Double Mushroom Catsup is a traditional British recipe, based on Eliza Acton's recipe of 1845, for a classic Victorian store sauce of a mushroom juice made by combining mushrooms, salt and mushroom catsup in a bowl before the juice is strained off, thickened by boiling and flavoured with black pepper, mace, ginger and cayene pepper. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Double Mushroom Catsup.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Eliza Acton's 1845 volume Modern Cookery, the first classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
DOUBLE MUSHROOM CATSUP.
On a gallon of fresh mushrooms strew three ounces of salt, and pour to these a quart of ready-made catsup (that which is a year old will do if it be perfectly good); keep these stirred occasionally for four days, then drain the liquor very dry from the mushrooms, and boil it for fifteen minutes with an ounce of whole black pepper, a drachm of mace, an ounce of ginger, and three or four grains only of cayenne.
Break the mushroom caps into small pieces, arrange in a non-reactive bowl and strew the salt over them. Pour over the ready-made mushroom catsup then cover with a cloth and set aside for four days (stir frequently during this time).
When the four days are up, turn the mushroom mixture into a fine-meshed sieve and allow the liquid to drain from them (do not press down on the mushrooms during this time).
Pour the drained liquid into a pan then add the black peppercorns, mace, ginger and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 15 minutes.
Pour into a lipped jar, allow to cool, cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and set aside for 24 hours. After this time, pour the catsup into bottles (be sure to leave the sediment behind in the jug). Stopper securely then process in a boiling water bath for 40 minutes before storing.
