they judge to be more harty and pleasant then that of Oat-meal, Thus; Take
half, or a quarter of a bushel of good Bran of the best wheat (which
containeth the purest flower of it, though little, and is used to make
starch,) and in a great woodden bowl or pail, let it soak with cold water
upon it three or four days. Then strain out the milky water from it, and
boil it up to a gelly or like starch. Which you may season with Sugar and
Rose or Orange-flower-water, and let it stand till it be cold, and gellied.
Then eat it with white or Rhenish-wine, or Cream, or Milk, or Ale.
PAP OF OAT-MEAL
Beat Oat-meal small; put a little of it to milk, and let it boil stewingly,
till you see that the milk begins to thicken with it. Then strain the milk
from the Oat-meal (this is as when you soak or boil out the substance of
Oatmeal with water, to make Flomery,) then boil up that milk to the height
of Pap, which sweeten with a little Sugar, and put to it some yolks of Eggs
dissolved in Rose or Orange-Flower-water, and let it mittonner a while upon
the Chafing-dish, and a little Butter, if you like it. You may boil a
little Mace in the Milk.
PANADO
Beat a couple of New-laid-eggs in good clear broth; heat this a little,
stirring it all the while. Then pour this upon a Panado made thick of the
same broth; and keep them a little upon a Chafing-dish to incorporate,
stirring them all the while.
BARLEY PAP
Boil Barley in water _usq. ad Putrilaginem_, with a flake or two of Mace or
a quartered Nutmeg; and when it is in a manner dissolved in water with long
boiling, strain out all the Cream or Pap, leaving the husks behind. At the
same time beat (for one mess) two Ounces of blanched Almonds with
Rose-water; and when they are throughly beaten, strain out their milk, (or
you may put this to the Barley before it is strained, and strain them
together) and put it to the Barley Pap, and let them stew a while together;
then sweeten it with Sugar to your taste. Or when you have boiled the
Barley in water very tender as above, you may put Milk to it, and boil
again to fitting thickness; Then strain it, adding Almonds as above. Or if
you will, and your stomack will bear it, you may eat it without straining
the barley (but the Almonds must be strained) and you may put Butter to it
if you please.
You may do the like with Oat-meal or Rice; or put Pine Kernels (first well
watered) with the Almonds.
OAT-MEAL PAP. SIR JOHN COLLADON
Put beaten Oat-meal to soak an hour or two in milk, as you do in water,
when you make Flomery. Then strain it out into a Possnet through a fitting
strainer; and if you judge it too thick of the Oat-meal for sufficient
boiling, add more milk to it. Set this to boil, putting then into it a lump
of Sugar, (about as big as a little Wall nut) and stir it well all the
while, that it burn not too. About an hours boiling is sufficient, by which
time it should be grown pretty thick. Put then a good lump of fresh-butter
to it, which being well melted and stirred into the Pap and incorporated
with it, take it from the fire, and put it into a dish, and strew some fine
sugar upon it, or mingle some sugar with it to sweeten the whole quantity.
You may season it also with Rose-water or Orange flower-water, or
Ambergreece, or some Yolks of New-laid-eggs. You may put in a very little
Salt at the first.
RICE AND ORGE MONDÉ
Boil a quart of Milk in a large Pipkin; as soon as it boileth, take it from
the fire, and instantly put into it five or six good spoonfuls of picked
Rice, and cover it close, and so let it stand soaking in the Chimney-corner
two hours. Then set in on the fire again, to make it stew or boil
simpringly for an hour, or an hour and half more, till it be enough. Then
put sugar to it, and so serve it in.
_Orge mondé_ is done in the same manner; only, you let that stand covered
and warm all the while, during three, four or five hours, and then you boil
it simpringly three or four hours more. The quantity must be more or less,
as you desire it thicker or thinner, which after once tryal, you will
easily know how to proportion out. The chief care must be, that the Rice or
Barley be well homogeneated with the Milk.
SMALLAGE GRUEL
In a Marble mortar beat great Oat-meal to meal (which requireth long
beating) then boil it three or four hours in Spring water. To a possnet
full of two or three quarts of water put about half a Porrenger full of
Oat-meal, before it is beaten; for after beating it appeareth more. To this
quantity put as much Smallage as you buy for a peny, which maketh it strong
of the Herb, and very green. Chop the smallage exceeding small, and put it
in a good half hour before you are to take your possnet from the fire. You
are to season your Gruel with a little salt, at the due time; and you may
put in a little Nutmeg and Mace to it. When you have taken it from the
fire, put into it a good proportion of butter, which stir well, to
incorporate with the Gruel, when it is melted.
