What is Rice Delight? Like many popular desserts of the era, it is a molded gelatin based dessert. With rice? Yes! Envision rice pudding and jello. Rice delight is creamy, airy and served cold with simple and sweet coddled apples.
If you’ve never had coddle fruit, you are in for a treat. Coddling fruit is a simple preparation of gently cooking fruit in syrup that may be unfamiliar to many contemporary cooks. It’s quick, easy and can be used on most fruits from berries, pears, peaches to pineapples and even bananas -which the original recipe suggested as a substitute for apples. Our test runs got us inspired to give it its own entry in our Vintage Cooking 101 series.
Fear not the gelatin mold! Trust us on this one: it is delicious.
Notes
The directions of the original recipe were fairly vague. Our test runs used the proportions listed below and we adjusted the preparation slightly. First in our choice of softening the gelatin in warm water vs cold water with a warm water bath. We also decided to add the vanilla before the whipped cream (or egg whites if preferred) removed the reduce the risk of flattening out the cream while folding in the vanilla.
Apple and Rice Delight - 1920
Equipment
- Gelatin mold - 1 large or 4-6 small molds
- Fine strainer or ricer
Ingredients
- ½ envelope Gelatin
- ¼ cup Warm water
- ½ cup Milk
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 cup Cooked Rice (*Rice should be cool before use.)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 cup Whipped Cream (Whipped)
Instructions
- In a small dish or ramekin combine gelatin and warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, n a mixing bowl stir together milk, sugar, and a dash of salt (optional).
- Push cooker rice through a fine strainer or use a ricer to obtain a fine meal. Add to bowl with milk mix.
- Returning to gelatin, stir to ensure it has dissolved. Add to milk-rice mixture along with vanilla. Stir thoroughly to ensure it is well mixed in.
- Gently fold in whipped cream taken care not to flatten.
- Run mold pan under cold water and shake off excess water. Gently pour mix into mold. Chill 40-60 minutes or until set.
- To serve turn out onto serving plate. Decorate and serve with coddled fruit (recipe below) and more whipped cream if desired.
Coddled Apples
Ingredients
- 2 Apples
- 1 cup Sugar
- ¾ cup Water
Instructions
- Core and cut apples into rings.
- In a sauce pan combine water and sugar. Heat over medium-low heat bringing to simmer. Stir occasionally until clear.
- Add apple slices and simmer 10 minuter.
- Remove from heat and transfer to heat proof container to cool before serving.
Suggestions
+ Add a 1/4 tsp of lemon juice or zest
+ Try adding a 1/2 cup shredded coconut
+ For more apple flavor, add 1/4 cup grated apple to the rice mixture before adding the whip cream
Source
This recipe was adapted from a Knox Gelatin advertisement circa 1920.
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