A Queens Delight Part 2

_To make Rasberry Wine._

Take a Gallon of good Rhenish Wine, put into it as much Rasberries very ripe as will make it strong, put it in an earthen pot, and let it stand two dayes, then pour your Wine from your Rasberries, and put into every bottle two ounces of Sugar, stop it up and keep it by you.

_The best way to preserve Cherries._

Take the best Cherries you can get, and cut the stalks something short, then for every pound of these Cherries take two pound of other Cherries, and put them of their stalks and stones, put to them ten spoonfuls of fair water, and then set them on the fire to boil very fast till you see that the colour of the syrup be like pale Claret wine, then take it off the fire, and drain them from the Cherries into a Pan to preserve in. Take to every pound of Cherries a quarter of Sugar, of which take half, and dissolve it with the Cherry water drained from the Cherries, and keep them boiling very fast till they will gelly in a spoon, and as you see the syrup thin, take off the Sugar that you kept finely beaten, and put it to the Cherries in the boiling, the faster they boil, the better they will be preserved, and let them stand in a Pan till they be almost cold.

_A Tincture of Ambergreece._

Take Ambergreece one ounce, Musk two drams, spirit of Wine half a pint, or as much as will cover the ingredients two or three fingers breadth, put all into a gla.s.s, stop it close with a Cork and Bladder; set it in Horse dung ten or twelve days, then pour off gently the Spirit of Wine, and keep it in a Gla.s.s close stopt, then put more spirit of Wine on the Ambergreece, and do as before, then pour it off, after all this the Ambergreece will serve for ordinary uses. A drop of this will perfume any thing, and in Cordials it is very good.

_To make Usquebath the best way._

Take two quarts of the best _Aqua vitae_, four ounces of sc.r.a.ped liquorish, and half a pound of sliced Raisins of the Sun, Anniseeds four ounces, Dates and Figs, of each half a pound, sliced Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Ginger, of each half an ounce, put these to the _Aqua vitae_, stop it very close, and set it in a cold place ten dayes, stirring it twice a day with a stick, then strain and sweeten it with Sugar-candy; after it is strained, let it stand till it be clear, then put into the gla.s.s Musk and Ambergreece; two grains is sufficient for this quant.i.ty.

_To preserve Cherries with a quarter of their weights in Sugar._

Take four pound of Cherries, one pound of Sugar, beat your Sugar and strew a little in the bottom of your skillet, then pull off the stalk and stones of your Cherries, and cut them cross the bottom with a knife; let the juyce of the Cherries run upon the Sugar; for there must be no other liquor but the juyce of the Cherries; cover your Cherries over with one half of your Sugar, boil them very quick, when they are half boiled, put in the remainder of your sugar, when they are almost enough, put in the rest of the sugar; you must let them boil till they part in sunder like Marmalade, stirring them continually; so put them up hot into your Marmalade gla.s.ses.

_To make Gelly of Pippins._

Take Pippins, and pare them, and quarter them, and put as much water to them as will cover them, and let them boil till all the vertue of the Pippins are out; then strain them, and take to a pint of that liquor a pound of Sugar, and cut long threads of Orange peels, and boil in it, then take a Lemon, and pare and slice it very thin, and boil it in your liquor a little thin, take them out, and lay them in the bottom of your gla.s.s, and when it is boiled to a gelly, pour it on the Lemons in the gla.s.s. You must boil the Oranges in two or three waters before you boil it in the gelly.

_To make Apric.o.c.k Cakes._

Take the fairest Apric.o.c.ks you can get, and parboil them very tender, then take off the Pulp and their weight of Sugar, and boil the Sugar and Apric.o.c.ks together very fast, stir them ever lest they burn to, and when you can see the bottom of the Skillet it is enough; then put then into Cards sowed round, and dust them with fine Sugar, and when they are cold stone them, then turn them, and fill them up with some more of the same stuff; but you must let them stand for three or four dayes before you turn them off the first place; and when you find they begin to candy, take them out of the Cards, dust them with Sugar again; so do ever when you turn them.

_To preserve Barberries the best way._

First stone them and weigh them, half a pound of sugar to half a pound of them, then pair them and slice them into that liquor, take the weight of it in sugar; then take as many Rasberries as will colour it, and strain them into the liquor, then put in the sugar, boil it as fast as you can, then skim it till it be very clear, then put in your Barberries, and that sugar you weighed, and so let them boil till the skin be fully risen up, then take them off, and skin them very clean, and put them up.

_To make Lozenges of Red Roses._

Boil your sugar to sugar again, then put in your Red Roses being finely beaten and made moist with the juyce of a Lemmon, let it not boil after the Roses are in but pour it upon a Pye-plate, and cut it into what form you please.

_To make Chips of Quinces._

First scald them very well, then slice them into a Dish, and pour a Candy Syrup to them scalding hot, and let them stand all night, then lay them on plates, and sea.r.s.e sugar on them, and turn them every day, and sc.r.a.pe more sugar on them till they be dry. If you would have them look clear, heat them in syrup, but not to boil.

_To make Sugar of Wormwood, Mint, Anniseed, or any other of that kinde._

Take double refined Sugar, and do but wet it in fair water, or Rose-water and boil it to a Candy, when it is almost boiled take it off, and stir it till it be cold; then drop in three or four drops of the Oyls of whatsoever you will make, and stir it well; then drop it on a board, being before fitted with Sugar.

