Oyster ketchup

Dr Kitchiner recommends his oyster ketchup from The Cook’s Oracle as a “composition” that “very agreeably heightens the flavour of white sauces, and white made dishes,” that is, stews fricassees, casseroles and the like, “and if you add a glass of brandy to it, it will keep good for a considerable time.” Note that he does limit its use; oyster sauces of various kinds were prepared for service with poultry and meat as well as fish dishes in eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain.

• 1 cup shucked oysters and their liquor
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• ½ teaspoon ground mace
• 1 cup dry or dryish Sherry (Fino or dry Amontillado)
• scant ½ cup brandy

1. Blast the oysters and liquor in a food processor with the salt and spice to create a slurry.
2. Bring the slurry to a boil with the Sherry and then immediately remove the ketchup from the heat.
3. Skim any scum from the surface and bring the ketchup just back to a boil, then immediately remove it from the heat again.
4. Strain the ketchup through muslin or a coffee filter until it loses the opacity; some clearish color is fine; you may need to run the ketchup through the filter several times.
5. Let the ketchup cool, add the brandy and bottle it.

Notes:

• The Oracle specifies twice the proportion of salt.
• In Kitchiner’s time oysters were plentiful and cheap. They therefore were employed in the manner of anchovies today (and then) to enhance the flavor of just about anything with a liquid component.