Chapter 4

Take your _Bullasses_, as new gathered as you can, wipe them with a cloath, and prick them with a knife, and quaddle them in two waters, close covered, then take a pound of Clarified _sugar_, and a pint of _Apple water_, boyle them well together (keeping them well scummed) unto a Syrupe, and when your _Bullases_ are well dript from the water, put them into the Syrupe, and warm them three or four times at the least, at the last warming take them up, and set them a dropping from the Syrupe, and boyle the Syrupe a little by it selfe, till it come to a jelly, and then between hot and cold put them up to keep for all the year.

_To Preserve Pares, Pare-Plums, Plums._

First take two pound and a halfe of fine _sugar_, and beat it small, and put it into a pretty brasse pot, with twenty spoonfulls of _Rose-water_, and when it boyleth skim it clean, then take it off the fire, and let it stand while it be almost cold, then take two pound of _Pare-plums_, and wipe them upon a faire cloath, and put them into your Syrupe when it is almost cold, and so set them upon the fire againe, and let them boyle as softly as you can, for when they are boyled enough, the kernels will be yellow, then take them up, but let your Syrupe boyle till it be thick; then put your Plums upon the fire againe, and let them boyle a walme or two, so take them from the fire, and let them stand in the vessell all night, and in the morning put them into your pot or glasse, and cover them close.

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_Of Medlers._

_To Preserve Medlers._

Take the fairest _Medlers_ you can get, but let them not be too ripe, then set on faire water on the fire, and when it boyleth put in your _Medlers_, and let them boyle till they be somewhat soft, then while they are hot pill them, cut off their crowns, and take out their stones, then take to every pound of _Medlers_, three quarters of a pound of _sugar_, and a quarter of a pint of _Rose water_, seeth your Syrupe, scumming it clean, then put in your _Medlers_ one by one, the stalks downward, when your Syrupe is somewhat coole then set them on the fire againe, let them boyle softly till the Syrupe be enough, then put in a few _Cloves_ and a little _Cinamon_, and so putting them up in pots reserve them for your use.

_To make a Tart of Medlers._

Take _Medlers_ that be rotten, and stamp them, and set them upon a chafin dish with coales, and beat in two yolks of Eggs, boyling till it be somewhat thick, then season it with _Sugar, Cinamon_, and _Ginger_, and lay it in paste.

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_Of Cucumbers._

_How to keep Cucumbers._

Take a kettle big enough for your use, halfe full of water, make it brackish with salt, boyle therein ten or twenty _Cucumbers_, cut in halves, then take the raw _Cucumbers_, being somewhat little, and put them into the vessell wherein you will keep them, and when your liquor is cold straine so much of it into them, as may keep the _Cucumbers_ alwayes covered.

_To keep boyled Cucumbers._

Take a kettle of water, put salt to it, boyle it well, then take your raw _Cucumbers_, put them into it, and keep them with turning up and downe very softly, till they be as it were per-boyled, then take them out, and lay them aside till they be cold, then put them up in the vessel you will keep them in, and when the liquor is cold, straine it into them, till they be all covered.

_To Pickle Cucumbers to keep all the yeare._

Pare a good quantity of the rindes of _Cucumbers_, and boyle them in a quart of running water, and a pint of wine _Vineger_, with a handfull of _salt_, till they be soft, then letting them stand till the liquor be quite cold, pour out the liquor from the rinds, into some little barrel, earthen pot, or other vessel, that may be close stopped, and put as many of the youngest _Cucumbers_ you can gather, therein, as the liquor will cover, and so keep them close covered, that no winde come to them, to use all the year till they have new; if your _Cucumbers_ be great, 'tis best to boyle them in the liquor till they be soft.

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*OF COOKERY.*

_To make Snow._

Take a quart of thick _Creame_, and five or six whites of _Eggs_, a sauser full of _sugar_ finely beaten, and as much _Rose water_, beat them all together, and always as it riseth take it out with a spoon, then take a loaf of _Bread_, cut away the crust, set it in a platter, and a great _Rosemary_ bush in the middest of it, then lay your Snow with a Spoon upon the _Rosemary_, and so serve it.

_To make Spiced Bread._

Take two pound of Manchet paste, sweet _Butter_ halfe a pound, _Currants_ halfe a pound, _sugar_ a quarter, and a little _Mace_, if you will put in any, and make it in a loafe, and bake it in an Oven, no hotter then for Manchet.