_To make Syrup of Lemons or Citrons._

Pare off all the rindes, then slice your Lemmons very thin, and lay a lare of Sugar finely beaten, and a lare of Lemons in a silver Bason till you have filled it, or as much as you mean to make, & so let it stand all night; the next day pour off the liquor that runs from it into a gla.s.s through a Tiffany strainer. Be sure you put sugar enough to them at the first, and it will keep a year good, if it be set up well.

_To make Jambals of Apric.o.c.ks or Quinces._

Take Apric.o.c.ks or Quinces, and quoddle them tender, then take their Pulp and dry it in a dish over a Chafing-dish of coals, and set it in a Stove for a day or two; then beat it in a stone Mortar, putting in as much Sugar as will make a stiff paste; then colour it with Saunders, Cochinele or blew Starch, and make it up in what colour you please, rowl them with battle doors into long pieces, and tye them up in knots, and so dry them.

_To make Cherry-water._

Take nine pound of Cherries, pull out the stones and stalks, break them with you hand, and put them into nine pints of Claret Wine, take nine ounces of Cinamon, and three Nutmegs, bruise them, and put them into this, then take of Rosemary and Balm, of each half a handful, of sweet Marjoram a quarter of a handful; put all these with the aforenamed into an earthen pot well leaded; so let them stand to infuse twenty four hours; so distil it in a Limbeck, keeping the strongest water by it self, put some sugar finely beaten into your gla.s.ses. If your first water be too strong, put some of the second to it as you use it. If you please you may tye some Musk and Ambergreese, in a rag, and hang it by a thread in your gla.s.s.

_To make Orange Cakes._

Take Oranges and pare them as thin as you can, then take out the meats clean, and put them in water; let them lye about an hour, shift the water, and boil them very tender in three or four waters, then put them up, and dry them on a cloath: mince them as small as you can, then put them into a dish, and squeeze all the juyce of the meat into them, and let them stand till the next day, take to every pound of these a pound and a quarter of double refined Sugar. Boil it with a spoonful of water at the bottom to keep it from burning till it be Sugar again; then put in your Oranges and let them stand and dry on the fire, but not boil; then put them on gla.s.s plates, and put them in a stove, the next day make them into Cakes, and so fry them as fast as you can.

_To preserve Oranges the French way._

Take twelve of the fairest Oranges and best coloured, and if you can get them with smooth skins they are the better, and lay them in Conduit water, six dayes and nights, shifting them into fresh water morning and evening; then boil them very tender, and with a knife pare them very thin, rub them with salt, when you have so done, core them with a coring Iron, taking out the meat and seeds; then rub them with a dry cloth till they be clean, add to every pound of Oranges a pound and half of Sugar, and to a pound of sugar a pint of water; then mingle your, sugar and water well together in a large skillet or pan; beat the whites of three Eggs and put that into it, then set it on the fire, and let it boil till it rises, and strain it through a Napkin; then set it on the fire again, and let it boil till the syrup be thick, then put in your Oranges, and make them seethe as fast as you can, now and then putting in a piece of fine loaf Sugar the bigness of a Walnut, when they have boiled near an hour, put into them a pint of Apple water; then boil them apace, and add half a pint of white Wine, this should be put in before the Apple-water, when your Oranges are very clear, & your Syrup is so thick that it will gelly, (which you may know by setting some to cool in a spoon) when they are ready to be taken off from the fire; then put in the juyce of eight Lemons warm into them, then put them into an earthen pan, and so let them stand till they be cold, then put every Orange in a several gla.s.s or pot; if you do but six Oranges at a time it is the better.

_To preserve green Plums._

The greatest Wheaten Plum is the best, which will be ripe in the midst of _July_, gather them about that time, or later, as they grow in bigness, but you must not suffer them to turn yellow, for then they never be of good colour; being gathered, lay them in water for the s.p.a.ce of twelve hours, and when you gather them, wipe them with a clean linnen cloth, and cut off a little of the stalks of every one, then set two skillets of water on the fire, and when one is scalding hot put in your Plums, and take them from the fire, and cover them, and let them rest for the s.p.a.ce of a quarter of an hour; then take them up, and when your other skillet of water doth boil, put them into it; let them but stay in it a very little while, and so let the other skillet of water, wherein they were first boiled, be set to the fire again, and make it to boil, and put in your Plums as before, and then you shall see them rivet over, and yet your Plums very whole; then while they be hot, you must with your knife sc.r.a.pe away the riveting; then take to every pound of Plums a pound and two ounces of Sugar finely beaten, then set a pan with a little fair water on the fire, and when it boils, put in your Plums, and let them settle half a quarter of an hour till you see the colour wax green, then set them off the fire a quarter of an hour, and take a handful of Sugar that is weighed, and strow it in the bottom of the pan wherein you will preserve, and so put in your Plums one by one, drawing the liquor from them, and cast the rest of your Sugar on them; then set the pan on a moderate fire, letting them boil continually but very softly, and in three quarters of an hour they will be ready, as you may perceive by the greenness of your Plums, and thickness of your syrup, which if they be boiled enough, will gelly when it is cold; then take up your Plums, and put them into a Gallipot, but boil your Syrup a little longer, then strain it into some vessel, and being blood-warm, pour it upon your plums, but stop not the pot before they be cold. Note also you must preserve them in such a pan, as they may lye one by another, and turn of themselves; and when they have been five or six days in the syrup, that the syrup grow thin, you may boil it again with a little Sugar, but put it not to your Plums till they be cold. They must have three scaldings, and one boiling.