Historical recipe: claret jelly

Published: December 14, 2022 at 9:10 AM

Difficulty 2/10

Total time: 1 hr and 30 mins

In every issue of BBC History Magazine, picture editor Sam Nott brings you a recipe from the past. In this article, we share a flavoursome jelly made from a warm spiced wine...

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This sweet, flavoursome jelly, made from a warm spiced wine, was reportedly among the dishes served at the court of Henry VIII. Regardless of its provenance, it’s certainly fit for a king – indulgent and aromatic.

Ingredients

300ml claret or red wine
100g sugar
two pieces of root ginger
one 5cm stick of cinnamon
1/4 nutmeg, crushed or roughly chopped
up to six cloves (to taste)
1/4 tsp coriander seeds
a pinch of salt
five leaves of gelatin

Method

step 1

Lightly bruise the spices, and gently simmer with the salt in 300ml of water for 10 minutes.
step 2

Pour the claret or red wine into a separate pan, stir in the gelatin and leave to soak for 10 minutes. Strain the spiced water through a fine cloth or coffee filter into the pan, stir in the sugar and gelatin mixture, and gently heat while stirring until fully dissolved. Pour into a dish and leave in the fridge until fully set.

Discover more historical recipes, including:

Recipe from thetudortravelguide.com and Dining in Tudor and Early Stuart England by Peter Brears (Prospect Books)

This recipe was first published in the August 2020 issue of BBC History Magazine

Historical recipe: claret jelly

Ingredients

Method

step 1

step 2