ABOUT WATER GRUEL
When you set to the fire a big pot of Oat-meal, (which must be but once
cut, that is, every corn cut once a two) and water, to make water-gruel;
Let it boil long, till it be almost boiled enough, then make it rise in a
great ebullition, in great galloping waves, and skim of all the top, that
riseth; which may be a third part of the whole, and is the Cream, and hath
no gross-visible Oat-meal in it. Boil that a while longer by it self, with
a little Mace and Nutmeg, and season it with Salt. When it is enough, take
it off, and put Sugar, Butter, and a little Red rose-water to it, and an
Egg with a little White-wine, if you like it, and would have it more
nourishing. This is by much better, then the part which remaineth below
with the body of the Oat-meal. Yet that will make good Water-gruel for the
servants.
If you boil it more leisurely you must skim off the Cream, as it riseth in
boiling; else it will quickly sink down again to the rest of the gross
Oat-meal. And thus you may have a finer Cream then with hasty boiling.
AN EXCELLENT AND WHOLESOME WATER-GRUEL WITH WOOD-SORREL AND CURRANTS
Into a Possnet of two quarts of water, besides the due proportion of beaten
Oat-meal, put two handfuls of Wood-sorrel a little-chopped and bruised, and
a good quantity of picked and washed currants, tyed loosly in a thin stuff
bag (as a bolter cloth). Boil these very well together, seasoning the
Composition in due time, with Salt, Nutmeg, Mace, or what else you please,
as Rosemary &c. when it is sufficiently boiled, strain the Oat-meal, and
press out all the juyce and humidity of the Currants and Herbs, throwing
away the insipid husks; and season it with Sugar and Butter; and to each
Porrenger-ful two spoonfuls of Rhenish-wine and the yolk of an Egg.
THE QUEENS BARLEY-CREAM
You must make a good barley-water, throwing away the three first waters as
soon as they boil; which will take up about three quarters of an hour. Then
you boil a large quantity of water with the Barley (which thus prepared
makes the water no more Red or Russet) during an hours space or more; (that
it may be strong of the Barley; perle-Barley is best,) towards the latter
end put in the Pullet flead, and the legs cut off; If it should boil too
long, the emulsion would taste too fleshy. When it is enough, let the broth
run clear from the Barley and pullet, and beat the Almonds with the broth,
and strain them from it. Then sweeten it with Sugar. This is to make at
least two English quarts of Emulsion. I should like to put some pulp of
Barley, boiled by it self, to strain with the Almond-Milk, and, if you
will, some Melon seeds. You may put some juyce of Limon or Orange to it.
Also season it with Cinnamon, and make the broth stronger of the flesh.
The Queens white Potage is made only of the white flesh of Capon beaten
with good broth and strained, and a little juyce of Limon or Orange; but no
Almonds.
PRESSIS NOURISSANT
The Queen Mothers _Pressis_ was thus made. Take _un Gigot_ of Mutton, a
piece of Veal, and a Capon (or half the quantity of each of these) and put
them to rost with convenient fire, till they are above half rosted, or
rather, till they be two thirds rosted. Then take them off, and squeese out
all their juyce in a press with screws, and scum all the fat from it, and
put it between two dishes upon a Chafing-dish of Coals to boil a very
little, or rather but to heat well; for by then it is through hot, the
juyce will be ripened enough to drink, whereas before it was raw and
bloody; then if you perceive any fat to remain and swim upon it, clense it
away with a Feather. Squeese the juyce of an Orange (through a holed spoon)
into half a Porrenger full of this, and add a little Salt, and drink it.
The Queen used this at nights in stead of a Supper; for when she took this,
she did eat nothing else. It is of great, yet temperate nourishment. If you
take a couple of Partridges in stead of a Capon, it will be of more
nourishment, but hotter. Great weaknesses and Consumptions have been
recovered with long use of this, and strength and long life continued
notably. It is good to take two or three spoonfuls of it in a good ordinary
bouillon. I should like better the boiling the same things in a close
flagon _in bulliente Balneo_, as my Lady Kent, and My Mother used.
BROTH AND POTAGE
Mounsieur de Bourdeaux used to take a mornings a broth, thus made. Make a
very good broth (so as to gelly, when it is cold), a lean piece of a leg of
Veal, the Crag-end of a neck of Mutton, and a Pullet, seasoning it with a
little Salt, Cloves and Pepper to your mind. Beat some of it with a handful
of blanched Almonds and twenty husked-seeds of Citron and strain it to the
whole; put Sugar to it, and so drink it as an Emulsion.
Otherwhiles He would make a Potage of the broth, (made without fruit),
boiling and stewing it with some light-bread.
