A Book of Fruits and Flowers Part 8

Take your _Plums_ when they are full growne, with the stalks on them, but yet green, split them on the one side, and put them in hot water, but not too hot, and so let them stand three or four hours, then to a spoonfull of them, take three quarters of a pound of _sugar_, beaten very fine, and eight spoonfulls of water to every pound, and set them on hot embers till the _sugar_ be melted, and after that boyle them till they be very tender, letting them stand in that Syrupe three dayes to plump them; then take them out, wash the Syrupe from them with warm water, and wipe them with a fine linnen cloath, very dry, and lay them on plates, and set them to dry in a Stove, for if you dry them in an Oven, they will be tough.

_To Preserve Damsons._

Take _Damsons_ before they be full ripe, but new gathered off the Tree, allow to every pound of them a pound of _sugar_, put a little _Rose-water_ to them, and set them in the bottome of your pan, one by one, boyle them with a soft fire, and as they seeth strew your _sugar_ upon them, and let them boyle till the Syrupe be thick enough, then while the Syrupe is yet warme, take the _Plums_ out, and put them in a gally pot, Syrupe and all.

_To Preserve Bulla.s.ses as green as gra.s.se._

Take your _Bulla.s.ses_, as new gathered as you can, wipe them with a cloath, and p.r.i.c.k them with a knife, and quaddle them in two waters, close covered, then take a pound of Clarified _sugar_, and a pint of _Apple water_, boyle them well together (keeping them well sc.u.mmed) unto a Syrupe, and when your _Bullases_ are well dript from the water, put them into the Syrupe, and warm them three or four times at the least, at the last warming take them up, and set them a dropping from the Syrupe, and boyle the Syrupe a little by it selfe, till it come to a jelly, and then between hot and cold put them up to keep for all the year.

_To Preserve Pares, Pare-Plums, Plums._

First take two pound and a halfe of fine _sugar_, and beat it small, and put it into a pretty bra.s.se pot, with twenty spoonfulls of _Rose-water_, and when it boyleth skim it clean, then take it off the fire, and let it stand while it be almost cold, then take two pound of _Pare-plums_, and wipe them upon a faire cloath, and put them into your Syrupe when it is almost cold, and so set them upon the fire againe, and let them boyle as softly as you can, for when they are boyled enough, the kernels will be yellow, then take them up, but let your Syrupe boyle till it be thick; then put your Plums upon the fire againe, and let them boyle a walme or two, so take them from the fire, and let them stand in the vessell all night, and in the morning put them into your pot or gla.s.se, and cover them close.

_Of Medlers._

_To Preserve Medlers._

Take the fairest _Medlers_ you can get, but let them not be too ripe, then set on faire water on the fire, and when it boyleth put in your _Medlers_, and let them boyle till they be somewhat soft, then while they are hot pill them, cut off their crowns, and take out their stones, then take to every pound of _Medlers_, three quarters of a pound of _sugar_, and a quarter of a pint of _Rose water_, seeth your Syrupe, sc.u.mming it clean, then put in your _Medlers_ one by one, the stalks downward, when your Syrupe is somewhat coole then set them on the fire againe, let them boyle softly till the Syrupe be enough, then put in a few _Cloves_ and a little _Cinamon_, and so putting them up in pots reserve them for your use.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Medlers]

_To make a Tart of Medlers._

Take _Medlers_ that be rotten, and stamp them, and set them upon a chafin dish with coales, and beat in two yolks of Eggs, boyling till it be somewhat thick, then season it with _Sugar, Cinamon_, and _Ginger_, and lay it in paste.

_Of Cuc.u.mbers._

_How to keep Cuc.u.mbers._

Take a kettle big enough for your use, halfe full of water, make it brackish with salt, boyle therein ten or twenty _Cuc.u.mbers_, cut in halves, then take the raw _Cuc.u.mbers_, being somewhat little, and put them into the vessell wherein you will keep them, and when your liquor is cold straine so much of it into them, as may keep the _Cuc.u.mbers_ alwayes covered.

