Chapter 23 of 25 · 3963 words · ~20 min read

Part 23

She makes her curious red Marmulate thus: Take six pounds of Quince-flesh; six pounds of pure Sugar; and eight pints of juyce; boil this up with quick fire, till you have scummed it, then pull away all the Coals, and let it but simper, for four or five hours, remaining covered, renewing from time to time so little fire, as to cause it so to continue simpring. But as soon as it is scummed, put into it a handful of Quince kernels, two races of Ginger sliced, and fourteen or fifteen Cloves whole; all these put into a Tyffany-bag tyed fast; when you finde that the colour is almost to your minde, make a quick fire, and boil it up a pace, then throw away your bag of kernels, Ginger and Cloves, and pot up your Marmulate, when it is cool enough.

She makes her red Gelly of Quince thus: Put the Quinces pared and sliced into a pot, as above; and to every pound of this flesh put about half a demistier of fair water, and put this into a kettle of boiling water, till you perceive all the juyce is boiled out of the Quince. Then strain it out, and boil this Liquor (which will not yet be clear) till you perceive it gellieth upon a plate. Then to every pint of Liquor put a pound of Sugar, and boil it up to a gelly, skimming it well, as the scum riseth, and you will have a pure gelly.

GELLY OF RED CURRANTS

Take them clean picked, and fresh gathered in the morning, in a bason, set them over the fire, that their juyce may sweat out, pressing them all the while with the back of your preserving spoon, to squeese out of them all that is good. When you see all is out, strain the Liquor from them, and let it stand to settle four or five hours, that the gross matter may sink to the bottom. Then take the pure clear, (the thick settling will serve to add in making of Marmulate of Cherries, or the like) and to every pint or pound of it, put three quarters of a pound of the purest refined Sugar, and boil them up with a quick fire, till they come to a gelly height (which will be done immediately in less then a quarter of an hour) which you may try with a drop upon a plate. Then take it off, and when it is cold enough, put it into Glasses. You must be careful to skim it well in due time, and with thin brown Paper to take off the froth, if you will be so curious.

GELLY OF CURRANTS, WITH THE FRUIT WHOLE IN IT

Take four pound of good Sugar, clarifie it with whites of Eggs, then boil it up to a candid height (that is, till throwing it, it goeth into flakes): Then put into it five pound (or at discretion) of pure juyce of red Currants first boiled to clarifie it by skimming it. Boil them together a little while, till it be well scummed, and enough to become gelly. Then put a good handful or two of the berries of Currants whole, and cleansed from the stalks and black ends, and boil them a little till they be enough.

You need not to boil the juyce, before you put it to the Sugar, and consequently do not scum it before the Sugar and it boil together: but then scum it perfectly: and take care before, that the juyce be very clear and well strained.

MARMULATE OF RED CURRANTS

Take some juyce of red Currants, and put into it a convenient proportion of some entire Currants cleansed from the stalks and buttons at the other end. Let these boil a little together. Have also ready some fine Sugar boiled to a candy height. Put of this to the Currants at discretion, and boil them together, till they be enough: and bruise them with the back of your spoon, that they may be in the consistence of Marmulate (like that of Cherries) which put in pots, when it is cool enough. You do not stone the whole Currants put into the juyce, unless you please.

SUCKET OF MALLOW STALKS

To candy or preserve the tender stalks of Mallows, do thus; Take them in the spring, when they are very young and tender; and peel off the strings that are round about the outside, as you do French-beans, and boil them, till they are very tender. In the mean time prepare a high Syrup of pure Sugar, and put the boiled stalkes into it, whiles it is boiling hot, but taken from the fire. Let them lie soaking there till the next morning. Then take out the stalks, and heat the Syrup again, scalding hot, and return the stalks into it, letting them lie there till next morning; (Note, that the stalks must never boil in the Syrup,) Repeat this six, or eight, or nine times, that is to say, till they are sufficiently Imbibed with the Syrup. When they are at this pass, you may either keep them as a wet sucket in Syrup, or dry them in a stove upon Papers, turning them continually, in such sort as dried sweet-meats are to be made. I like them best dry, but soft and moist within _(Medullosi)_ like Candied Eryngos. In Italy they eat much of them, for sharpness and heat of Urine, and in Gonorrhoea's to take away pain in Urining.

