Blancmange (, from , ) is a sweet
dessert popular throughout
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
commonly made with
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...
or
cream, and
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
, thickened with
rice flour
Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...
,
gelatin
Gelatin or gelatine () is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also be referred to as hydrolyzed collagen, coll ...
,
corn starch
Cornflour, cornstarch, maize starch, or corn starch (American English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the seed, kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thick ...
, or
Irish moss (a source of
carrageenan), and often flavoured with
almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...
s.
It is usually set in a mould and served cold. Although traditionally white, blancmanges are frequently given other colours.
Blancmange originated at some time during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
from the older Middle Eastern , and usually consisted of capon or chicken, milk or
almond milk, rice, and sugar; it was considered to be an ideal food for the sick.
Similar desserts include
Bavarian cream,
Italian ,
Turkish ,
Brazilian ,
Chinese almond tofu,
Hawai'ian and
Puerto Rican .
History
The origins of the blancmange have long been believed to lie in the introduction of rice and almonds in early medieval Europe by Arab traders. Recently, it has been shown that there have been similar Arab dishes from that period such as muhallebi. Muhallebi, or another similar dish from the medieval
Islamic world
The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
, spread to Europe first as ''blanc-manger'' in France, later translated to in Italy and in Spain. Additionally, related or similar dishes have existed in other areas of Europe under other names, such as the 13th-century Danish ("white mush"), and the Anglo-Norman ("white dish"); Dutch (from Latin , "to strain") was known in English as and in French as , and was based on cooked and then strained poultry. The oldest recipe for blancmange is from the oldest extant Danish cookbook, written by , who died in 1244, which dates it to the early 13th century at the latest. The work may be a translation of a German cookbook, which is believed to have been based on a Latin or Romance vernacular manuscript from the 12th century or even earlier.
The "whitedish" (from the original
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...
term ) was a dish consumed by the upper-classes and common to most of
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
during the Middle Ages and early modern period. It occurs in countless variations from recipe collections from all over Europe and was one of the few truly international dishes of medieval and early modern Europe. It is mentioned in the prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales, Canterbury Tales'' and in an early 15th-century cookbook written by the chefs of King Richard II of England, Richard II. The basic ingredients were milk or
almond milk, sugar, and shredded
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...
(usually
capon) or fish, often combined with
rosewater and rice flour, and mixed into a bland
stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been Cooking, cooked in Soup, liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients can include any combination of vegetables and may include meat, especially tougher meats suitable for ...
. Almond milk and fish were used as substitutes for the other animal products on
fast days and
Lent
Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
. It was also often flavoured with spices such as saffron or cinnamon and the chicken could be exchanged for other fowl, such as
quail or
partridge
A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They ar ...
. Spices were often used in recipes of the later Middle Ages since they were considered prestigious.
On festive occasions and among the upper classes, whitedishes were often rendered more festive by colouring agents: the reddish-golden yellow of
saffron; green with various
herb
Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...
s; or
sandalwood
Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...
for
russet. In 14th-century France, parti-colouring (the use of two bright contrasting colours on the same plate) was especially popular and was described by (also known as ), one of the primary authors of the later editions of . The brightly coloured whitedishes were one of the most common of the early
entremets: edibles that were intended to entertain and delight through a gaudy appearance as much as through flavour.
In the 17th century (1666), the
durian fruit was compared to blanc-mangé by Alexandre de Rhodes:
In the 17th century, the whitedish evolved into a meatless dessert
pudding with cream and eggs, and later,
gelatin
Gelatin or gelatine () is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also be referred to as hydrolyzed collagen, coll ...
. In the 19th century,
arrowroot and
cornflour were added, and the dish evolved into the modern blancmange.
Etymology
The word blancmange derives from Old French . The name "whitedish" is a modern term used by some historians, though the name historically was either a direct translation from or a
calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...
of the Old French term. Many different local or regional terms were used for the dish in the Middle Ages as translations of the French term:
[Scully, p. 208]
* English: , , , ,
* Catalan: , ,
* Portuguese:
* Italian: , , ,
* Spanish:
* Dutch/Flemish:
* German:
* Latin:
[ Platina, ''De honesta voluptate et valetudine'' book 6]
Though it is fairly certain that the etymology is indeed "white dish", medieval sources are not always consistent as to the actual colour of the dish. Food scholar Terence Scully has proposed the alternative etymology of , "bland dish", reflecting its often mild and "dainty" (in this context meaning refined and aristocratic) taste and popularity as a dish for the sick.
See also
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
List of almond dishes
References
Sources
*''Food in the Middle Ages: A Book of Essays'' (1995) edited by Melitta Weiss Adamson
*Ossa, Germán Patiño (2007).
Fogón de negros: cocina y cultura en una región latinoamericana.'
*Scully, Terence (1995), ''The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages''.
External links
Blanc-Manger: A Journey Through TimeMore Intelligent Life article
{{Puddings
Almond dishes
British desserts
French cuisine
Puddings
Spanish cuisine
Dessert containing meat