Early modern recipe books

Soe boyle them tell so tender as you may thrust a Straw easily thorow them : then to a pound of them take a pound & halfe of best suger, & one pint or pound of water, clarefying the suger ; then put the orenges into the Boyling Syrop, so boyling them very fast for halfe an Hower ; then put in almost halfe a pint of White Wine Scalding hott, so boyle them a litle Longer ; then add the Iuice of a Lemon hott, & a litle peece of peele : they must in all boyle but 3 quarters of an Hower, putting in as they boyle 3 or 4 litle Lumps of the weighed suger that you haue reserued for that purpose ; when the Leman is put in, the boyling must be neer at an end.

To Make Quince Bisket

Take fine sereed Sugar & the whits of eggs beaten & wet your sugar with it but not so wet but that it wil lay one a plate in what fashi[on] you please puting in some caraway seeds & bake it with a small heat instead of eggs you may put Gumdaragon steeped in rose water & straine you must add a littel grated Quince to your Sugar

To Make Bisket

Take half a pound of sugar finely Sereed & half a pound of fine flower mingled well togather then take half a dosen eggs with half the whits so beat them well togather strewing in your sugar and flower by degrees you must beat it two howers then butter your plats & [be]

& before you put it in strew in to it a few stcarawes soe put them into the oven to bake taking cair that the oven be not to hot when thay be half bake baked take them out of your plats & set them in a oven on a sive to drie

To Preserve Walnuts

Take them iust before they haue any Shells, Pare of thear Green Skin, so steep them in faire Water for 9 dayes, changeing fresh Water twice a day, then boyle them in 2 faire waters one after another tell they ^be resonable tender, then Prick them thorow with a Bodkin cros waye & longe waye, the length way stick thorow itt a little shiuer of Cynamon, & the length cross waye on each side a Cloue; then to a pound of Nuts, take a pound of Suger & a pint of Water, but boyle the Syrop a little first, then Coole it a litle before you put in the Nuts (least they shrink) soe boyle them togeather tell the Syrop is enough. Some will at the end of boyling put in 2 or 3 Spoonfulls of White Wine to keep it from Candiinge.

An other French waye is to preserue them White, but not soe Cordiall

before the Nutts kernell, Pare them almost to the kernell Place, etc: & stick them insteed of spice with thin Slices of Green Cytron, & boyle with them a few slices of Cytron to Lye Loose in thear Syrrop

To preserue Blacke Paire Plumbs, Dampsons, or such like,

Take a pound and a quarter of Sugar halfe a wine pinte of water to a pound of Plumbs, set them on a Soft fire, and let them boile Softly a little while, then tooke them of when the Sirrop is thoroughly desolued, and soe let them stand till the next day, then boile them vp a little faster.

Note that all red or blacke plumbs, are to be boiled a pace, only after theire first boileing vp set them of the fire vntil they be cold, then boile them a pace againe till they be enough.

To Make Quince Cakes

Take your newly gather'd ^Quinces wipe them & put them in sething hot water letting them boyle a pace till thay be tender then pare & take the meat from the core beat your Quinces in a marbel morter till thay be smal then weigh it against your sugar but you must alow for the scoming of your sugar boyle your sugar to a candy then put in your Quinces & stire them well least thay burne then it you put it in pursellane dishs it must boyle noe longer then you scum it but if you put it into moulds it must boyle to be firme & thick that if doth not mo^oue or stir much

When you drop it into your moulds you must wett them with cold water puting the stut hot in them & set them in a stoue to dry & by

that time thay have stood 2 days they will be fit to turne out of the moulds soe lett them stand on glasse plate til thay be canded over then cut it out as you please

To Make Citton Marmalade

Take the clearest Cittorns quarter them take out the meat & good part of the white but none of the rine except the spots then put them into boyling water when thay begin to tender take them out & lay them on a cloth the inside down ward & when thay are well drained cut away almost all the inside from them & cut the pill into very smal thine peeces & to be every pound of pill put a pound & a half quarter of refined sugar & as much water as will

make it syrupe but not to thick when the syrupe is made & ready to boyle cut into it 3 or4 pipins or permains very thin sliced & when t[hey] are put in your bittroon & let it boy[le] til it be thick like marmalad[e] & then it is all most read to ta[ke] of the fire put in as much ju^ice of bittron as will make a littel sharpness & when it hath boyld a very littel take it off & put it in glasses

To stew Prunes.

Take a pound of prunes and wash them cleare put them in an Earthen pott or Pipkin, and couer them with as much faire water, Claret wine or Ale, (halfe as much as the water) as will Iust couer them, addinge to them 2 or 3 spriggs of Rosemary, and a douzin cloues broken in peeces ( Mrs Brewster ads a little ginger, to expell windines) and one or two spoonefulls of Sugar, either put in now with the other things or else when they are almost stewed; and if you put in Clarett wine its best to put it in when they are almost stewed, some 6 or 8 spoonefulls couer the pot close, soe stew them gentley on a soft fire for fowre or sixe howres.

but if you doe a great quantity of 4 or 6 pound then you may stew them in an Oven with houshold bread.

And when you thinke they are halfe stewed fill them vp againe, with faire water and wine or Ale, soe couer them againe and let them stew till they be enough.

They will kept a weeke being well done.

But the ffrench eat them hott alwayes.

Mrs Ogles way for her Prunes

Picke out your Larges, and best prunes, wash them Cleane, soe slice them on one side and take out theire stones, then fill the hole with beaten Sugar, then Lay them in a pot one by one with theire slit sides vp wards & when you haue put them all ^soe into your pot fill vp the pott, that it may Iust couer the Prunes with Rosewater, or Rosewater and faire water mixed together, soe let them stand close Couled and at the fowth dayes End ^ at the farthist will be fitt for your eatinge and will keepe good 4 or 5 dayes in a coole place.

If you will you may add a sprigg of Rosmary to them in the Potinge vp.