London Metropolitan Archives: Recipe Book (CLC/270/MS00558)

To Preserve Quinces White

Take such of your Quinces thayt are well colered not of the greatest sort but lett them be of a reasonable bigness wha weight them before you ether core ar pare them To every pound of Quinces a pound of refined suger & in the coring of them let your knife goe quite through so that thay may have a hole at both ends but core them with a small knife then scald them tell they be tender bu take care thay be not broken then refine your suger your are not to preserve

above too pound of Qunces togather at a time put to your 2 pound of suger 2 a white of an ege & a wine pint & a half pint of fare water & when & when your surupe is boyled cleere and strayne it into a deepe preserve bason & let that & in that let it boyle tel it be well thickened & while your syrupe is boyling pare your quinces & put them into a skillet with one wine pin[...] of the licquor with your small quinces cores & parings have made

To preserue Redde Quince. the pare Quince is the best

Take Quince, coare, and pare them, and as you doe them put them into cold water then take to euery pound of Quince a pound of Sugar, and a wine quart of water, make your Sirrup and sett it on the fire, Clarifie it with two whole eggs broken, then straine it and put in your Quince, then sett them on the fire and lett them boile Leasurely, couering them close, take the Coare with the Curnells, the quantity of two walnuts, and lye them vp in a fine Cloath, and boile them with your Quince, let them boile till you soe your Quince redd and tender, then take them vp and put them in glasses, euery one Seudally, with halfe the Sirrup while it is warme; reserueinge th'other halfe cold to Cap them with then paper them close to the Sirup; when they are cold.

Some hold that its best to Quaddle thye Quinces a little before you pare, or core them.

Its best to put euery Quince, for its keeping in a pott by its selfe. and let your Quinces be very good without stonynes;

In theire boileing turne them as often as you see cause;

Some will after there first boileings vp sett them off the fire vntill they be coldish, and then boile them vp a pace.

Note that a curnation, couler or a pale redd is couler deepe enough, when they are preserued because with keepinge they will grow redder.

with being a great many boyle fast in fare water till thye liquor be very thick then straine out thye clear of it & in a wine pint of this yourliquor parboyle your Quinces a littel then put both Quinces & liquor & liquor into a bason with your syrupe & let then boyle as fast as you can & continually scumeing them & turne thye quinces let thye be yery tender when thay be redy to brake with a silver skimer soe that you take noe liquor with them lay your qunces in silver