The accomplisht cook or, The art & mystery of cookery
Chapter 19
_For the several Colours of Tarts._
If to have them yellow, preserved quinces, apricocks, necturnes, and melacattons, boil them up in white-wine with sugar, and strain them.
Otherways, strained yolks of eggs and cream.
For green tarts take green quodlings, green preserved apricocks, green preserved plums, green grapes, and green gooseberries.
For red tarts, quinces, pippins, cherries, rasberries, barberries, red currans, red gooseberries, damsins.
For black tarts, prunes, and many other berries preserved.
For white tarts, whites of eggs and cream.
Of all manner of tart-stuff strained, that carries his colour black, as prunes, damsons, _&c._ For lard of set Tarts dishes, or patty-pans.
_Tart stuff of damsons._
Take a postle of damsons and good ripe apples, being pared and cut into quarters, put them into an earthen pot with a little whole cinamon, slic't ginger, and sugar, bake them and being cold strain them with some rose-water, and boil the stuff thick, _&c._
_Other Tart stuff that carries its colour black._
Take three pound of prunes, and eight fair pippins par'd and cor'd, stew them together with some claret wine, some whole cinamon, slic't ginger, a sprig of rosemary, sugar, and a clove or two, being well stew'd and cold, strain them with rose-water, and sugar.
_To make other black Tart Stuff._
Take twelve pound of prunes, and sixteen pound of raisins, wash them clean, and stew them in a pot with water, boil them till they be very tender, and then strain them through a course strainer; season it with beaten ginger and sugar, and give it a warm on the fire.
_Yellow Tart Stuff._
Take twelve yolks of eggs, beat them with a quart of cream, and bake them in a soft oven; being baked strain them with some fine sugar, rose-water, musk, ambergriese, and a little sack, or in place of baking, boil the cream and eggs.
_White Tart-Stuff._
Make the white tart stuff with cream, in all points as the yellow, and the same seasoning.
_Green Tart-Stuff._
Take spinage boil'd, green peese, green apricocks, green plums quodled, peaches quodled, green necturnes quodled, gooseberries quodled, green sorrel, and the juyce of green wheat.
_To bake Apricocks green._
Take young green apricocks, so tender that you may thrust a pin through the stone, scald them and scrape the out side, of putting them in water as you peel them till your tart be ready, then dry them and fill the tart with them, and lay on good store of fine sugar, close it up and bake it, ice it, scrape on sugar, and serve it up.
_To bake Mellacattons._
Take and wipe them clean, and put them in a pie made scollop ways, or in some other pretty work, fill the pie, and put them in whole with weight for weight in refined sugar, close it up and bake it, being baked ice it.
Sometimes for change you may add to them some chips or bits of whole cinamon, a few whole cloves, and slic't ginger.
_To preserve Apricocks, or any Plums green._
Take apricocks when they are so young and green, that you may put a needle through stone and all, but all other plums may be taken green, and at the highest growth, then put them in indifferent hot water to break them, & let them stand close cover'd in that hot water till a thin skin will come off with scraping, all this while they will look yellow; then put them into another skillet of hot water, and let them stand covered until they turn to a perfect green, then take them out, weigh them, take their weight in sugar and something more, and so preserve them. Clarifie the sugar with the white of an egg, and some water.
_To preserve Apricocks being ripe._
Stone them, then weigh them with sugar, and take weight for weight, pare them and strow on the sugar, let them stand till the moisture of the apricocks hath wet the sugar, and stand in a sirrup: then set them on a soft fire, not suffering them to boil, till your sugar be all melted; then boil them a pretty space for half an hour, still stirring them in the sirrup, then set them by two hours, and boil them again till your sirrup be thick, and your apricocks look clear, boil up the sirrup higher, then take it off, and being cold put in the apricocks into a gally-pot or glass, close them up with a clean paper, and leather over all.
_To preserve Peaches after the Venetian way._
Take twenty young peaches, part them in two, and take out the stones, then take as much sugar as they weigh, and some rose-water, put in the peaches, and make a sirrup that it may stand and stick to your fingers, let them boil softly a while, then lay them in a dish, and let them stand in the same two or three days, then set your sirrup on the fire, let it boil up, and then put in the peaches, and so preserve them.
