The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened by Sir Kenelm Digby (best e reader for epub .txt) 📖

pound, or English wine pint whereof, put a pound of red Currants (first stoned and the black ends cut off) and a pound of Sugar. Boil these, till the Liquor be gellied. Then put it in Glasses. It will look like Rubies in clear Gelly. You may do the like with Cherries, either stoned, and the stalks cut off, or three or four capped upon one stalk, and the stone left in the first, and boiled in Liquor of Raspes.

She makes her curious red Marmulate thus: Take six pounds of Quince-flesh; six pounds of pure Sugar; and eight pints of juyce; boil this up with quick fire, till you have scummed it, then pull away all the Coals, and let it but simper, for four or five hours, remaining covered, renewing from time to time so little fire, as to cause it so to continue simpring. But as soon as it is scummed, put into it a handful of Quince kernels, two races of Ginger sliced, and fourteen or fifteen Cloves whole; all these put into a Tyffany-bag tyed fast; when you finde that the colour is almost to your minde, make a quick fire, and boil it up a pace, then throw away your bag of kernels, Ginger and Cloves, and pot up your Marmulate, when it is cool enough.

She makes her red Gelly of Quince thus: Put the Quinces pared and sliced into a pot, as above; and to every pound of this flesh put about half a demistier of fair water, and put this into a kettle of boiling water, till you perceive all the juyce is boiled out of the Quince. Then strain it out, and boil this Liquor (which will not yet be clear) till you perceive it gellieth upon a plate. Then to every pint of Liquor put a pound of Sugar, and boil it up to a gelly, skimming it well, as the scum riseth, and you will have a pure gelly.


GELLY OF RED CURRANTS

Take them clean picked, and fresh gathered in the morning, in a bason, set them over the fire, that their juyce may sweat out, pressing them all the while with the back of your preserving spoon, to squeese out of them all that is good. When you see all is out, strain the Liquor from them, and let it stand to settle four or five hours, that the gross matter may sink to the bottom. Then take the pure clear, (the thick settling will serve to add in making of Marmulate of Cherries, or the like) and to every pint or pound of it, put three quarters of a pound of the purest refined Sugar, and boil them up with a quick fire, till they come to a gelly height (which will be done immediately in less then a quarter of an hour) which you may try with a drop upon a plate. Then take it off, and when it is cold enough, put it into Glasses. You must be careful to skim it well in due time, and with thin brown Paper to take off the froth, if you will be so curious.


GELLY OF CURRANTS, WITH THE FRUIT WHOLE IN IT

Take four pound of good Sugar, clarifie it with whites of Eggs, then boil it up to a candid height (that is, till throwing it, it goeth into flakes): Then put into it five pound (or at discretion) of pure juyce of red Currants first boiled to clarifie it by skimming it. Boil them together a little while, till it be well scummed, and enough to become gelly. Then put a good handful or two of the berries of Currants whole, and cleansed from the stalks and black ends, and boil them a little till they be enough.

You need not to boil the juyce, before you put it to the Sugar, and consequently do not scum it before the Sugar and it boil together: but then scum it perfectly: and take care before, that the juyce be very clear and well strained.


MARMULATE OF RED CURRANTS

Take some juyce of red Currants, and put into it a convenient proportion of some entire Currants cleansed from the stalks and buttons at the other end. Let these boil a little together. Have also ready some fine Sugar boiled to a candy height. Put of this to the Currants at discretion, and boil them together, till they be enough: and bruise them with the back of your spoon, that they may be in the consistence of Marmulate (like that of Cherries) which put in pots, when it is cool enough. You do not stone the whole Currants put into the juyce, unless you please.


SUCKET OF MALLOW STALKS

To candy or preserve the tender stalks of Mallows, do thus; Take them in the spring, when they are very young and tender; and peel off the strings that are round about the outside, as you do French-beans, and boil them, till they are very tender. In the mean time prepare a high Syrup of pure Sugar, and put the boiled stalkes into it, whiles it is boiling hot, but taken from the fire. Let them lie soaking there till the next morning. Then take out the stalks, and heat the Syrup again, scalding hot, and return the stalks into it, letting them lie there till next morning; (Note, that the stalks must never boil in the Syrup,) Repeat this six, or eight, or nine times, that is to say, till they are sufficiently Imbibed with the Syrup. When they are at this pass, you may either keep them as a wet sucket in Syrup, or dry them in a stove upon Papers, turning them continually, in such sort as dried sweet-meats are to be made. I like them best dry, but soft and moist within (Medullosi) like Candied Eryngos. In Italy they eat much of them, for sharpness and heat of Urine, and in Gonorrhoea's to take away pain in Urining.

