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18th-century England (drawing on Glasse’s 1747 recipe)

Portable Soup — a modern frozen-stock proposal

A home-scale frozen stock inspired by Hannah Glasse’s beef reduction. This untested proposal uses 500g beef and omits the historical room-temperature drying process.

AI-generated modern recreation of amber concentrated-stock cubes and a cup of soup. Cube shape, tableware and setting are modern illustration.

MODERN RECREATION

Modern Adaptation Proposal

Ingredient quantities, cooking times, and tools are proposed for modern home cooking. They are not measurements from the historical source.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Put the beef, 1,500mL water, onion, anchovy, pepper, thyme and salt in a pot. Bring to the boil, skim, and simmer gently with the lid slightly ajar for 2.5–3 hours. Add hot water if needed to prevent boiling dry.
  2. Strain into a heatproof bowl. Divide into shallow containers and cool promptly in an ice-water bath, then refrigerate overnight at 4°C or below. Do not wait for it to cool naturally on the counter. Remove the set surface fat and bottom sediment.
  3. Return the stock to a pot and stir over low heat for about 40–60 minutes, aiming for one-third to one-quarter of the strained volume. Reduce the heat if it catches; thickness and yield depend on the meat.
  4. Cool promptly again using shallow containers and ice water. Portion into an ice tray and freeze at -18°C or below; transfer frozen cubes to a freezer bag. About 1 month is a quality guide, not a safety guarantee or permission for room-temperature storage.
  5. Put one cube and 150–200mL water in a small saucepan. Stir until melted, bring the whole mixture to the boil and consume promptly. Beware of hot-stock burns. Freezing or boiling water cannot undo improper storage.

HISTORICAL RECORD

Historical Sources and Evidence

These sources provide historical context. They do not necessarily support the quantities or cooking times in the modern adaptation.

Registered as a reconstruction based on sources. Distinguish the source's account from inference and modern adjustments.

Statements supported by sources

  • The electronic Chapter VI transcription of Glasse gives a beef, anchovy, onion and spice recipe followed by straining, defatting, reduction and drying. Colonial Williamsburg also publishes a quotation with matching main ingredients, attributing it to her 1747 cookbook.

    Source 1Source 2

Inference and interpretation

  • Original printed pages have not been checked and the transcription’s base edition is uncertain. The neighbouring veal pocket-soup is a different formula; this proposal draws on the beef portable soup.
  • The reported museum inventory and Cook-voyage connection could not be verified here and are omitted. Cubes, tableware and background are modern illustration, not an established 18th-century appearance.

Modern adjustments

  • The 500g beef, 1,500mL water, seven-ingredient mixture and timings are modern, not a proportional scaling. Mace, cloves, other herbs and bread crust are omitted.
  • Do not reproduce ambient air-drying. Prompt cooling after straining and reduction, refrigeration and freezing replace it. About 1 month is a quality guide; freezing is not a treatment that removes every microbe or toxin.
  • Contains beef and fish (anchovy). Check processed-product allergen labels and prevent raw meat contaminating other foods. Discard improperly stored stock without tasting.
  • Untested and not tasted. Yield, cube strength, cooling time and storage life have not been verified.

Sources and references

  1. Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, Chapter VI — To make portable soup (electronic transcription; base edition unconfirmed)
    Author
    Hannah Glasse
    Publication or composition year
    First publication 1747; transcription edition unconfirmed
    Open source: https://www.fabulousfusionfood.com/georgian/glasse-soups-broths-06.php

    English transcription read, but its introduction says 1747 and footer says 1774; its base edition is unconfirmed. Original 1747 pages and pagination not checked. Veal pocket-soup and beef portable soup are distinct. Main beef-recipe ingredients were cross-checked against the quotation published by Colonial Williamsburg.

  2. Colonial Williamsburg Interpreter, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring 2000), p. 18 — quotation of Glasse’s portable soup
    Publication or composition year
    2000
    Open source: https://digitalcollections.colonialwilliamsburg.org/API/Download/v1_0/GetOriginalLimited?Identifier=CW11A967&SourceAction=API_VIEW_DETAILS_TRX&UsePreviewPdf=False

    Museum institution’s secondary PDF text consulted; its quotation attributed to 1747 lists beef, anchovies, spices, onions, herbs and bread crust. This is not direct inspection of the original edition.

  3. FDA: Safe Food HandlingOpen source: https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/safe-food-handling

    General modern cooling, refrigeration around 4°C or below and freezing around -18°C or below; not a storage trial of this dish.

About this site

About our dish images
Image credits and sources

© AI-generated for History Meshi (STEP199 production record)

Source: AIによる現代再現イメージ。実際の調理・史料写真ではありません。 / AI-generated modern recreation, not an actual cooking or archival photograph. / AI现代复原示意图，并非实际烹饪或史料照片。 / AI現代復原示意圖，並非實際烹飪或史料照片。 / Recreación moderna con IA, no una fotografía de cocina real ni de archivo.

License: 再利用の許諾条件は未設定。 / Reuse permission is not specified. / 未设定再利用许可。 / 未設定再利用許可。 / No se han establecido permisos de reutilización.

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