_To preserve Mellacattons._
Stone them and parboil them in water, then peel off the outward skin of them, they will boil as long as a piece of beef, and therefore you need not fear the breaking of them; when they are boil'd tender make sirrup of them as you do of any other fruit, and keep them all the year.
_To preserve Cherries._
Take a pound of the smallest cherries, but let them be well coloured, boil them tender in a pint of fair water, then strain the liquor from the cherries and take two pound of other fair cherries, stone them, and put them in your preserving-pan, with a laying of cherries and a laying of sugar, then pour the sirrup of the other strained cherries over them, and let them boil as fast as maybe with a blazing fire, that the sirrup may boil over them; when you see that the sirrup is of a good colour, something thick, and begins to jelly, set them a cooling, and being cold pot them; and so keep them all the year.
_To preserve Damsins._
Take damsins that are large and well coloured, (but not throw ripe, for then they will break) pick them clean and wipe them one by one; then weigh them, and to every pound of damsins you must take a pound of Barbary sugar, white & good, dissolved in half a pint or more of fair water; boil it almost to the height of a sirrup, and then put in the damsins, keeping them with a continual scuming and stirring, so let them boil on a gentle fire till they be enough, then take them off and keep them all the year.
_To preserve Grapes as green as Grass._
Take grapes very green, stone them and cut them into little bunches, then take the like quantity of refin'd sugar finely beaten, & strew a row of sugar in your preserving pan, and a lay of grapes upon it, then strow on some more sugar upon them, put to them four or five spoonfuls of fair water, and boil them up as fast as you can.
_To preserve Barberries._
Take barberries very fair and well coloured, pick out the stones, weigh them, and to every ounce of barberries take three ounce of hard sugar, half an ounce of pulp of barberries, and an ounce of red rose-water to dissolve the sugar; boil it to a sirrup, then put in the barberries and let them boil a quarter of an our, then take them up, and being cool pot them, and they will keep their colour all the year. Thus you may preserve red currans, _&c._
_To preserve Gooseberries green._
Take some of the largest gooseberries that are called Gascoyn gooseberries, set a pan of water on the fire, and when it is lukewarm put in the berries, and cover them close, keep them warm half an hour; then have another posnet of warm water, put them into that, in like sort quoddle them three times over in hot water till they look green; then pour them into a sieve, let all the water run from them, and put them to as much clarified sugar as will cover them, let them simmer leisurely close covered, then your gooseberries will look as green as leek blades, let them stand simmering in that sirrup for an hour, then take them off the fire, and let the sirrup stand till it be cold, then warm them once or twice, take them up, and let the sirrup boil by it self, pot them, and keep them.
_To preserve Rasberries._
Take fair ripe rasberries, (but not over ripe) pick them from the stalk, then take weight for weight of double refined sugar, and the juyce of rasberries; to a pound of rasberries take a quarter of a pint of raspass juyce, and as much of fair water, boil up the sugar and liquor, and make the sirrup, scum it, and put in the raspass, stir them into the sirrup, and boil them not too much; being preserved take them up, and boil the sirrup by it self, not too long, it will keep the colour; being cold, pot them and keep them. Thus you may also preserve strawberries.
_The time to preserve Green Fruits._
Gooseberries must be taken about _Whitsuntide_, as you see them in bigness, the long gooseberry will be sooner than the red; the white wheat plum, which is ever ripe in Wheat harvest, must be taken in the midst of _July_, the pear plum in the midst of _August_, the peach and pippin about _Bartholomew-tide_, or a little before; the grape in the first week of _September_. Note that to all your green fruits in general that you will preserve in sirup, you must take to every pound of fruit, a pound and two ounces of sugar, and a grain of musk; your plum, pippin and peach will have three quarters of an hour boiling, or rather more, and that very softly, keep the fruit as whole as you can; your grapes and gooseberries must boil half an hour something fast and they will be the fuller. Note also, that to all your Conserves you take the full weight of sugar, then take two skillets of water, and when they are scalding hot put the fruits first into one of them and when that grows cold put them in the other, changing them till they be about to peel, then peel them, and afterwards settle them in the same water till they look green, then take them and put them into sugar sirrup, and so let them gently boil till they come to a jelly; let them stand therein a quarter of an hour, then put them into a pot and keep them.