A Sucket is made in like manner of the Carneous substance of stalks of Lettice. It is the knob, out of which the Lettice groweth, which being pared, and all the tough rind being taken off, is very tender and so it is a pretty way downwards the root. This also is very cooling and smoothing.

In Italy these tender stalks of Mallows are called Mazzocchi , and they eat them (boiled tender) in Sallets, either hot or cold, with Vinegar and Oyl, or Butter and Vinegar, or juyce of Oranges.


CONSERVE OF RED ROSES

Doctor Glisson makes his conserve of red Roses thus: Boil gently a pound of red Rose leaves (well picked, and the Nails cut off) in about a pint and a half (or a little more, as by discretion you shall judge fit, after having done it once; The Doctors Apothecary takes two pints) of Spring water; till the water have drawn out all the Tincture of the Roses into it self, and that the leaves be very tender, and look pale like Linnen; which may be in a good half hour, or an hour, keeping the pot covered whiles it boileth. Then pour the tincted Liquor from the pale Leaves (strain it out, pressing it gently, so that you may have Liquor enough to dissolve your Sugar) and set it upon the fire by it self to boil, putting into it a pound of pure double refined Sugar in small Powder; which as soon as it is dissolved, put in a second pound; then a third, lastly a fourth, so that you have four pound of Sugar to every pound of Rose-leaves. (The Apothecary useth to put all the four pounds into the Liquor altogether at once,) Boil these four pounds of Sugar with the tincted Liquor, till it be a high Syrup, very near a candy height, (as high as it can be, not to flake or candy) Then put the pale Rose-leaves, into this high Syrup, as it yet standeth upon the fire, or immediately upon the taking it off the fire. But presently take it from the fire, and stir them exceeding well together, to mix them uniformly; then let them stand till they be cold; then pot them up. If you put up your Conserve into pots, whiles it is yet throughly warm, and leave them uncovered some days, putting them in the hot Sun or stove, there will grow a fine candy upon the top, which will preserve the conserve without paper upon it, from moulding, till you break the candied crust, to take out some of the conserve.

The colour both of the Rose-leaves and the Syrup about them, will be exceeding beautiful and red, and the taste excellent; and the whole very tender and smoothing, and easie to digest in the stomack without clogging it, as doth the ordinary rough conserve made of raw Roses beaten with Sugar, which is very rough in the throat. The worst of it is, that if you put not a Paper to lie always close upon the top of the conserve, it will be apt to grow mouldy there on the top; especially aprés que le pot est entamé .

The Conserve of Roses, besides being good for Colds and Coughs, and for the Lunges, is exceeding good for sharpness and heat of Urine, and soreness of the bladder, eaten much by it self, or drunk with Milk, or distilled water of Mallows, and Plantaine, or of Milk.


ANOTHER CONSERVE OF ROSES

Doctor Bacon related to me, that Mr. Minito the Roman Apothecary, made him some conserve of Roses, in this manner. He took twelve pounds (of sixteen Ounces to the pound) of the best lump or Kitchin Sugar, and clarified it very well with whites of Eggs, using Spring-water in doing this. He made his reckoning, that his twelve pound of Sugar, came to be but nine pound, when all the scum was taken away, and the Sugar perfectly clarified. Boil it then to a Syrup, and when it is about half boiled, go roundly about your Rose-leaves. They must be picked and the white nails cut off before-hand; but begin not to beat them before your Syrup is half boiled. Then put thirty Ounces (which is two pound and an half of Roses to every pound of such Sugar) of your Red-Roses into the Mortar, and beat them well, squeesing into them, as you beat them, some of the subtilest and best part (which comes out first) of about two Limons, which brings out their colour finely. You must have finished beating your Roses, by then the Sugar is come by boiling to a high Syrup (for if you should let them lie still in the Air, but a little while, they would grow black, and of ill colour) then with your ladle put the Roses to the Sugar, and stir them very well in it, to Incorporate all well and uniformly together. So let them boil on gently (for all this while you take not your preserving pan from the fire, and a thick scum of the Roses will rise, which you scum off from time to time continually as it comes up, and reserve this in a pot by it self, for it will be good hard Sugar of Roses, and may be about an eight or ninth part of the whole. After it is clear from scum, and hath boiled near a quarter of an hour with the Roses in it, and that you see by a drop upon a plate, that it is of a due consistence; take your pan from the fire, and stir all very well together, and put it into pots, which leave uncovered during ten or twelve