PAN COTTO
To make a _Pan Cotto_, as the Cardinals use in Rome, Take much thinner
broth, made of the fleshes as above (or of Mutton alone) and boil it three
hours, gently and close covered in _una pignata_, with lumps of fine
light-bread tosted or dried. _Un Pan grattato_ is made the same way with
fine light-bread grated. Season the broth of either lightly with Salt, and
put in the Spice at the last, when the bread is almost boiled or stewed
enough. You may use juyce of Oranges to any of these. A wholesom course of
diet is, to eat one of these, or Panada, or Cream of Oat-meal, or Barley,
or two New-laid-eggs for break-fast; and dine at four or five a Clock, with
Capon or Pullet or Partridg, &c. beginning your meal with a little good
nourishing Potage. Two Poched Eggs with a few fine dry-fryed collops of
pure Bacon, are not bad for break-fast, or to begin a meal.
MY LORD LUMLEY'S PEASE-PORAGE
Take two quarts of Pease, and put them into an Ordinary quantity of Water,
and when they are almost boiled, take out a pint of the Pease whole, and
strain all the rest. A little before you take out the pint of Pease, when
they are all boiling together, put in almost an Ounce of Coriander-seed
beaten very small, one Onion, some Mint, Parsley, Winter-savoury,
Sweet-Marjoram, all minced very small; when you have strained the Pease,
put in the whole Pease and the strained again into the pot, and let them
boil again, and a little before you take them up, put in half a pound of
Sweet-butter. You must season them in due time, and in the ordinary
proportion with Pepper and Salt.
This is a proportion to make about a Gallon of Pease-porage. The quantities
are set down by guess. The Coriander-seeds are as much as you can
conveniently take in the hollow of your hand. You may put in a great good
Onion or two. A pretty deal of Parsley, and if you will, and the season
afford them, you may add what you like of other Porage herbs, such as they
use for their Porages in France. But if you take the savoury herbs dry, you
must crumble or beat them to small Powder (as you do the Coriander-seed)
and if any part of them be too big to pass through the strainer, after
they have given their taste to the quantity, in boiling a sufficient while
therein, you put them away with the husks of the Pease. The Pint of Pease
that you reserve whole, is only to show that it is Pease-porage. They must
be of the thickness of ordinary Pease-porage. For which these proportions
will make about a Gallon.
BROTH FOR SICK AND CONVALESCENT PERSONS
Put a Crag-end of a Neck of Mutton, a Knuckle of Veal, and a Pullet into a
Pipkin of water, with a spoonful or two of French-barley first scalded in a
water or two. The Pullet is put in after the other meat is well skimmed,
and hath boiled an hour. A good hour after that, put in a large quantity of
Sorrel, Lettice, Purslane, Borage and Bugloss, and boil an hour more at
least three hours in all. Before you put in the herbs, season the broth
with Salt, a little Pepper and Cloves, strain out the broth and drink it.
But for Potage, put at first a good piece of fleshy young Beef with the
rest of the meat. And put not in your herbs till half an hour before you
take off the Pot. When you use not herbs, but Carrots and Turneps, put in a
little Peny-royal and a sprig of Thyme. Vary in the season with
Green-pease, or Cucumber quartered longwise, or Green sower Verjuyce
Grapes; always well-seasoned with Pepper and Salt and Cloves. You pour some
of the broth upon the sliced-bread by little and little, stewing it, before
you put the Herbs upon the Potage.
The best way of ordering your bread in Potages, is thus. Take light spungy
fine white French-bread, cut only the crusts into tosts. Tost them
exceeding dry before the fire, so that they be yellow. Then put them hot
into a hot dish, and pour upon them some very good strong broth, boiling
hot. Cover this, and let them stew together gently, not boil; and feed it
with fresh-broth, still as it needeth; This will make the bread swell much,
and become like gelly.
AN EXCELLENT POSSET
Take half a pint of Sack, and as much Rhenish wine, sweeten them to your
taste with Sugar. Beat ten yolks of Eggs, and eight of whites exceeding
well, first taking out the Cocks-tread, and if you will the skins of the
yolks; sweeten these also, and pour them to the wine, add a stick or two of
Cinnamon bruised, set this upon a Chafing-dish to heat strongly, but not to
boil; but it must begin to thicken. In the mean time boil for a quarter of
an hour three pints of Cream seasoned duly with Sugar and some Cinnamon in
it. Then take it off from boiling, but let it stand near the fire, that it
may continue scalding-hot whiles the wine is heating. When both are as
scalding-hot as they can be without boiling, pour the Cream into the wine
from as high as you can. When all is in, set it upon the fire to stew for
1/8 of an hour. Then sprinkle all about the top of it the juyce of a 1/4
part of a Limon; and if you will, you may strew Powder of Cinnamon and
Sugar, or Ambergreece upon it.