_To make Craknels._

Take five or six pints of the finest _Wheat_ flower you can get, to which you must put in a spoonfull (and not above) of good _Yest_, then mingle it well with _Butter, cream, Rose-water_, and _sugar_, finely beaten, and working it well into paste, make it after what forme you will, and bake it.

_To make Veale-tooh's, or Olives._

Take the _Kidney_ of a line of _Veale_ roasted, with a good deale of the fat, and a little of the flesh, mingle it very small, and put to it two _Eggs_, one _Nutmeg_ finely grated, a good quantity of _sugar_, a few _Currants_, a little _salt_, stir them well together, and make them into the form of little _Pasties_, and fry them in a pan with sweet _Butter_.

_To make a Barley Creame to procure sleepe, or Almond Milke._

Take a good handfull of French _Barley_, wash it cleane in warme water, and boyle it in a quart of fayre water to the halfe, then put out the water from the _Barley_, and put the _Barley_ into a pottell of new clean water, with a _Parsley_, and a _Fennell_ root, clean washed, and picked with _Bourage, Buglos, Violet_ leaves, and _Lettice_, of each one handfull, boyle them with the _Barley_, till more then halfe be consumed; then strayne out the liquor, and take of blanched _Almonds_ a handfull, of the seeds of _Melons, Cucumbers, Citralls_, and _Gourds_, husked, of each halfe a quarter of an ounce, beat these seeds, and the _Almonds_ together, in a stone morter, with so much _Sugar_, and _Rose-water_ as is fit, and strayne them through a cleane cloath into the liquor, and drink thereof at night going to bed, and in the night, if this doth not sufficiently provoke sleep, then make some more of the same liquor, and boyle in the same the heads, or a little of white _Poppey_.

_To pickle Oysters._

Take a peck of the greatest _Oysters_, open them, and put the liquor that comes from them saved by it selfe, to as much _White-wine_, and boyle it with a pound of _Pepper_ bruised, two or three spoonfulls of large _Mace_, and a handfull of _salt_, till the liquor begin to waste away, then put in your _Oysters_, and plump them, and take them off the fire till they be cold, and so put them up in little barrels very close.

_To make very fine Sausages._

Take four pound and a halfe of _Porck_, chop it small, and put to it three pound of _Beefe_ sewet, and chop them small together, then put to them a handfull of _Sage_, finely shred, one ounce of _Pepper_, one ounce of _Mace_, two ounces of _Cloves_, a good deale of _salt_, eight Eggs very well beaten before you put them in, then work them well with your hand, till they be throughly mingled, and then fill them up. Some like not the Eggs in them, it is not amisse therefore to leave them out.

_To cast all kind of Sugar works into Moulds._

Take one pound of _Barabry Sugar_, Clarifie it with the white of an Egg, boyle it till it will roule between your finger and your thumb, then cast it into your standing Moulds, being watered two hours before in cold water, take it out and gild them to garnish a _Marchpine_ with them at your pleasure.

_To make all kinde of turned works in fruitage, hollow._

Take the strongest bodyed _Sugar_ you can get, boyle it to the height of _Manus Christi_, take your stone, or rather pewter moulds, being made in three pieces; tye the two great pieces together with _Inkle_, then poure in your _Sugar_ being highly boyled, turne it round about your head apace, and so your fruitage will be hollow, whether it be _Orange_, or _Lemmon_, or whatsoever your Mould doth cast, after they be cast you must colour them after their naturall colours.

_To make a Sallet of all kinds of Hearbs_.

Take your Hearbs and pick them very fine in faire water, and pick your Flowers by themselves, and wash them clean, then swing them in a strayner, and when you put them into a dish mingle them with _Cucumbers_ or _Lemmons_ pared and sliced, also scrape _sugar_, and put in _Vineger_ and _Oyle_, then spread the Flowers on the top of the _sallet_, and with every sort of the aforesaid things garnish the dish about, then take Eggs boyled hard, and lay about the dish and upon the Sallet.

_To make Fritter-stuffe_

Take fine flower, and three or four Eggs, and put into the flower, and a piece of Butter, and let them boyle all together in a dish or chaffer, and put in _sugar, cinamon, ginger_, and _rose_ water, and in the boyling put in a little grated Bread, to make it big, then put it into a dish, and beat it well together, and so put it into your mould, and fry it with clarified Butter, but your Butter may not be too hot, nor too cold.

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_FINIS._

End of Project Gutenberg's A Book of Fruits and Flowers, by Anonymous