“Food Tastes Better at Sea” featured recipe: Parfait Mocha
Join the Food at sea Fun
“The Captain’s Table” recipe booklet
In celebration of our most recent digital exhibition, “Food Tastes Better at Sea: Dining Aboard the SS United States,” we invite you to embark on a culinary voyage to explore recipes that were served aboard the SS United States.
"The Captain's Table," a 1964 SS United States recipe guide features 18 recipes for famous dishes served aboard the Big U developed by head chef, Otto Bismarck. Bismarck's high-tech kitchen on the SS United States, equipped with machines like the Radarange, inspired recipes with a uniquely American charm.
Recipes in this short pamphlet designed for home cooking range from entrees "Cold Eggs Muscovite" and "Lobster a l'United States" to delicious dessert options. One such recipe is a “Parfait Mocha,” a fantastic coffee ice cream concoction.
Photo of the Jones family celebrating Gala Night in Tourist Class with bowls of ice cream and cups of coffee. Pictured include Sonja Jones, age 6, and mother Sonja Jones, age 27. SS United States Conservancy Collection. Courtesy of Sonja Jones.
An excerpt from “The Captain’s Table” recipe booklet
Parfait Mocha Recipe
As featured in “The Captain’s Table”
Ingredients
Boiling water (2 tsp used for this recipe)
3 Tbsp. instant coffee
3 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
2 quarts French vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup rum or brandy
Optional: whipped cream, candied mocha beans, chocolate curls.
Makes 8-10 parfaits.
Instructions
Combine 3 tablespoons instant coffee and 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar in a cup. Add 2 teaspoons of boiling water and mix.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, put 2 quarts French vanilla ice cream, 1/2 cup rum or brandy and the coffee-sugar mixture. Blend well but do not let ice cream melt.
Spoon the ice cream into parfait glasses and place in the freezer until the ice cream is firm. Parfaits are better if ice cream is allowed to mellow for 24 hours before serving. Just before serving, garnish with whipped cream and candied mocha beans or chocolate curls.
Share your parfait Mocha photos with the Conservancy!
We invite you to try your hand at this delicious recipe and would love to see photos of your lovely desserts! The Conservancy will be gifting copies of a recreation of “The Captain’s Table” to the first 10 participants who share these photos with us.
Please email archives@ssusc.org to submit your photo and receive a fun piece of SS United States culinary history!