A mousse (, ; ) is a soft prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. Depending on preparation techniques, it can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick. A mousse may be sweet or savory.[ "Mousse" . Food Network Food Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 21, 2017.]
History
Various desserts consisting of whipped cream in pyramidal shapes with coffee, liqueurs, chocolate, fruits, and so on either in the mixture or poured on top were called crème en mousse ('cream in a foam'), crème mousseuse ('foamy cream'), mousse ('foam'), and so on,
[M. Emy (officier), L'Art de bien faire les glaces d'office; ou, Les vrais principes pour congeler tous les rafraichissemens, etc, Paris, 1768 p. 222][ Courchamps, comte de Néo-physiologie du goût par ordre alphabétique ou Dictionnaire générale de la cuisine française, 1839, p. 184] as early as 1768.
[Jim Chevallier, A History of the Food of Paris: From Roast Mammoth to Steak Frites, 2018, , p. 195]["Tante Marie", La Véritable cuisine de famille, comprenant 1.000 recettes et 500 menus, 18??, p. 296 "Crème fouettée (ou Fromage à la Chantilly)"][Mrs. Beeton, The book of household management, 1888, p. 927] Modern mousses are a continuation of this tradition.
Types
Sweet
Sweet mousses are typically made with whipped egg whites,
whipped cream,
[Prosper Montagné, Larousse Gastronomique, 1961 (English translation of 1938 French edition), p. 630] or both, and flavored with one or more of chocolate, coffee, caramel,
puréed fruits, or various herbs and spices, such as mint or vanilla.
In the case of some chocolate mousses, egg yolks are often stirred into melted chocolate to give the final product a richer mouthfeel. Mousses are also typically chilled before being served, which gives them a denser texture. Additionally, mousses are often frozen into silicone molds and unmolded to give the mousse a defined shape. Sweetened mousse is served as a dessert or used as an airy cake filling.
It is sometimes stabilized with gelatin.
Savory
Savory mousses can be made from meat, fish,
shellfish,
foie gras, cheese, or vegetables. Hot mousses often get their light texture from the addition of beaten egg whites.
[
]
Molded and shaped fish mousse with bread and butter remains a popular meal of American cuisine, if not a party dip, although it is not as common as it was in the 1950s.[ Good Housekeeping, July 1907]
==Gallery==
See also
