French Blanc-Manger

fx

Thu, 2 Jun 2016 10:59:06 GMT

Hello Janet, well indeed the English like their blanc-mange so much that they ate the final "R" out of French "blanc-manger". Being a native French speaker it is hard for me to use the mangled imported words such as "maitreD" for "ma�tre d"h�tel" (this one sounds like a rapper"s name. This mold does not belong to me but on Ebay if you look long enough you"ll find tons of very interesting molds of all shapes. The most interesting are on historicfood.com by Ivan Day.

Janet Golden

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:15:03 GMT

Please let you see my comment! I know it has been so long since you made this fantastic post... but maybe the kitchen gods will lead you to this. I am CRAZY about blanc mange. I have not seen it spelled with the "r" on the end. I must learn more about the spelling... anyway, could you find it in your heart to send an email to me, please? I would like to ask you where you purchased the large plastic mold with the hollow ring. I must have one. Also, I would like to send you some pictures of blanc manger, if you will let me. I live in the USA and finding proper molds has been challenging. I have a picture of a blanc manger that I found on the internet, and I must send it to you to see.
Please get back to me, please.

MrsK

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 04:47:55 GMT

The pronouncitaion is not "manjay," it should be pronounced without the "y," like in "mang�."

Angello

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:40:36 GMT

Very detailed and solved a lot of questions. Found your web page on a link in wikipedia. Recommend the powdered almond drink found at Asian markets, it is powdered and mixed with bits of almond. This may cut the time in half for you. Now I have to find a coconut flan recipe and coconut does not behave like regular milk to my surprise. Again thank you for the fotos, instructions and ingrediants.

Cooking in Mexico

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:40:41 GMT

I"m doing some blancmange research and came across fxcuisine. Stunning photos! To answer Mona"s question about what to do with the squeezed-out almond pulp, it is good added to breakfast cereal, a fruit smoothie or muffin batter, providing tasty fiber.

Kathleen

fx

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:49:36 GMT

Alex, thanks for your question - a fair question indeed! Both sugars go in, I will revise the recipe so that it is clearer.

Alex

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:08:53 GMT

Thanks, FX. What I meant was that you have two sugars listed:
250gr (0.5 lb) sugar
375gr (13 oz) white powdered sugar

So when you say "add the sugar", do you mean we should add both sugars to the almond milk and gelatin mixture?

fx

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:02:18 GMT

Well Alex there is a quantity of sugar in this recipe, otherwise you"d end up a with a bland almond jelly.

fx

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 23:59:43 GMT

Alex, boiled water is the way to go for almond skinning.

Alex

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:14:46 GMT

And another little question: do you have any particular way of skinning the almonds? I usually soak them in boiling water for a couple of minutes and remove the skins.

Alex

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:30:11 GMT

Great recipe, Francois!
I was wondering what the powdered sugar is for. It"s listed in the ingredients. Is it for the whipped cream? I"ll definitely be doing this and the baked pineapple for my father"s birthday party.

fx

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:06:45 GMT

Rei I have had Chinese and Japanese almond jelly, very nice too!

Rei

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 09:56:56 GMT

Chinese cuisine has a sort of almond jelly as well. It is a very delicate dish. Try it out one day! But I am not sure whether or not you like Chinese food.

fx

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:14:08 GMT

Carmen this is waaaay better than panna cotta!

carmen

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:39:42 GMT

Hello Francois Hope your doing well. This looks a lot like Panna Cotta. Must try it one day. Hope you have a great day.
GBU! Carmen

fx

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:32:06 GMT

Colin, another reader suggested we let the gelatin harden up before adding it to milky part so that air-bubbles-filled cream can"t rise up to the surface.

Colin

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:58:06 GMT

Hi FX,

Great post as usual. I was wondering if you found out the reason for the separation of your blanc manger? I"ve recently had problems with my panna cotta separating as well, and I have yet to discover why.

Panna cotta (at least the recipe I use) does not used employ whipped cream, though it does use a heavier, thickened cream, but this is heated with milk. Strangely, even though I"ve used this recipe at least ten times, I"ve only had separation problems on my last two or three attempts...

fx

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:36:15 GMT

Laura thanks for the tips, not bossy at all, cheffy rather! I must say that I admire the many American cookbooks printed these days where proportions are immaticulately listed in several units (both by weight and volume) and many alternatives proposed. I"d need a recipe editor or tester to make sure this is done properly in case I ever publish a cookbook!

fx

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:27:51 GMT

Shu, indeed air bubbles are very sensitive and so many chefs squeeze them with manic paddle movements!

Shu

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:34:16 GMT

"If you mix the whipped cream with the delicate movements of the drummer of AC/DC, your air bubbles will go the way of the stock market."

I just can"t stop laughing when I read this line. FX, you have the soul of a poet as well as a gourmet!

Laura D.

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:05:40 GMT

Really lovely dessert. For North American readers, who may have a difficult time finding sheet gelatin and find it quite expensive when they do, a general rule is one packet powdered gelatin to three sheets gelatin. Or to be more on the safe side, since each packet varies slightly in measure, 3/4 tsp thickens one cup of liquid.

I also have a comment about folding in the whipped cream. I have found that folding works much better (no globs or lumps) if the more liquid element is incorporated into the thicker element; in this case, pouring about one-third the almond milk into the whipped cream, folding until incorporated, then pouring another third and folding, then the last third and folding. The liquid should be poured down the side of the bowl with the cream in it so as not to deflate the cream.