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SECTION XI.
_To make all manner of made Dishes, with or without Paste._
_To make a Paste for a Pie._
Take to a gallon of flour a pound of butter, boil it in fair water, and make the paste up quick.
_To make cool Butter Paste for Patty-Pans or Pasties._
Take to every peck of flour five pound of butter, the whites of six eggs, and work it well together with cold spring water; you must bestow a great deal of pains, and but little water, or you put out the millers eyes. This paste is good only for patty-pan and pasty.
Sometimes for this paste put in but eight yolks of eggs, and but two whites, and six pound of butter.
_To make Paste for thin bak'd Meats._
The paste for your thin and standing bak'd meats must be made with boiling water, then put to every peck of flour two pound of butter, but let your butter boil first in your liquor.
_To make Custard Paste._
Let it be only boiling water and flour without butter, or put sugar to it, which will add to the stiffness of it, & thus likewise all pastes for Cuts and Orangado Tarts, or such like.
_Paste for made-Dishes in the Summer._
Take to a gallon of flour three pound of butter, eight yolks of eggs, and a pint of cream or almond milk, work up the butter and eggs dry into the flour, then put cream to it, and make it pretty stiff.
_Paste Royal for made Dishes._
Take to a gallon of flour a pound of sugar, a quart of almond milk, a pound and half of butter, and a little saffron, work up all cold together], with some beaten cinamon, two or three eggs, rose-water, and a grain of ambergriese and musk.
_Otherways._
Take a pottle of flour, half a pound of butter, six yolks of eggs, a pint of cream, a quarter of a pound of sugar, and some fine beaten cinamon, and work up all cold.
_Otherways._
Take to a pottle of flour four eggs, a pound and a half of butter, and work them up dry in the flour, then make up the paste with a pint of white-wine, rose-water, and sugar.
_To make Paste for Lent for made Dishes._
Take a quart of flour, make it up with almond-milk, half a pound of butter, and some saffron.
_To make Puff-Paste divers ways._
_The First Way._
Take a pottle of flour, mix it with cold water, half a pound of butter, and the whites of five eggs; mix them together very well and stiff, then roul it out very thin, and put flour under it and over it, then take near a pound of butter, and lay it in bits all over, double it in five or six doubles, this being done roul it out the second time, and serve it as at the first, then roul it out and cut it into what form, or for what use you please; you need not fear the curle, for it will divide it as often as you double it, which ten or twelve times is enough for any use.
_The second way._
Take a quart of flour, and a pound and a half of butter, work the half pound of butter dry into the flour, then put three or four eggs to it, and as much cold water as will make it leith paste, work it in a piece of a foot long, then strew a little flour on the table, take it by the end, and beat it till it stretch to be long, then put the ends together, and beat it again, and so do five or six times, then work it up round, and roul it up broad; then beat your pound of butter with a rouling pin that it may be little, take little bits thereof, and stick it all over the paste, fold up your paste close, and coast it down with your rouling pin, roul it out again, and so do five or six times, then use it as you will.
_The third way._
Break two eggs into three pints of flour, make it with cold water and roul it out pretty thick and square, then take so much butter as paste, lay it in ranks, and divide your butter in five pieces, that you may lay it on at five several times, roul your paste very broad, and stick one part of the butter in little pieces all over your paste, then throw a handful of flour slightly on, fold up your paste and beat it with a rowling-pin, so roul it out again, thus do five times, and make it up.
_The fourth way._
Take to a quart of flour four whites and but two yolks of eggs, and make it up with as much cream as will make it up pretty stiff paste, then roul it out, and beat three quarters of a pound of butter of equal hardness of the paste, lay it on the paste in little bits at ten several times; drive out your paste always one way; and being made, use it as you will.
_The fifth way._
Work up a quart of flour with half a pound of butter, three whites of eggs, and some fair spring water, make it a pretty stiff paste, and drive it out, then beat half a pound of more butter of equal hardness of the paste, and lay it on the paste in little bits at three several times, roul it out, and use it for what use you please.
Drive the paste out every time very thin.
