blancmange

blancmange [bluh–mahnj, –mahnzh] noun

Also blanc mange. A light milk- or cream-based custard thickened with gelatin, cornstarch or Irish moss (carrageen moss). A 1918 edition of The Boston Cooking School Cookbook by Fannie Farmer presents a very simple recipe calling for Irish moss, milk, vanilla and salt. Note that there is no sugar. Blancmange recipes are very old, most likely dating to the Middle Ages when it was often made with almond milk and was sometimes savory as well as sweet. There might even have been sugar and shredded chicken in the same preparation. Although usually white or whitish in color, it was sometimes tinted with saffron, various green herbs or other ingredients to make it more visually festive. Now, it is usually prepared as a simple sugar-sweetened, gelatinized, milk-based dessert chilled in a mold and served unmolded.