A Queens Delight. Unknown
A Queens Delight / The Art of Preserving, Conserving and Candying. As also, A right / Knowledge of making Perfumes, and Distilling the most Excellent / Waters
A QUEENS DELIGHT OF CONSERVES, AND PRESERVES, CANDYING AND DISTILLING WATERS
To preserve white Pear Plums, or green
Take the Plums, and cut the stalk off, and wipe them then take the just weight of them in Sugar, then put them in a skillet of water, and let them stand in and scald, being close covered till they be tender, they must not seeth, when they be soft lay them in a Dish, and cover them with a cloth, and stew some of the the Sugar in the glass bottom, and put in the Plums, strewing the sugar over till all be in, then let them stand all night, the next day put them in a pan, and let them boil a pace, keeping them clean scummed, & when your Plums look clear, your syrup will gelly, and they are enough. If your Plums be ripe, peel off the skins before you put them in the glass; they will be the better and clearer a great deal to dry, if you will take the Plums white; if green, do them with the rinds on.
To preserve Grapes
Take Grapes when they be almost through ripe, and cut the stalks off, and stone them in the side, and as fast as you can stone them strew Sugar on them; you must take to every pound of Grapes three quarters of a pound of Sugar, then take some of the sower Grapes; and wring the juyce of them, and put to every pound of Grapes two spoonfuls of juyce, then set them on the fire, and still lift up the pan and shake it round, for fear of burning to, then set them on again, & when the Sugar is melted, boil them as fast as you can possible, and when they look very clear, and the syrup is somewhat thick, they are enough.
To preserve Quinces white
Take a pair and coar them, and to every pound of your equal weights in Sugar and Quince, take a wine pint of water; put them together, and boil them as fast as you can uncovered; and this way you may also preserve Pippins white as you do Quinces.
To preserve Respass
Take a pound of Respass, a pound of fine Sugar, a quarter of a pint of the juyce of Respass, strew the Sugar under and above the Respass, sprinkle the juyce all on them, set them on a clear fire, let them boil as soft as is possible, till the syrup will gelly, then take them off, let them stand till they be cold, then put them in a glass. After this manner is the best way.
To preserve Pippins
Take fair Pippins, and boil them in fair water till they be somewhat tender, then take them out, and peel off the skins and put them into a fair earthen pot, and cover them till they be cold, then make the syrup with fair water and Sugar, seeth it, and scum it very clean, then being almost cold, put in your Pippins, so boil them softly together, put in as much rind of Oranges as you think will tast them, if you have no Oranges take whole Cinamon and Cloves, so boil them high enough to keep them all the year.
To preserve fruits green
Take Pippins, Apricocks, Pear-Plums, or Peaches when they be green, scald them in hot water, and peel them or scrape them, put them into another water not so hot as the first, then boil them very tender, take the weight of them in Sugar, put to it as much water as will make a syrup to cover them; then boil them something leisurely, and take them up, then boil the syrup till it be somewhat thick, that it will batten on a dish side, and when they are cold, put them together.
To preserve Oranges and Lemons the best way
Take and boil them as for paste, then take as much sugar as they weigh, and put to it as much water as will cover them by making a syrrup, then boil them very leisurely till they be clear, then take them up and boil the syrup till it batten on the dish side, and when they are cold put them up, &c.
An approved Conserve for a Cough or Consumption of the Lungs
Take a pound of Elecampane Roots, draw out the pith, and boil them in two waters till they be soft, when it is cold put to it the like quantity of the pap of roasted Pippins, and three times their weight of brown sugar-candy beaten to powder, stamp these in a Mortar to a Conserve, whereof take every morning fasting as much as a Walnut for a week or fortnight together, and afterwards but three times a week. Approved.
To make conserve of Any of these Fruits
When you have boiled your paste as followeth ready to fashion on the Pie-plate, put it up into Gallipots, and never dry it, and this is all the difference between Conserves. And so you may make Conserves of any Fruits, this is for all hard Fruits, as Quinces, Pippins, Oranges and Lemons.
To dry any Fruits after they are preserved, to or Candy them
Take Pippins, Pears or Plums, and wash them out in warm water from the syrup they are preserved in, strew them over with searsed Sugar, as you would do flower upon fish to fry them; set them in a broad earthen Pan, that they may lie one by one; then set them in a warm Oven or Stove to dry. If you will candy them withall, you must strew on Sugar three or four times in the drying.
To preserve Artichokes young, green Walnuts and Lemons, and the Elecampane-Roots, or any bitter thing
Take any of these, and boil them tender, and shift them in their boyling six or seven times to take away their bitterness out of one hot water into another, then put a quart of Salt unto them, then take them up and dry them with a fair cloth, then put them into as much clarified Sugar as will cover them, then let them boil a walm or two, and so let them stand soaking in the Sugar till the next morning, then take them up and boil the Sugar a little higher by it self, and when they are cold put them up.
Let your green Walnuts be prickt full of holes with a great pin, and let them not be long in one water, for that will make them look black; being boiled tender, stick two or three Cloves in each of them.
Set your Elecampane-Roots, being clean scraped, and shifted in their boilings a dozen times, then dry them in a fair cloth, and so boil them as is above written, take half so much more than it doth weigh, because it is bitter, &c.
To preserve Quinces white or red
Take the Quinces, and coar them, and pare them, those that you will have white, put them into a pail of water two or three hours, then take as much Sugar as they weigh, put to it as much water as will make a Syrup to cover them, then boil your Syrup a little while, then put your Quinces in, and boil them as fast as you can, till they be tender and clear, then take them up, and boil the Syrup a little higher by it self, and being cold put them up. And if you will have them red, put them raw into Sugar, and boil them leisurely close covered till they be red and put them not into cold water.
To preserve Grapes
Take the Clusters, and stone them as you do Barberries, then take a little more Sugar than they weigh, put to it as much Apple water as will make a Syrup to cover them, then boil them as you do Cherries as fast as you can, till the Syrup be thick and being cold pot it, thus may you preserve Barberries or English Currans, or any kind of Berries.
To preserve Pippins, Apricoks, Pear-Plums and Peaches when they are ripe
Take Pippins and pare them, bore a hole through them, & put them into a Pail of water, then take as much Sugar as they do weigh, and put to it as much water as will make a Syrup to cover them, and boil them as fast as you can, so that you keep them from breaking, until they be tender, that you may prick a Rush through them: let them be a soaking till they be almost cold, then put them up.
Your Apricoks and Peaches must be stoned & pared, but the Pear-Plums must not be stoned nor pared. Then take a little more Sugar than they weigh, then take as much Apple water and Sugar as will make a Syrup for them, then boil them as you do your Pippins, and Pot them as you do the Pippins likewise, &c.
To preserve Pippins, Apricocks, Pear-Plums, or Peaches green
Take your Pippins green and quoddle them in fair water, but let the water boil first before you put them in, & you must shift them in two hot waters before they will be tender, then