A Sucket is made in like manner of the Carneous substance of stalks of Lettice. It is the knob, out of which the Lettice groweth, which being pared, and all the tough rind being taken off, is very tender and so it is a pretty way downwards the root. This also is very cooling and smoothing.

In Italy these tender stalks of Mallows are called _Mazzocchi_, and they eat them (boiled tender) in Sallets, either hot or cold, with Vinegar and Oyl, or Butter and Vinegar, or juyce of Oranges.

CONSERVE OF RED ROSES

Doctor Glisson makes his conserve of red Roses thus: Boil gently a pound of red Rose leaves (well picked, and the Nails cut off) in about a pint and a half (or a little more, as by discretion you shall judge fit, after having done it once; The Doctors Apothecary takes two pints) of Spring water; till the water have drawn out all the Tincture of the Roses into it self, and that the leaves be very tender, and look pale like Linnen; which may be in a good half hour, or an hour, keeping the pot covered whiles it boileth. Then pour the tincted Liquor from the pale Leaves (strain it out, pressing it gently, so that you may have Liquor enough to dissolve your Sugar) and set it upon the fire by it self to boil, putting into it a pound of pure double refined Sugar in small Powder; which as soon as it is dissolved, put in a second pound; then a third, lastly a fourth, so that you have four pound of Sugar to every pound of Rose-leaves. (The Apothecary useth to put all the four pounds into the Liquor altogether at once,) Boil these four pounds of Sugar with the tincted Liquor, till it be a high Syrup, very near a candy height, (as high as it can be, not to flake or candy) Then put the pale Rose-leaves, into this high Syrup, as it yet standeth upon the fire, or immediately upon the taking it off the fire. But presently take it from the fire, and stir them exceeding well together, to mix them uniformly; then let them stand till they be cold; then pot them up. If you put up your Conserve into pots, whiles it is yet throughly warm, and leave them uncovered some days, putting them in the hot Sun or stove, there will grow a fine candy upon the top, which will preserve the conserve without paper upon it, from moulding, till you break the candied crust, to take out some of the conserve.

The colour both of the Rose-leaves and the Syrup about them, will be exceeding beautiful and red, and the taste excellent; and the whole very tender and smoothing, and easie to digest in the stomack without clogging it, as doth the ordinary rough conserve made of raw Roses beaten with Sugar, which is very rough in the throat. The worst of it is, that if you put not a Paper to lie always close upon the top of the conserve, it will be apt to grow mouldy there on the top; especially _aprés que le pot est entamé_.

The Conserve of Roses, besides being good for Colds and Coughs, and for the Lunges, is exceeding good for sharpness and heat of Urine, and soreness of the bladder, eaten much by it self, or drunk with Milk, or distilled water of Mallows, and Plantaine, or of Milk.

ANOTHER CONSERVE OF ROSES

Doctor Bacon related to me, that Mr. Minito the Roman Apothecary, made him some conserve of Roses, in this manner. He took twelve pounds (of sixteen Ounces to the pound) of the best lump or Kitchin Sugar, and clarified it very well with whites of Eggs, using Spring-water in doing this. He made his reckoning, that his twelve pound of Sugar, came to be but nine pound, when all the scum was taken away, and the Sugar perfectly clarified. Boil it then to a Syrup, and when it is about half boiled, go roundly about your Rose-leaves. They must be picked and the white nails cut off before-hand; but begin not to beat them before your Syrup is half boiled. Then put thirty Ounces (which is two pound and an half of Roses to every pound of such Sugar) of your Red-Roses into the Mortar, and beat them well, squeesing into them, as you beat them, some of the subtilest and best part (which comes out first) of about two Limons, which brings out their colour finely. You must have finished beating your Roses, by then the Sugar is come by boiling to a high Syrup (for if you should let them lie still in the Air, but a little while, they would grow black, and of ill colour) then with your ladle put the Roses to the Sugar, and stir them very well in it, to Incorporate all well and uniformly together. So let them boil on gently (for all this while you take not your preserving pan from the fire, and a thick scum of the Roses will rise, which you scum off from time to time continually as it comes up, and reserve this in a pot by it self, for it will be good hard Sugar of Roses, and may be about an eight or ninth part of the whole. After it is clear from scum, and hath boiled near a quarter of an hour with the Roses in it, and that you see by a drop upon a plate, that it is of a due consistence; take your pan from the fire, and stir all very well together, and put it into pots, which leave uncovered during ten or twelve days, setting them in the hot strong Sun all the day long during that time, to give the Roses a fine hard crust or candy at the top; but under it, in the substance of the matter, it will be like a fine clear Syrupy gelly. If the Sun favour you not, then you may use a stove. After twelve days, tie covers of Paper, upon the pots.