PEASE OF THE SEEDY BUDS OF TULIPS
In the Spring (about the beginning of May) the flowry-leaves of Tulips do
fall away, and there remains within them the end of the stalk, which in
time will turn to seed. Take that seedy end (then very tender) and pick
from it the little excrescencies about it, and cut it into short pieces,
and boil them and dress them as you would do Pease; and they will taste
like Pease, and be very savoury.
BOILED RICE DRY
The manner of boiling Rice to eat with Butter, is this. In a Pipkin pour
upon it as much water, as will swim a good fingers breadth over it. Boil it
gently, till it be tender, and all the water drunk into the Rice; which may
be in a quarter of an hour or less. Stir it often with a woodden spatule or
spoon, that it burn not to the bottom: But break it not. When it is enough,
pour it into a dish, and stew it with some Butter, and season it with sugar
and Cinnamon. This Rice is to appear dry, excepting for the Butter, that is
melted in it.
MARROW SOPS WITH WINE
Make thin tosts or slices of light French bread, which dry well, or toste a
little by the fire, then Soak them in Canary or old Malaga-wine, or fine
Muscat, and lay a row of them in a deep dish or bason; then a row of lumps
of Marrow upon that; then strew a little fine sugar mingled with some
Powder of Cinnamon and Ambergreece (and Nutmeg, if you like it) upon that.
Then another row of sops, &c. repeating this, till the dish be full: and
more Sugar, Cinnamon and Amber at the top, then on the other rows. If you
will, you may put a row of stoned Raisins of the Sun upon every row of
Marrow. Then cover the dish, and put it in an Oven to bake for half-an
hour; or till the Marrow be sufficiently baked.
CAPON IN WHITE-BROTH
My Lady of Monmouth boileth a Capon with white broth thus. Make reasonable
good broth, with the crag-ends of Necks of Mutton and Veal (of which you
must have so much as to be at least three quarts of White-broth in the dish
with the Capon, when all is done, else it will not come high enough upon
the Capon). Beat a quarter of a pound of blanched Almonds with three or
four spoonfuls of Cream, and, if you will, a little Rose water; then add
some of your broth to it, so to draw out all their substance, mingling it
with the rest of your broth. Boil your Capon in fair-water by it self; and
a Marrow-bone or two by themselves in other water. Likewise some Chess-nuts
(in stead of which you may use Pistaccios, or macerated Pine kernels) and
in other water some Skirrits or Endive, or Parsley-roots, according to the
season. Also plumpsome Raisins of the Sun, and stew some sliced Dates with
Sugar and water. When all is ready to joyn, beat two or three New-laid-eggs
(whites and all) with some of the White-broth, that must then be boiling,
and mingle it with the rest, and let it boil on: and mingle the other
prepared things with it, as also a little sliced Oringiado (from which the
hard Candy-sugar hath been soaked off with warm-water) or a little peel of
Orange (or some Limon Pickled with Sugar and Vinegar, such as serves for
Salets) which you throw away, after it hath been a while boiled in it: and
put a little Sack to your broth, and some Ambergreece, if you will, and a
small portion of Sugar; and last of all, put in the Marrow in lumps that
you have knocked out of the boiled bones. Then lay your Capon taken hot
from the Liquor, he is boiled in, upon sippets and slices of tosted light
bread, and pour your broth and mixture upon it, and cover it with another
dish, and let all stew together a while: then serve it up. You must
remember to season your broth in due time with salt and such spices as you
like.
TO BUTTER EGGS WITH CREAM
Take to a dozen of Eggs a pint of Cream; beat them well together, and put
three quarters of a pound of Butter to them, and so set them on the fire to
harden, and stir them, till they are as hard, as you would have them.
TO MAKE COCK-ALE
Take eight Gallons of Ale; take a Cock and boil him well; then take four
pounds of Raisins of the Sun well stoned, two or three Nutmegs, three or
four flakes of Mace, half a pound of Dates; beat these all in a Mortar, and
put to them two quarts of the best Sack; and when the Ale hath done
working, put these in, and stop it close six or seven days, and then bottle
it, and a month after you may drink it.
TO MAKE PLAGUE-WATER
Take a pound of Rue, of Rosemary, Sage, Sorrel, Celandine, Mugwort, of the
tops of red brambles of Pimpernel, Wild-dragons, Agrimony, Balm, Angelica
of each a pound. Put these Compounds in a Pot, fill it with White-wine
above the herbs, so let it stand four days. Then still it for your use in a
Limbeck.