_A made Dish or Florentine of any kind of Tongue in Dish, Pye, or Patty-pan._
Take a fresh neats tongue, boil it tender and blanch it, being cold, cut it into little square bits as big as a nutmeg, and lard it with very small lard, then have another tongue raw, take off the skin, and mince it with beef-suet, then lay on one half of it in the dish or patty pan upon a sheet of paste; then lay on the tongue being larded and finely seasoned with nutmeg, pepper, and salt; and with the other minced tongue put grated bread to it, some yolks of raw eggs, some sweet herbs minced small, and made up into balls as big as a walnut, lay them on the other tongue, with some chesnuts, marrow, large mace, some grapes, gooseberries or barberries, some slices of interlarded bacon and butter, close it up and bake it, being baked liquor it with grape-verjuyce, beaten butter, and the yolks of three or four eggs strained with the verjuyce.
_A made Dish of Tongues otherways._
Take neats-tongues or smaller tongues, boil them tender, and slice them thin, then season them with nutmeg, pepper, beaten cinamon; salt, and some ginger, season them lightly, and lay them in a dish on a bottom or sheet of paste mingled with some currans, marrow, large mace, dates, slic't lemon, grapes, barberries, or gooseberries and butter, close up the dish, and being almost baked, liquor it with white wine, butter, and sugar, and ice it.
_Made Dish in Paste of two Rabits, with sweet liquor._
Take the rabits, flay them, draw them and cut them into small pieces as big as a walnut, then wash and dry them with a clean cloth, and season them with pepper, nutmeg, and salt; lay them on a bottom of paste, also lay on them dates, preserved lettice stalks, marrow, large mace, grapes, and slic't orange or lemon, put butter to it, close it up and bake it, being baked, liquor it with sugar, white-wine and butter; or in place of wine, grape-verjuyce, and strained yolks of raw eggs.
In winter bake them with currans, prunes, skirrets, raisins of the sun, _&c._
_A made Dish of Florentine, or a Partridge or Capon._
Being roasted and minced very small with as much beef-marrow, put to it two ounces of orangado minced small with as much green citron minced also, season the meat with a little beaten cloves, mace, nutmeg, salt, and sugar, mix all together, and bake it in puff paste; when it is baked, open it, and put in half a grain of musk or ambergriese, dissolved with a little rose-water, and the juyce of oranges, stir all together amongst the meat, cover it again, and serve it to the table.
_To make a Florentine, or Dish, without Paste, or on Paste._
Take a leg of mutton or veal, shave it into thin slices, and mingle it with some sweet herbs, as sweet marjoram, tyme, savory, parsley, and rosemary, being minced very small, a clove of garlick, some beaten nutmeg, pepper, a minced onion, some grated manchet, and three or four yolks of raw eggs, mix all together with a little salt, some thin slices of interlarded bacon, and some oster-liquor, lay the meat round the dish on a sheet of paste, or in the dish without paste, bake it, and being baked, stick bay leaves round the dish.
_To bake Potatoes, Artichocks in a Dish, Pye, or Patty-pan either in Paste, or little Pasties._
Take any of these roots, and boil them in fair water, but put them not in till the water boils, being tender boil'd, blanch them, and season them with nutmeg, pepper, cinamon, and salt, season them lightly, then lay on a sheet of paste in a dish, and lay on some bits of butter, then lay on the potatoes round the dish, also some eringo roots, and dates in halves, beef marrow, large mace, slic't lemon, and some butter, close it up with another sheet of paste, bake it, and being baked, liquor it with grape-verjuyce, butter and sugar, and ice it with rose-water and sugar.
_To make a made Dish of Spinage in Paste baked._
Take some young spinage, and put it in boiling hot fair water, having boil'd two or three walms, drain it from the water, chop it very small, and put it in a dish with some beaten cinamon, salt, sugar, a few slic't dates, a grain of musk dissolved in rose-water, some yolks of hard eggs chopped small, some currans and butter; stew these foresaid materials on a chaffing dish of coals, then have a dish of short paste on it, and put this composition upon it, either with a cut, a close cover, or none; bake it, and being baked, ice it with some fine sugar, water, and butter.
