My Grandmother's Milk Punch
Makes twenty-four servings.
2 pints flavored sherbet 72 oz. half and half cream 1/2 cup powdered sugar 30 oz. Bourbon or Brandy 6 tsps Vanilla Nutmeg [garnish]
Heat half-and-half and sugar in small saucepan until almost boiling, stirring frequently. Combine with bourbon or brandy and vanilla and mix well. Place the sherbet in a punch bowl. Pour in the cream mixture. Stir gently and serve immediately into warmed cup and top with nutmeg.
The History of the drink ingredients is very impressive:
My grandmother said that the sherbet could be traced back to a Middle Eastern drink called charbet. It's apparently frozen fruit juice and water from what I know about it. My grandmother said that it could also contain milk, egg whites or gelatin. I find it lighter than ice cream, but richer than an ice.
If we look at the cream it is actually the top layer of unhomogenized milk that makes up the cream. This is apparently a natural separation into two layers; one being the milk fat or cream as we know it and the other being fat free milk on the bottom.
The Icing Sugar as called in Britain is known to us as Confectioners' Sugar although there are quite a few who still prefer to call it icing sugar. As I understand the making of it, it is a granulated sugar that has been crushed into fine powder. I have heard from people in the business that a small amount of cornstarch is added to prevent clumping. I can only assume that they are right because I have not worked in the sugar industry.
My grandfather was a great connoisseur of bourbon and brandy. He had told me over the year of their origins. Bourbon is named for Bourbon County, Kentucky that makes it American liquor, which is distilled, from grain that has fermented. He said, there were three kinds of bourbon, straight, blended and sour mash. Sour mash is made from portions of the old mash to help ferment each new batch. Brandy is another story. It is distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice. It was aged in wood for extra flavor and colour and apparently is still made the original way in some places. He told me that the finest brandy was Cognac and I have since learned that he was right. The name is of Dutch origin and means "burned [distilled] wine".
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