Recipe book collection: London Metropolitan Archives

727.5 GUILDHALL LIBRARY LONDON [...] DOMINE DIRIGE NOS

BOUND BY ZAEHNSDORF

BOUND BY ZAEHNSDORF IN LEATHER GUARANTEED BY THE MANUFACTURER FREE OF MINERAL ACID

{1647}

Rules for keepinge fire in Stoues for drieinge sweetmeats and Candienge.

Sett your fire in a chafing dish or the like, either soe with out the cupbord, or within, at the bottom, thayt the heat be not too hott, but temperate, else it may melt the sugar againe, and soe hinder candieinge altogether; or else make them very tough, or chang the couler, and dim the glassines of the pasts And lett the stoue haue a continuall heat in it, by often putting fire to it in a day; Pasts well dries will not easily giue againe; If at all kept drye. Bricke stoues till they are very well seasoned, by often vseinge, are very apt to give against moisture, without a continuall heat in them, nay at the best when they are new for dry without fire they will damp,

Rules to keep Preserues, And all Manner of Sweet meats

All wett sweetmeats must be couled close to the sirup,with a cleane white paper, when they are putt by to keepe and cold,to prevent miteing and frothing the Longer, yett you must open your sweetmeat potts once a month, to prevent miteing and frothing, that if they doe you may put new papers to them; And if they [all] thance at any time, to froth or candy, the best way to recoul them is to sett the pott in a posnett of hott water, till you see it come to the perfect sirrup againe; and this is good if they Sowre alsoe.

But if you can, prevent wett sweetmeats, standing in, hott or moist places, but drier sweetmeats or candyes, must be kept from moistnes, though not to drye. Regard when you spend of a pott of wett sweetmeats, take them out if you can, all of a Roe, that yourpaper may lye as neerd to the sirup as you can to keepe it from miteing

Note that all sweetmeats, the next yeare after they are preserued, about the time that the same fruite Blossomed, they will lose theire couler, att least for that time.

Note that the greener any fruite is it will keepe the Longer as example the sucket.

Note that if you will send any sweetmeats that the sooner you send them after the preseruing it is the better; for the Longer they stand when they are caried, they are the apt er to froth.

If you will haue your Quinces to preserud white, they must not be to ripe, and new gathered, and the Aple Quinces, and free from knotts and stonenines.

Some hold that potts or boxes of marmalett and Sweetmeats, being sett one vpon another, will mould the sooner.

Note that if your Porsnett or pann that you preserus in, haue a peece in the bottom it will make the sweetmeats to be all burnt too.

M-

Note that all white sweetmeats must be done with double refined sugar, or clarified Sugar, and as your preserue them strew parte of the waight of the sugar on the sirrup, of white or greene it will make them keepe theire couler.

Note that for preserueing all plumbet to keepe them from Breaking, is to giue them a little slitt in the Lower End, if you doe not stone them, or pare them, this is most proper for dampsons

Note that for preserued Quince, the best way for them is to vse noe other but faire water, that hath Quince seeds steeped or boiled in it.

Some doe put in the Iuice of Aples to make the Quince Ielly the moud and looke cleere, But its nothing soe good, nor tasts soe kindly.

Note that though white Quince marmalet holds & tast he best, yet it must ever be kept dry, for if the candies Topp doe once graroe moist, it will quickly chang couler, and grow darker.

And soe will alsoe dried cake, or dried plumbit, loose theire couler.

The longer and softer all kinds of blacke plumbit are done, they are the blacker and looke better.

If you find the sirrup of preserued Apricocks to thiken like honey with keepinge, or that your sirrup is gone, then make a sirrup with Sugar, and Sliced pipings to a Ielly, it will looke cleere, put it to your Apricockes with in a day, and not body can know it from the right sirrup.

All december and Ianuary is a good time to preserue pipings in.

Grapes will make fine cleere cakes and Iellyes.

Note that all white preserues looke much the better to be dont, with double refined Sugar, or else to haue refined Sugar Clarifed.

Some will keepe Iuice for cleere Cakes warme till the Candy is ready, with wood not be too high as to sugar, Cut them not out of your glasses, till they haue Candied a fort night in a stone.

To kep all kinds of Redd preserues with a pure Dryentall Couler, put in sometimes 2 or 3 dropes of sirrup of mulberryes.

Quinces and Peaches put together, make very goode past like that of fenon.

ffor preserueing Quinces white lett them not be> to Ripe.

The fflanders Cherryes are not soe good to preserue as the English, because they are not soe ffleshey, they must new be too ripe, to be of a deepe redd Couler.

Note that any preserues or marmaletts thayt you would spend with a quarter of a yeare after you haue made them, will keepe soe long well enough with halfe the waight of the Sugar.

Noate thayt all Bisket Bread should be kept in Tin, or earthen Potts, or Boxes, But if in Wood Boxes, then Oakewood best, because it gives Least ill tast to any sweetmeates, the like also for Wafers, Iomballs, such like you would keep drye & Crisp, must also be kept in a dry place: but Macker ounes, & Cakes of Almons, & all Plum Cakes & such like for of Flower, must not be kept in to dry a place

To recouer the tast of Bisket, Cakes, & suchlike when the grow stale or tast of a Cubert; to eate as if they wear New also Manchet Bread, Put them into a Warme Ouen after Bread is drawen; or by the fyer; & for Cakes or Bread, if you will, wett them a little all ouer with some Ale or new Woort, or Bear the better, & so they will eats New for one day.