ANOTHER PLAGUE-WATER
Take Rue, Agrimony, Wormwood, Celandine, Sage, Balm, Mugwort, Dragons,
Pimpernel, Marygold, Fetherfew, Burnet, Sorrel, and Elicampane-roots
scraped and sliced small. Scabious, Wood-betony, Brown-mayweed, Mints,
Avence, Tormentil, _Carduus benedictus_, and Rosemary as much as of
anything else, and Angelica if you will. You must have like weight of all
them, except Rosemary aforesaid, which you must have twice as much of as of
any of the rest; then mingle them altogether and shred them very small;
then steep them in the best White-wine you can get, three days and three
nights, stirring them once or twice a day, putting no more wine then will
cover the Herbs well; then still it in a Common-still; and take not too
much of the first-water, and but a little of the second, according as you
feel the strength, else it will be sower. There must be but half so much
Elicampane as of the rest.
TO MAKE RASBERY-WINE
Take four Gallons of Deal wine, put it into an earthen jugg; put to it four
Gallons of Rasberries; let them stand so infusing seven days; then press it
out gently; Then infuse as many more Rasberries seven days longer, and so
three times if you please; put to it as much fine Sugar as will make it
pleasant; Put it into a Runlet close stopped, let it stand till it is fine;
and then draw it into bottles, and keep it till it be fine.
TO KEEP QUINCE ALL THE YEAR GOOD
Take all your least and worst Quinces, that are found, and cut them in
pieces, with all the Corings and Parings you make; boil them more then an
hour; then put the Quinces into this boiling liquor, and take them forth
presently, not letting them boil, and lay them to cool one by one a part;
then take the liquor and strain it; and put for every Gallon of liquor half
a pint of honey; then boil it and scum it clean; let it be cold; and then
put your Quinces into a pot or tub, that they be covered with the liquor,
and stop it very close with your Paste.
TO MAKE A WHITE-POT
Take three quarts of Cream, and put into it the yolks of twelve Eggs; the
whites of four, being first very well beaten between three quarters of a
pound of Sugar, two Nutmegs grated, a little Salt; half a pound of Raisins
first plump'd. These being sliced together, cut some thin slices of a stale
Manchet; dry them in a dish against the fire, and lay them on the top of
the Cream, and some Marrow again upon the bread, and so bake it.
TO MAKE AN HOTCHPOT
Take a piece of Brisket-beef; a piece of Mutton; a knuckle of Veal; a good
Colander of pot-herbs; half minced Carrots, Onions and Cabbage a little
broken. Boil all these together until they be very thick.
ANOTHER HOTCHPOT
Take a Pot of two Gallons or more; and take a brisket rand of Beef; any
piece of Mutton, and a piece of Veal; put this with sufficient water into
the pot, and after it hath boiled, and been skimmed, put in a great
Colander full of ordinary pot-herbs; a piece of Cabbage, all half cut; a
good quantity of Onions whole, six Carrots cut and sliced, and two or three
Pippins quartered. Let this boil three hours until it be almost a gelly,
and stir it often, least it burn.
TO STEW BEEF
Take good fat Beef, slice it very thin into small pieces, and beat it well
with the back of a chopping Knife. Then put it into a Pipkin, and cover it
with wine and water, and put unto it a handful of good Herbs, and an Onion,
with an Anchoves. Let it boil two hours; A little before you take it up,
put in a few Marygold-flowers; and so season it with what Spice you please,
and serve them up both with sippets.
ANOTHER TO STEW BEEF
Take very good Beef, and slice it very thin; and beat it with the back of a
Knife; Put it to the gravy of some meat, and some wine or strong broth,
sweet-herbs a quantity, let it stew till it be very tender; season it to
your liking; and varnish your dish with Marygold-flowers or Barberries.
TO STEW A BREAST OF VEAL
Take a Breast of Veal half rosted, and put it a stewing with some wine and
gravy; three or four yolks of Eggs minced small; a pretty quantity of
Sweet-herbs with an Onion, Anchoves or Limon; stick it either with Thyme
or Limon-peels, and season it to your liking.
SAUCE OF HORSE RADISH
Take Roots of Horse-radish scraped clean, and lay them to soak in
fair-water for an hour. Then rasp them upon a Grater, and you shall have
them all in a tender spungy Pap. Put Vinegar to it, and a very little
Sugar, not so much as to be tasted, but to quicken (by contrariety) the
taste of the other.
THE QUEENS HOTCHPOT FROM HER ESCUYER DE CUISINE, MR. LA MONTAGUE