon, the yolks of 8 eggs.
• Stir together and add sugar to taste.
• Boil.
• Strain into a large mould (800ml judging by modern recipes which use half the amount for 400ml) and leave to chill overnight.
• Then turn out to serve.

I started by measuring out a pint of water, and juicing three lemons, saving the zest of one.

Pouring the water into a heavy pan, I set it boiling, and soaked the gelatine leaves in cold water for five minutes according to the packet instructions. Whilst waiting, I separated eight egg yolks and measured just under a pint of white wine. Once the water was boiling, I squeezed out the gelatine leaves and added them to the pan. It bubbled up alarmingly quickly, but a good stir settled it back down.

The gelatine dissolved much quicker than the hour recommended in the original recipe, although that might be the difference with not using isinglass. Once it had dissolved, I added wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, and egg yolks before giving it a good stir to combine. I also added two large spoonfuls of sugar, although I neglected to taste it as it was very hot!

I let it boil for a few minutes before straining it through a sieve into a jelly mould. My mould was slightly too small, so I also had to use a normal bowl for a second jaune manger. Straining is definitely recommended, as it meant there weren’t bits of lemon zest and scrambled egg in the final dessert!

I left the bowls out on the side for a few hours to cool, before placing them in the fridge overnight and crossing my fingers...

The next day was the moment of truth. After chilling, the desserts looked almost identical to a set custard. They had a little bit of a wobble to them, but mostly were quite firm. My first attempt to turn the jaune manger out on to a plate did not go well, and the dessert resolutely refused to budge. After immersing the exterior of the mould in some hot water, it was much more cooperative and came out with a satisfying plop. I was surprised how well it kept the definition from the mould, although it did lose quite a lot of height.

The taste was potent. The lemon flavour dominated and gave it a sour and slightly bitter taste. Clearly much more sugar was needed! There was a hint of lemonadey flavour which I suspect would be enhanced with more sugar. The texture was very pleasing as it was set and firm, a little like the texture of a creme caramel.

Not taking chilling time into account, it was quite a quick and simple recipe to make. Most of the ingredients are quite readily available, with only gelatine leaves requiring some finding. Just don’t make the mistake I did, and ensure you taste the mixture when adding your sugar!

Why not have a go yourselves? You can show us a picture of your jaune manger on our social media feeds if you like!