A Book of Fruits and Flowers. Unknown
pot big enough to receive all the Quinces, both whole and quartered, and put them into it, when the liquor is thorow cold, and so keep them for your use close covered.
Prepare your Quinces, and take the just weight of them in Sugar, beaten finely, and searcing halfe of it, then of the rest make a Syrupe, using the ordinary proportion of a pint of water to a pound of Sugar, let your Quinces be well beaten, and when the Syrupe is cand height, put in your Quince, and boyle it to a past, keeping it with continuall stirring, then work it up with the beaten Sugar which you reserved, and these Cakes will tast well of the Quinces.
Take two pound of Quinces, paired, coared, and cut in small pieces, and put them into a faire posnet, with a quart of faire water, and when they are boyled tender, put into them one pound of Sugar clarified, with halfe a pint of faire water, let them boyle till all the fruit fall to the bottom of the posnet, then let the liquid substance run through a faire linnen cloath into a clean bason, then put it into a posnet, and let it boyle till it come to a jelly, then Print it in your Moulds, and turne it into your boxes. You shall know when it is ready to Print, by rouling it on the back of a Spoone.
Of Roses
Take Damask Rose budds, pluck them, and dry the leaves in the shadow, the tops of Lavender flowers, sweet Margerom, and Basill, of each a handfull, all dryed and mingled with the Rose leaves, take also of Benjamin, Storax, Gallingall roots, and Ireos or Orris roots, twice as much of the Orris as of any of the other, beaten in fine powder: a peece of cotten wool wetted in Rose-water, and put to it a good quantity of Musk and Ambergreece made into powder, and sprinkle them with some Civet dissolved in Rose-water, lay the Cotten in double paper, and dry it over a chaffin dish of coales: Lastly, take halfe a handfull of Cloves, and as much Cinamon bruised, not small beaten, mixe all these together, and put them up in your Bagge.
Take three pints of new milk, of stale Manchet crums two handfulls, or so much as shall make the milk somewhat thick, and thereto put two handfulls of dryed red Rose leaves, and three ounces of Oyle of Roses, boyle all these together to the thicknesse of a Poultisse, then let it stand and coole, and while it cooleth rake a spoonfull of Oyle of Roses, and with a warm hand rub the place grieved, till the Oyle be dryed in, and then lay the Poultisse as warm as you may endure it, to the part inflamed; doe this morning and evening for three or four dayes, as you shall see cause.
Take Damask Rose leaves, Bay leaves, Lavinder tops, sweet Marjerome tops, Ireos powder, Damask powder, and a little Musk first dissolved in sweet water, put the Rose leaves and hearbs into a Bason, and sprinkle a quarter of a pint of Rose-water among them, and stirring them all together, cover the Bason close with a dish, and let them stand so covered, all night, in the morning Distill them, so shall you have at once an excellent sweet water, and a very fine sweet Cake to lay among your finest linnen.
Take Sallet Oyle and put it into an earthen pot, then take Rose leaves, clip off all the white, and bruise them a little, and put them into the Oyle, and then stop the top close with past, and set it into a boyling pot of water, and let it boyle one hour, then let it stand al one night upon hot embers, the next day take the Oyle, and straine it from the Rose leaves, into a glasse, and put therein some fresh Rose leaves, clipt as before, stop it, and set it in the Sun every day for a fortnight or three weeks.
Take Damask Roses, clip off the white of them, and take six ounces of them to every pint of faire water, first well boyled and scummed, let them stand so as abovesaid, twelve hours, as you doe in the Syrupe of Violets, wringing out the Roses and putting in new eight times, then wringing out the last put in onely the juice of four ounces of Roses, so make it up as before, if you will put in Rubarb, take to every two drams, slice it, string it on a thred, hang it within the pot after the first shifting, and let it infuse within your Roses: Some use to boyle the Rubarb in the Syrupe, but it is dangerous, the Syrupe purgeth Choller and Melancholly.
Take red Rose buds, clip of all the white, bruised, and withered from them, then weigh them out, and taking to every pound of Roses three pound of Sugar, stamp the Roses by themselves very small putting a little juice of Lemmons or Rose water to them as they wax dry, when you see the Roses small enough, put the Sugar to them, and beat them together till they be well mingled, then put it up in Gally pots or glasses; in like manner are the Conserverves of Flowers, of Violets, Cowslips, Marigolds, Sage, and Sea boise made.
Take one pound of Roses, three pound of Sugar, one pint of Rose water, or more, make your Syrupe first, and let it stand till it be cold, then take your Rose leaves, having first clipt off all the white, put them into the cold Syrupe, then cover them, and set them on a soft fire, that they may but simper for two or three hours, then while they are hot put them into pots or glasses for your use.
First take the fairest Barbaries, and of them the greatest bunches you can get, and with a needle take out the stones on the one side of them, then weigh out to every halfe pound of them one pound of Sugar, put them into a Preserving pan, strow the Sugar on them, and let them boyle a quarter of an hour softly, then taking out the Barbaries let the Syrupe boyle a quarter of an hour more, then put in the Barbaries againe, and let them boyle a pretty while with the Syrupe, then take them from the Syrupe, and let them both stand till they be cold, and so put them up.
Take the worst of them, and boyle them in faire water, and straine the liquor from them, and while the liquor is hot put it into your Barbaries, being clean picked, and stop them up, and if they mould much, wash them throughly in the liquor, then boyle the liquor againe, and strayne it, and let it coole, then put it to your Barbaries againe.
Take your Barbaries, pick them clean in faire branches, and wash them clean, and dry them on a cloath, then take some other Barbaries, and boyle them in Clarret wine till they be very soft, then straine them, and rub them so well through the strainer, that you may know the substance of them, and boyle up this matter thus strained out, till it be very sweet, and somwhat thick, then setting it by till it be cold, and then put in your branches of Barbaries into gally pots, or glasses, and fill it up with the cold Syrupe, and so shall you have both Syrupe, and also Barbaries, to use at your pleasure.
Of Almonds
Steepe one pound of Almonds so long in cold water, till they will blanch, then put them in Rose-water, and beat them in so much Rose-water as will keep them from growing to an Oyle, and no more; take one pound of Sugar beaten very fine, and sifted through a Searce, take the whites of six Eggs beat to a froth, as you use to doe for other Bisket, with a spoonfull of fine flower, set the Almonds and Sugar on a soft Charcoal fire, let them boyle together till they be very thick, and so let them stand till they be almost cold, then beat the Eggs and that together, put in a little Muske for the better tast, if you please, then lay them upon papers, in what proportion you will, and dry them in an Oven, with a slack fire.
Take a rib of Mutton or Veale, or rather a Chicken, boyle it in faire water, put thereto French Barley, a Fennill root, a Parsly root, Violet leaves, Strawberry leaves, and Cinquefoyle leaves, and boyle them all together, till the meat be over boyled, then strayne out the liquor from the rest, while they are boyling blanch a proportion of Almonds answerable to the liquor, beat them well in a clean stone Morter, and then grind them therein with Rose water