Forms: 4 blancmanger(e, blank(e)manger(e, bla-, blam-, blan-, blaumanger, blamyngere, 5 blanc maungere, blaunche-, blonc-, blawemanger, blanger mangere, 6 blowmanger, 7 bla-, blanch-, blanck-, blankemanger, 8 blomange, 9 blamange, 8– blancmange, -manger. [In 14th c. blancmanger, a. OF. blanc-manger (earlier -mangier), lit. ‘white food or dish,’ f. blanc white + manger to eat, eating, food. Blanc fell already in 14th c. to blam-, bla-, blau-, later blawe-, blow-, blo-, bla-, and manger was in 18th c. abridged to mange. The present spelling is a half attempt at restoring the French, but the pronunciation is that of the 18th c. blomange, blamange, often garnished with a French nasal, by those who know French.]
† a. Formerly: A dish composed usually of fowl, but also of other meat, minced with cream, rice, almonds, sugar, eggs, etc. Obs.
b. Now: A sweetmeat made of dissolved isinglass or gelatine boiled with milk, etc., and forming an opaque white jelly; also a preparation of cornflour and milk, with favoring substances.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. XIII. 91. Þat neither bacoun ne braune · blan[c]mangere ne mortrewes Is noither fisshe [ne] flesshe · but fode for a penaunte.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Prol., 387. ffor blankmanger [v.r. blankemangere] that made he with the beste.
c. 1420. Liber Cocorum, 19. Blanc maungere of fysshe.
c. 1460. J. Russell, Bk. Nurture, in Babees Bk. (1868), 165. Two potages, blanger mangere, & Also Iely.
1483. Cath. Angl., 34. Blawemanger, peponus.
1530. Ortus Voc., Blowmanger.
1603. Holland, Plutarch’s Mor., 680. Their blamangers, jellies, chawdres.
1626. Bacon, Sylva, § 48. Blanch-Manger or Jelly.
1769. Mrs. Raffald, Eng. Housekpr. (1778), 195. To make Blomange of Isinglass.
1772–84. Cook, Voy. (1790), I. 54. Its flavour was something like blanc mange.
1801. Wolcott (P. Pindar), Ep. Ct. Rumford, Wks. 1812, V. 137.
| Soap-suds to Syllabubs and Trifles change, | |
| And Bullock’s Lights and Livers to Blamange. |
1812. L. Hunt, in Examiner, 21 Dec., 801/1. Trembling at it’s fate, like blanc-manger.
1862. Mrs. Beeton, Cookery Bk., 44/1. Loosen the edges of the blancmange from the mould.
c. fig. (cf. ‘flummery.’)
1790. Burke, Corr. (1844), III. 157. Whenever that politic prince made any of his flattering speeches … when he served them with this, and the rest of his blanc-mange, of which he was sufficiently liberal.
