Existing comment:
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Decorative Dessert
In Jane Austen's day, only the most privileged English families served "ices" -- frozen desserts made of fruit, sugar and water or cream. Cooks often pressed these concoctions into fruit- or flower-shaped molds to make frosty, alluring sculptures. "For Elegance and Ease and Luxury," Austen wrote while staying at the manor house of her wealthier brother Edward, "I shall eat Ice & drink French wine" -- two exclusive treats that she did without at her own modest home. |