_Other made Dish of Spinage in Paste baked._
Boil spinage as beforesaid, being tender boil'd, drain it in a cullender, chop it small, and strain it with half a pound of almond-paste, three or four yolks of eggs, half a grain of musk, three or four spoonfuls of cream, a quartern of fine sugar, and a little salt; then bake it on a sheet of paste on a dish without a cover, in a very soft oven, being fine and green baked, stick it with preserved barberries, or strow on red and white biskets, or red and white muskedines, and scrape on fine sugar.
_A made Dish of Spinage otherways._
Take a pound of fat and well relished cheese, and a pound of cheese curds, stamp them in a mortar with some sugar, then put in a pint of juyce of spinage, a pint of cream, ten eggs, cinamon, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves, make your dish without a cover, according to this form, being baked ice it.
_To make a made Dish of Barberries._
Take a good quantity of them and boil them with claret-wine, rose-water and sugar, being boil'd very thick, strain them, and put them on a bottom of puff paste in a dish, or short fine paste made of sugar, fine flour, cold butter, and cold water, and a cut cover of the same paste, bake it and ice it, and cast bisket on it, but before you lay on the iced cover, stick it with raw barberries in the pulp or stuff.
_To make a Peasecod Dish, in a Puff Paste._
Take a pound of almonds, and a quarter of a pound of sugar, beat the almonds finely to a paste with some rose-water, then beat the sugar amongst them, mingle some sweet butter with it, and make this stuff up in puff paste like peasecods, bake them upon papers, and being baked, ice it with rose-water, butter, and fine sugar.
In this fashion you may make peasecod stuff of preserved quinces, pippins, pears, or preserved plums in puff paste.
_Make Dishes of Frogs in the Italian Fashion._
Take the thighs and fry them in clarified butter, then have slices of salt Eels watered, flay'd, bon'd, boil'd, and cold, slice them in thin slices, and season both with pepper, nutmeg, and ginger, lay butter on your paste, and lay a rank of frog, and a rank of Eel, some currans, gooseberries or grapes, raisins, pine-apple seeds, juyce of orange, sugar, and butter; thus do three times, close up your dish, and being baked ice it.
Make your paste of almond milk, flour, butter, yolks of eggs, and sugar.
In the foresaid dish you may add fryed onions, yolks of hard eggs, cheese-curds, almond-paste, or grated cheese.
_To make a made Dish of Marrow._
Take the marrow of two or three marrow-bones, cut it into pieces like great square dice, and put to it a penny manchet grated fine, some slic't dates, half a quartern of currans, a little cream, rosted wardens, pippins or quinces slic't, and two or three yolks of raw eggs, season them with cinamon, ginger, and sugar, and mingle all together.
_A made Dish of Rice in Puff Paste._
Boil your rice in fair water very tender, scum it, and being boil'd put it in a dish, then put to it butter, sugar, nutmeg, salt, rose-water, and the yolks of six or eight eggs, put it in a dish, of puff paste, close it up and bake it, being baked, ice it, and caste on red and white biskets, and scraping sugar.
Sometimes for change you may add boil'd currans and beaten cinamon, and leave out nutmeg.
_Otherways of Almond-Paste, and boiled Rice._
Mix all together with some cream, rose-water, sugar, cinamon, yolks of eggs, salt, some boil'd currans, and butter; close it up and bake it in puff-paste, ice it, and cast on red and white biskets and scrape on sugar.
_Otherways a Made Dish of Rice and Paste._
Wash the rice clean, and boil it in cream till it be somewhat thick, then put it out into a dish, and put to it some sugar, butter, six or eight yolks of eggs, beaten cinamon, slic't dates, currans, rose-water, and salt, mix all together, and bake it in puff paste or short paste, being baked ice it, and cast biskets on it.
_To make a made Dish of Rice, Flour, and Cream._
Take half a pound of rice, dust and pick it clean, then wash it, dry it, lay it abroad in a dish as thin as you can or dry it in a temperate oven, being well dried, rub it, and beat it in a mortar till it be as fine as flour; then take a pint of good thick cream, the whites of three new laid eggs, well beaten together, and a little rose-water, set it on a soft fire, and boil it till it be very thick, then put it in a platter and let it stand till it be cold, then slice it out like leach, cast some bisket upon it, and so serve it.
_To make a made Dish of Rice, Prunes, and Raisins._