Doctor Bacon useth to make a pleasant Julep of this Conserve of Roses, by putting a good spoonful of it into a large drinking glass or cup; upon which squeese the juyce of a Limon, and clip in unto it a little of the yellow rinde of the Limon; work these well together with the back of a spoon, putting water to it by little and little, till you have filled up the glass with Spring-water: so drink it. He sometimes passeth it through an Hypocras bag, and then it is a beautiful and pleasant Liquor.

_FINIS_

THE TABLE[2]

A

Scotch Ale from my Lady Holmbey 98

To make Ale drink quick 100

A very pleasant drink of Apples 100

Ale with Honey 104

Small Ale for the stone 105

Apple drink with Sugar, Honey, &c. 106

Master Webbs Ale and Bragot 107

To stew Apples 201

Apples in Gelly 234

Sweet-meat of Apples 238

To make an excellent syrup of Apples 253

B

Stewed Broth 125

Portugal Broth, as it was made for the Queen 127

Nourishing Broth 133

Broth and Potage 141

Broth for sick and convalescent Persons 143

A savoury and nourishing boiled Capon 133

To stew Beef 150

To stew a Rump of Beef 163, 196, 197

To rost Wilde Boar 168

About making of Brawn 205

To bake Beef 208

To boil Beef or Venison 209

Ordering Bacon for Gambons, and to keep 212

To make Bisket 219

C

To make Cider 100

Sir Paul Neal's way of making Cider 101

Dr. Harvey's pleasant Water Cider, whereof he used to drink much, making it his ordinary drink 103