Of course, with mixtures that are thicker than whipped cream, the process is reversed, with a third of the cream being folded into the thicker mixture (like pastry cream), then the rest of the cream added.

Sorry for sounding so bossy here, FX. I love your blog.

fx

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:44:36 GMT

Andy glad you like my site, Rag� Bolognese is definitely a great recipe to start with. The blanc-manger should also yield exceptional result. Let me know how it works for you!

Andy

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:36:47 GMT

Very cool indeed!! I just discovered your website and am simmering your "serious ragu bolognese" right now. My family and I are living in France for six months and so I"ll certainly whip up some Blanc-Manger while we"re here. Great pictures, clear instructions, interesting recipes - I"m hooked. (No more epicurious for me!!)

hong

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:09:28 GMT

Dishes look rather pretty and delicious. �I feel so joyful at seeing the fresh food and certainly make me hungry.

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:26:24 GMT

Leila, thanks for the gelatin tip, we should have done that but we all had spent 4 hours cooking and it was well after midnight when we finished filling our molds. I also showed our Danish hosts how to make orecchiette from scratch and we made enough for 8 with clams sauce. So no time to watch the gelatin that night!

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:24:36 GMT

JMZ, you will have great fun with this recipe - a real winner and super for parties.

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:23:20 GMT

Suzanne, thanks for visiting! Do you have an almond tree up there in Vermont? If yes there are scores of fun things you can do with the almonds.

Suzanne

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:47:22 GMT

Oh God I love your blog. Thank you

jmz

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:25:52 GMT

...WOW...cannot wait to try this one!!!!

leila karlslund

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:00:58 GMT

Deat Francois, here in Denmark we make a dessert called "Citron Fromage". It consists of egg yolks whipped with sugar, the egg whites whipped seperately until stiff and whipped cream, the juice of a couple of lemons and the grated peel from one of the lemons. We use the leaf gelatine (soaked in cold water first) and melted in what little water, that clings to it.

The trick to avoid the gelatine settling at the bottom is adding it in a thin stream while stirring to the yolk mixture with the peel and lemon juice and then wait until the it starts thickening before folding in the whites and whipped cream. You really have to keep your eyes peeled and do it at the right moment, otherwise the gelatine mixture will sink to the bottom.

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:01:03 GMT

Jason thanks, indeed it"s a panna cotta on steroid. I"ll call in sick any day just to eat this in bed!

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:59:01 GMT

I never thought about it like panna cotta but you are right. However, panna cotta today is often synonymous with bland, easy-to-prepare-in-advance restaurant dessert and I"ve never had one that tasted like blanc-manger. If you try this in your restaurant and tell the waiters to sell it as "Medieval Almond Milk Panna Cotta" I"m sure people will be back for more!

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:56:46 GMT

Liliana, many people today use almond powder to make blanc-manger, but this is really an inferior ingredient. If you buy shelled and skinned almonds and use a food processor, it is much faster than it looks in my article.

Liliana

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:46:20 GMT

What a wonderful article! I didn"t realize how many steps it took to make blanc-manger. I really enjoyed the step by step pictures.

chef4cook

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:20:03 GMT

I guess you could say it"s a middle ages "Panna Cotta". Looks delicious!

Jason Sandeman

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:57:31 GMT

Again, a nicely constructed post. Today"s blancmanger is a lot better than those served back in medieval times. IIRC, the dish originated as a way to feed the sick and the elderly protein, especially if they had a hard time keeping something down.

We serve something similar to this called "panna cotta."

Either way, a great post. One thing to note: if you are folding in the cream to the mixture, remember to fold it in a "J" motion, not unlike paddling a canoe. You can mix it faster, and still maintain the fluffy airiness to the mix.

Thank you again for the great post.

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:53:39 GMT

Rosa, it really is one of those dishes you can never forget once you"ve tried them!

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:53:14 GMT

Jo, indeed an almond tile is a "tuile aux amandes" like in this article http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?Display=52

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:52:00 GMT

Mona, I"m sure you can give the squeezed ground almonds as food for cattle - nor sure cats would eat it, certainly not humans. Agar Agar is great too, but I just wanted to use something more "medieval" on this one.

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:49:49 GMT

CKfusionist you should definitely try this one - well worth the work!

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:49:23 GMT

Ariun, glad you still like Dan the Man, a very nice person as is his wife Hanne whom you see on the first picture!

ariun

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:02:45 GMT

Hi Dan! What a pleasure seeing you again. Are you not the embodiment of blanc-manger? Tough seaman arms, but the adorable cheery smile of a cherub; rough-lookin" manly demeanor, yet able to cook this delectable dessert; confined to an ancient medieval kitchen, while zooming around the world faster than light over the Internet. WE LOVE DAN THE MAN!

CKfusionist

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:16:39 GMT

Looks seriously good enm hmm ! Can"t wait to try it hahaha...Thanks for the recipe Francis !

Mona

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:31:33 GMT

Very elicious and nice.
I want to know what you will do with the almonds after you get the milk?
From my experiance, when I use the Agar-Agar, which we have it here in huge quantity ( middle-east ), I cook or boil it with water and not milk first as it is faster than milk
We can find geltine papers in Egypt & Tunise as it is vegetarian and not pork or animal gelatine.
I love your site :)
Thanks ,,
Mona

Jo

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:06:23 GMT

Wish I was there, the separation of the layers looks planned - a feature not a problem! I love your site. I guess an almond tile is a tuille?

Rosa

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:54:44 GMT

Delightful! Those Blanc-Manger looks absolutely fabulous!

Cheers,

Rosa