From: schuldy@progress.COM (Mark Schuldenfrei)
Subject: Re: Apples Apples everywhere
Organization: Progress Software Corp.
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 14:53:28 GMT

Justin du Coeur MKA Mark Waks asked about apple leathers or fruit
leathers, from the past.  He and I were talking last night, and he
twisted my arm ever-so-gently, when I mentioned a cookery book he
had not seen.

It's called _Take_A_Buttock_of_Beefe_, by Verity Isitt.  According
to the forward, it's "... a collection of recipes assembled in 1655
for Henrietta Maria, widow of Charles I."  It's title was:

             THE QUEEN'S CLOSET OPENED
      Incomparable secrets in physick, chyrurgery
             preserving and candying &c...
             Printed for Nathaniel Brook
             at the Angell in Cornhill, 1655

She has done a lot of research about food, cooking and regions in
general, but didn't include a single footnote (darn).  Each set
of facing pages has an original recipe, some text about the principal
ingredient, and the opposite page has a modern recipe in Metric units.
The modern recipe is sometimes a redaction, but more often is a
similar recipe, and sometimes is just some random recipe.  The
illustrations are very nice, too.

I enjoyed reading it, and occasionally redact a recipe.  The ISBN
number for the book is: 0 907069 57 6.  It was printed in England
by Ashford Press Publishing in 1987 (1 Church Road, Shedfield, Hampshire
SO3 2HW).  The American distributor is The Talman Company Inc, 150 Fifth
Avenue, NY 10011 USA.  The American price was 24.95, and the English
price was 12.95 pounds.

Anyway, here are a few recipes from it.  I have redacted the Quiddony
recipe, and it seems to last forever (the batch I made in September 1990
is sitting on my desk today, and still tastes good.)

Justin, the fruit leather recipe you are looking for may be the Paste of
Apricocks below, but it does not call for wine.

Terms: Pippins are apples, Quiddony is jelly, manchet is fine white bread,
strewe means sprinkle heavily.  Claret is a ruby red wine.  A trencher is
a plate (in this case).  In these recipes, I interpret fair water as fresh,
cold water.  Marmalet is Marmalade.

  TO MAKE QUIDDONY OF PIPPINS OF RUBY OR AN AMBER COLOUR

  Take pippins, and cut them in quarters, and pare them and boyl them with
  as much fair water as will cover them, till they be tender, and sunk
  into the water, then strain all the liquor from the pulp, then take a
  pinte of that liquor, and half a pound of Sugar, and boyl it till it be
  like a quaking gelly, on the back of a spoon, so them pour it on your
  moulds, being taken out of fair water; then being cold then them on a
  wet trencher, and so slide them into the boxes, and if you will have
  it ruby colour, then boyl it leisurely close covered, till it be as red
  as Claret wind so you may conceive, the difference is in the boyling of
  it, remember to boyl your Quinces in Apple water as you doe your plums.

It takes an incredible amount of apples to make a very tiny amount of this,
about 30 or 40.  Peel and quarter them, and boil them a few at a time. As
they get soft enough, the begin to waterlog, and sink a little lower into
the water.  I found that crushing them in cheesecloth over a large pot was
the best way to extract the juice.  I melted the sugar with the liquid
until it was at the soft-ball stage.  I stored it in little aluminum muffin
tins, but I'm sure that if it was boiled to hard ball, it would make a
wonderful fruit leather.  It was a lot of work.  The leftover apple mash
would make a nice applesauce, and you might as well make it, because
otherwise a lot of fruit will go to waste.

The "apple water" that's left has a lovely flavor, and should be saved,
or used to preserve other fruits.  A recipe for plums below calls for it.
The "mouldes" would work well, if they are cold and wet, is what I think
he means.

Her redaction makes apple butter.  Not the same thing.

       ----------------------

Another recipe, from the same chapter.  I haven't tried it.

  TO MAKE A QUIDDONY OF ALL KINDES OF PLUMS

  Take your Apple water and boyl the plums in it till it be red as Claret
  Wind and when you have made it strong of the plums, put to every pinte
  half a pound of Sugar, and so boyl it till it a drop of it hang on the
  back of a spool like a quaking gelly. If you will have of it an amber
  color, then boyl it with a quick fire, that is all the difference of
  the colouring of it.

  Her recipe is for plum chutney...  Not historically based on this recipe.

       ----------------------

The "lettice Wyer or Sive" in this recipe, I think, corresponds to a wire
rack (lattice wire) or sieve.  Manchet bread is baked at a slightly higher
than normal temperature, about 375 farenheit (in my opinion).

  TO CANDIE PIPPINS, PEARS, APRICOCKS, OR PLUMS

  Take any of these fruits being pared, and strew upon them as you doe
  flowre upon frying fish; then lay them on a board in a pewter dish;
  so put them into an oven as hot as for Manchet; as the liquor comes
  from them pour foth, turne them, and strew more Sugar on them, and
  sprinkle Rose-water on them, thus turning and Sugaring of them three
  or four times, till they be almost dry, then lay them on a lettice
  Wyer, or on the botom of a Sive in a war Oven, after the bread is
  drawn out, till they be full dry; so you may keep them all the year.

       ----------------------

  TO MAKE PASTE OF APRICOCKS

  Take your Apricokcs, and pare them, and stone them, then boyl them
  tender betwixt two dishes on a Chafing dish of coals, them being
  cold lay it forth on a white sheet of paper, then take as much Sugar
  as it doth weigh, and boyl it to a candy heighth, with as much
  Rose-water and fair water as will melt the Sugar; then put the pulp
  into the hot Sugar, and so let it boyl till it be as thick as for
  Marmalet, now and then stirring of it; then fashion it upon a Pye
  plate like to half Apricocks and the next day close the half Apricocks,
  to the other, and when they are dry they will be as clear as Amber,
  and eat much better than Apricocks it self.

       ----------------------

  TO MAKE PASTE OF RASBERRIES OR ENGLISH CURRANTS

  Take any of the Frails, and boyl them tender on a chasing dish of coals
  betwixt two dishes and strain them, with the Pap of a roasted Apple,
  then take as much Sugar as the pulp doth weigh, and boyl to a Candy
  heighth with as much Rosewater as will melt it, then put the pulp into
  the hot sugar, and let it boyl leisurely till you see it as thick as
  Marmalet, then fashion it on a Pie plate and put it into the Oven on
  two Billets of wood, that the plate touch not the bottome, and so let
  them dry leisurely till they be dry.


I sure hope that satisfies for a while.

	schuldy (known in the SCA as Tibor)
--
Mark Schuldenfrei (schuldy@progress.com)