A good Dish of Cream 116

An excellent Spanish Cream 116

Another Clouted Cream 117

My Lord of St. Alban's Cresme Fouettee 119

To make the Cream Curds 120

The Queens Barley Cream 139

Capon in White-broth 146

To make Cock-Ale 147

Savoury Collops of Veal 157

To pickle Capons my Lady Portland's way 159

Scotch Collops 167

Excellent good Collops 171

My Lady Diana Porter's Scotch Collops 181

Cream with Rice 191

Pickled Champignons 200

Sallet of cold Capon Rosted 206

To make Cheese cakes 214

Short and crisp Crust for Tarts and Pyes 215

To make a Cake 216

To make a Caraway-Cake 219

Excellent small Cakes 221

To make scalded Cheese 227

The Cream-Courds 228

Savoury tosted or melted Cheese 228

To feed Chicken 228

To fatten young Chicken in a wonderful degree 231

An excellent way to Cram Chicken 233

Gelly of Red Currants 255

Gelly of Currants with the fruit whole in it 255

D

To bake wilde Ducks or Teals 210

To Rost wilde Ducks 211

E

To butter Eggs with Cream 147

Portuguez Eggs 202

To boil Eggs 203

F

Wheaten Flomery 134

A Fricacee of Lamb-stones, &c. 158

To boil smoaked Flesh 164

A Fricacee of Veal 158, 182

Butter and Oyl to fry Fish 193

A Flomery-Caudle 238

G

Smallage Gruel 137

About water Gruel 138

An excellent and wholesome water Gruel with Wood sorrel and Currants 139

Gruel of Oatmeal and Rice 191

To make clear Gelly of Bran 203

An excellent meat of Goose or Turkey 212

To pickle an old fat Goose 212

H

Some Notes upon Honey 8

My Lord Hollis Hydromel 33

Hydromel as I made it weak for the Q. Mother 35

To make Honey drink 84

Weak Honey drink 107

To make an Hotchpot 149, 150

The Queens Hotchpot 151

A nourishing Hachy 158

Red Herrings boiled 173

To season Humble Pyes 210

To make Harts-horn Gelly 239-242

L

To dress Lampreys 184

M

Master Corsellises Antwerp Meath 9

To make excellent Meathe 10

A weaker, but very pleasant Meathe 11

An excellent white Meathe 11

Master Webbes Meathe 14-19

My own considerations for making of Meathe 19

My Lady Gower's white Meathe 26

Strong Meathe 32

A Receipt for making of Meathe 32

My Lord Morice's Meathe 39

My Lady Morice her Sisters Meathe 39

To make white Meath 41

Sir William Paston's Meathe 41

Another way of making Meathe 42

Sir Baynam Throckmorton's Meathe 42

My Lady Bellassises Meathe 45

My Lord Gorge his Meathe 54

Several sorts of Meathe, small and strong 56

To make Meathe 57

Sir John Arundel's white Meathe 57

To make a Meathe good for the Liver and Lungs 59

A very good Meathe 60

My Lord Herbert's Meathe 68

To make small white Meathe 80

Meathe from the Muscovian Ambassadour's Steward 81

Meathe with Raisins 96

A Receipt to make Metheglin as it is made at Liege, communicated by Mr. Masillon 5

White Metheglin of my Lady Hungerfords which is exceedingly praised 6

A Receipt to make a Tun of Metheglin 12

The Countess of Bullingbrook's white Metheg. 13

Metheglin composed by myself 25

Sir Thomas Gower's Metheglin for health 27

Metheglin for taste and colour 28

An excellent way of making white Metheglin 30

Several ways of making Metheglin 35

To make white Metheglin 31

Another Metheglin 46

Mr. Pierce's excellent white Metheglin 46

An excellent way to make Metheglin, called the Liquor of Life 51

To make good Metheglin 52

To make white Metheglin of Sir J. Fortescue 53

The Lady Vernon's white Metheglin 55

To make Metheglin 58

A most excellent Metheglin 61

To make white Metheg. of the Count. of Dorset 62

To make small Metheglin 69

The Earl of Denbigh's Metheglin 85

To make Metheglin that looks like White Wine 90

Metheglin, or sweet-drink of my Lady Stuart 93

A Metheg. for the Colick-Stone, of the same Lady 93

A Receipt for Metheglin of my Lady Windebanke 94

Marrow sops with Wine 145

To make a shoulder of Mutton like Venison 163

An excellent way of making Mutton steaks 170

To make Mustard 194

For roasting of Meat 196

Mutton baked with Venison 207

My Lord of Denbigh's Almond March-pane 221

Marmulate of Pippins 243

White Marmulate, the Queens way 248

My Lady of Bath's way 248

Marmulate of Cherries 251

Marmulate of Red Currants 256

O

A plain but good Spanish Oglia 164

To stew Oysters 183

P

Excellent Marrow-Spinage Pasties 159

To make a French Barley Posset 160

To make Puff-past 161

To make a Pudding with Puff past 161

To make Pear Puddings 162

Marrow Puddings 162

To make excellent Black Puddings 165

A Receipt to make White Puddings 166

To make an excellent Pudding 166

Pyes 168

To make Pith Puddings 172

An Oat-meal Pudding 174

To make Call Puddings 174

A Barley Pudding 175

A Pippin Pudding 175

To make a baked Oat-meal Pudding 176

A plain quaking Pudding 176

A good quaking Bag Pudding 177

To preserve Pippins in Jelly 180

To dress Poor-John, and Buckorn 187

To dress Parsneps 190

To butter Pease 191

A Herring Pye 192

To make an excellent Hare Pye 207

To bake Pidgeons, Teals or Wild ducks 209

Green-Geese Pye 209

To make a plain ordinary Posset 112

Concerning Potages 121

Plain savoury English Potage 122

Potage de blanc de Chapon 123

Ordinary Potage 124

Barley Potage 125

An English Potage 126

Another Potage 126

Nourissant Potage de santé 128

Potage de santé 129, 130

Good nourishing Potage 133

Pap of Oat-meal 135

Panado 135

Barley Pap 135

Oat-meal Pap. Sir John Colladon 136

Pressis-Nourissant 140

Pan-Cotto 141

My Lord Lumley's Pease-Potage 142

An excellent Posset 144

Pease of the seedy buds of Tulips 145

To make Plague-Water 147, 148

An excellent baked Pudding 154

My Lady of Portland's Minced Pyes 155

Minced Pyes 156

To feed Poultry 229

To feed Partridges that you have taken wilde 233

To make Puffs 234

Gelly of Pippins or John-Apples 236

Q

To keep Quinces all the year good 149

Gelly of Quinces 243

Preserved Quince with Gelly 245

To make fine white Gelly of Quinces 246

Paste of Quinces 248, 250

A smoothening Quiddany or Gelly of the Cores of Quinces 250

R [Transcribers note: R was missing in the original.]