_To keep boyled Cuc.u.mbers._

Take a kettle of water, put salt to it, boyle it well, then take your raw _Cuc.u.mbers_, put them into it, and keep them with turning up and downe very softly, till they be as it were per-boyled, then take them out, and lay them aside till they be cold, then put them up in the vessel you will keep them in, and when the liquor is cold, straine it into them, till they be all covered.

_To Pickle Cuc.u.mbers to keep all the yeare._

Pare a good quant.i.ty of the rindes of _Cuc.u.mbers_, and boyle them in a quart of running water, and a pint of wine _Vineger_, with a handfull of _salt_, till they be soft, then letting them stand till the liquor be quite cold, pour out the liquor from the rinds, into some little barrel, earthen pot, or other vessel, that may be close stopped, and put as many of the youngest _Cuc.u.mbers_ you can gather, therein, as the liquor will cover, and so keep them close covered, that no winde come to them, to use all the year till they have new; if your _Cuc.u.mbers_ be great, 'tis best to boyle them in the liquor till they be soft.

*OF COOKERY.*

_To make Snow._

Take a quart of thick _Creame_, and five or six whites of _Eggs_, a sauser full of _sugar_ finely beaten, and as much _Rose water_, beat them all together, and always as it riseth take it out with a spoon, then take a loaf of _Bread_, cut away the crust, set it in a platter, and a great _Rosemary_ bush in the middest of it, then lay your Snow with a Spoon upon the _Rosemary_, and so serve it.

_To make Spiced Bread._

Take two pound of Manchet paste, sweet _b.u.t.ter_ halfe a pound, _Currants_ halfe a pound, _sugar_ a quarter, and a little _Mace_, if you will put in any, and make it in a loafe, and bake it in an Oven, no hotter then for Manchet.

_To make Craknels._

Take five or six pints of the finest _Wheat_ flower you can get, to which you must put in a spoonfull (and not above) of good _Yest_, then mingle it well with _b.u.t.ter, cream, Rose-water_, and _sugar_, finely beaten, and working it well into paste, make it after what forme you will, and bake it.

_To make Veale-tooh's, or Olives._

Take the _Kidney_ of a line of _Veale_ roasted, with a good deale of the fat, and a little of the flesh, mingle it very small, and put to it two _Eggs_, one _Nutmeg_ finely grated, a good quant.i.ty of _sugar_, a few _Currants_, a little _salt_, stir them well together, and make them into the form of little _Pasties_, and fry them in a pan with sweet _b.u.t.ter_.

_To make a Barley Creame to procure sleepe, or Almond Milke._

Take a good handfull of French _Barley_, wash it cleane in warme water, and boyle it in a quart of fayre water to the halfe, then put out the water from the _Barley_, and put the _Barley_ into a pottell of new clean water, with a _Parsley_, and a _Fennell_ root, clean washed, and picked with _Bourage, Buglos, Violet_ leaves, and _Lettice_, of each one handfull, boyle them with the _Barley_, till more then halfe be consumed; then strayne out the liquor, and take of blanched _Almonds_ a handfull, of the seeds of _Melons, Cuc.u.mbers, Citralls_, and _Gourds_, husked, of each halfe a quarter of an ounce, beat these seeds, and the _Almonds_ together, in a stone morter, with so much _Sugar_, and _Rose-water_ as is fit, and strayne them through a cleane cloath into the liquor, and drink thereof at night going to bed, and in the night, if this doth not sufficiently provoke sleep, then make some more of the same liquor, and boyle in the same the heads, or a little of white _Poppey_.

_To pickle Oysters._

Take a peck of the greatest _Oysters_, open them, and put the liquor that comes from them saved by it selfe, to as much _White-wine_, and boyle it with a pound of _Pepper_ bruised, two or three spoonfulls of large _Mace_, and a handfull of _salt_, till the liquor begin to waste away, then put in your _Oysters_, and plump them, and take them off the fire till they be cold, and so put them up in little barrels very close.

_To make very fine Sausages._