Rice & Orge mondé 137

Boiled Rice dry 145

To Rost fine Meat 157

To make Red-Dear 163

Conserve of Red Roses 257, 259

S

Sack with Clove gilly-flowers 22

To make Stepponi 106

To make a Sack-posset 111

A Barley Sack-posset 113

My Lord of Carlile's Sack-posset 115

A Syllabub 115

To make a whip Syllabub 120

To make Spinage-broth 123

Sauce of Horse-Radish 151

Very good Sauce for Partridges and Chicken 160

To dress Stock-fish 186, 188

To prepare Shrimps for dressing 193

To make Slip-coat-Cheese 223-227

Sweet-meats of my Lady Windebanks 253

Sucket of Mallow-stalks 256

T

Tea with Eggs 132

A Tansy 183, 213, 214

To souce Turkeys 211

Pleasant Cordial Tablets 238

V

To stew a breast of Veal 150

Vuova Lattate 165

Vuova Spersa 165

Baked Venison 169

Tosts of Veal 193

W

Morello Wine 97

Currants Wine 98

The Countess of Newport's Cherry Wine 109

Strawberry Wine 109

To make Wine of Cherries alone 110

To make Rasbery-Wine 148

To make a White-pot 149, 195

Buttered Whitings with Eggs 187

To stew Wardens or Pears 201

Preserved Wardens 237

[Footnote 2: This Table reproduces the Index to the original volume. An Index on modern lines, for more ready reference, will be found on pages 287-291.]

APPENDIX I

SOME ADDITIONAL RECEIPTS

1. _Aqua Mirabilis_. Sir Kenelm Digby's way.

Take Cubebs, Gallingale, Cardamus, Mellilot-flowers, Cloves, Mace, Ginger, Cinammon, of each one dram bruised small, juyce of Celandine one pint, juyce of Spearmint half a pint, juyce of Balm half a pint, Sugar one pound, flower of Cowslips, Rosemary, Borage, Bugloss, Marigold, of each two drams, the best Sack three pints, strong Angelica-water one pint, red Rose-water half a pint; bruise the Spices & Flowers, & steep them in the Sack & juyces one night; the next morning distil it in an ordinary or glass-still, & first lay Harts-tongue leaves in the bottom of the still.

THE VERTUES OF THE PRECEDENT WATER

This water preserveth the Lungs without grievances, & helpeth them; being wounded, it suffereth the Blood not to putrifie, but multiplieth the same. This water suffereth not the heart to burn, nor melancholly, nor the Spleen to be lifted up above nature: it expelleth the Rheum, preserveth the Stomach, conserveth Youth, & procureth a good Colour: it preserveth Memory, it destroyeth the Palsie: If this be given to one a dying, a spoonful of it reviveth him; in the Summer use one spoonful a week fasting; in the Winter two spoonfuls.

The above receipt is given in the 3rd edition of _The Closet Opened_, 1677, also in _The Queen's Closet Opened_.

2. _Another more precious Cosmetick, or beautifying Water, by Sir_ Kenelm Digby.

Take White Lillies six drams, Florence Orrice Roots, Beans, Cicers, Lupins, of each half an ounce, fresh Bean-flowers a handful, Gum Tragant, White Lead, fine Sugar, of each half an ounce, Crums of white Bread, (steeped in Milk) an ounce, Frankincense, and Gum Arabick of each three drams, Borax, and feather'd Allom of each two drams, the White of an Egg, Camphire a dram and a half; infuse them four and twenty hours in a sufficient quantity of Rose and Bean-flower water, equal parts; then distil it in _B.M._

_This Water smooths, whitens, beautifies & preserves the Complexions of Ladies. They may wash their Faces with it at any time, but especially Morning and Evening_.

3. _Another richer Perfume; being pleasant and wholesome, to perfume Tobacco taken in a Pipe_.

Take Balm of Peru half an ounce, seven or eight Drops of Oyl of Cinamon, Oyl of Cloves five drops, Oyl of Nutmegs, of Thyme, of Lavender, of Fennel, of Aniseeds (all drawn by distillation) of each a like quantity, or more or less as you like the Odour, and would have it strongest; incorporate with these half a dram of Ambergrease; make all these into a Paste; which keep in a Box; when you have fill'd your Pipe of Tobacco, put upon it about the bigness of a Pin's Head of this Composition.