The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened by Sir Kenelm Digby (popular books of all time TXT) 📕

searced Sugar a pound to every pint of Pippin Liquor that ran through the sieve, and to every pound of Sugar, and pint of liquor, put ten Ounces of Pippins in quarters or in slices, but cut them not too thin; boil them a little while very fast in the Pippin-liquor, before you put in the Sugar, then strew in the Sugar all over them as it boileth, till it is all in, keeping it still fast boiling, until they look very clear; by that you may know they are enough. While they boil, you must still be scumming them; then put in your juyce of Limon to your last, and Amber, if you please; and after let it boil half a dozen walms, but no more. Then take it from the fire, and have ready some very thin Brown-paper, and clap a single sheet close upon it, and if any scum remain, it will stick to the Paper. Then put your quarters or slices into your Glasses, and strew upon them very small slices of Limon or Orange (which you please) which you had before boiled; then fill up your Glasses with your jelly.

For making your Pippin-liquor, you may take about some fourty Pippins to two quarts of water, or so much as to make your Pippin-liquor strong of the Pippins, and the juyce of about four Limons.


MY LADY DIANA PORTER'S SCOTCH COLLOPS

Cut a leg or two of Mutton into thin slices, which beat very well. Put them to fry over a very quick fire in a pan first glased over, with no more Butter melted in it, then just to besmear a little all the bottom of the Pan. Turn them in due time. There must never be but one row in the pan, nor any slice lying upon another; but every one immediate to the pan. When they are fryed enough, lay them in a hot dish covered, over a Chafing-dish, and pour upon them the Gravy that run out of them into the Pan. Then lay another row of slices in the Pan to fry as before; and when they are enough, put them into the dish to the other. When you have enough, by such repetitions, or by doing them in two or three pans, all at a time; take a Porrenger full of Gravy of Mutton, and put into it a piece of Butter as much a Wall-nut, and a quartered Onion if you will (or rub the dish afterwards with Garlike) and Pepper and Salt, and let this boil to be very hot; then throw away the Onion, and pour this into the dish upon the slices, and let them stew a little together; then squeese an Orange upon it, and serve it up.


A FRICACEE OF VEAL

Cut a leg of Veal into thin slices, and beat them; or the like with Chicken, which must be flead off their skin. Put about half a pint of water or flesh-broth to them in a frying-pan, and some Thyme, and Sweet-marjoram, and an Onion or two quartered, and boil them till they be tender, having seasoned them with Salt, and about twenty Corns of whole white Pepper, and four or five Cloves. When they are enough, take half a pint of White wine, four yolks of Eggs, a quarter of a pound of butter (or more) a good spoonful of Thyme, Sweet-Marjoram and Parsley (more Parsley then of the others) all minced small; a Porrenger full of gravy. When all these are well incorporated together over the fire, and well beaten, pour it into the pan to the rest, and turn it continually up and down over the fire, till all be well incorporated. Then throw away the Onion and first sprigs of Herbs, squeese Orange to it, and so serve it up hot.

If instead of a Fricacee, you will make un estuveé de veau , stew or boil simpringly your slices of Veal in White-wine and water, ana , with a good lump of Butter, seasoning it with Pepper and Salt and Onions. When it is enough, put to it store of yolks of Eggs beaten with Verjuyce, or White-wine and Vinegar, and some Nutmeg (and gravy if you will) and some Herbs as in the Fricacee; and stir all very well over the fire till the sauce be well lié together.


A TANSY

Take three pints of Cream, fourteen New-laid-eggs (seven whites put away) one pint of juyce of Spinage, six or seven spoonfuls of juyce of Tansy, a Nutmeg (or two) sliced small, half a pound of Sugar, and a little Salt. Beat all these well together, then fryit in a pan with no more Butter then is necessary. When it is enough, serve it up with juyce of Orange or slices of Limon upon it.


TO STEW OYSTERS

Take what quantity you will of the best Oysters to eat raw. Open them, putting all their water with the fish into a bason. Take out the Oysters one by one (that you may have them washed clean in their own water) and lay them in the dish you intend to stew them in. Then let their water run upon them through a fine linnen, that all their foulness may remain behind. Then put a good great lump of Butter to them, which may be (when melted) half as much, as their water. Season them with Salt, Nutmeg, and a very few Cloves. Let this boil smartly, covered. When it is half boiled, put in some crusts of light French-bread, and boil on, till all be enough, and then serve them up.

You may put in three or four grains of Ambergreece, when you put in the Nutmeg, that in the boiling it may melt. You may also put in a little White-wine or Verjuyce at the last, or some juyce of Orange.


TO DRESS LAMPREY'S

At Glocester they use Lamprey's thus. Heat water in a Pot or Kettle with a narrow mouth, till it be near ready to boil; so that you may endure to dip your hand into it, but not to let it stay in. Put your Lamprey's, as they come out of the River, into this scalding-water, and cover the pot, that little while they remain in, which must be but a moment, about an Ave Maria while. Then with a Woodden ladle take them out, and lay them upon a table, and hold their head in a Napkin (else it will slip away, if held in the bare hand) and with the back of a knife scrape off the mud, which will have risen out all along the fish. A great deal and very thick will come off: and then the skin will look clean and shining and blew, which must never be flead off. Then open their bellies all along, and with a Pen-knife loosen the string which begins under the gall (having first cast away the gall and entrails) then pull it out, and in the pulling away, it will stretch much in length; then pick out a black substance, that is all along under the string, cutting towards the back as much as is needful for this end. Then rowl them up and down in a soft and dry napkin, changing this as soon as it is wet for another, using so many Napkins as may make the fishes perfectly dry; for in that consisteth a chief part of their preparation. Then powder them well with Pepper and Salt, rubbing them in well, and lay them round in a Pot or strong crust upon a good Lare of Butter, and store of Onions every where about them, and chiefly a good company in the middle. Then put more Butter upon them, covering the pot with a fit cover, and so set them into a quick oven, that is strongly heated; where they will require three or four hours (at least) baking. When they are taken out of the oven and begin to cool, pour store of melted Butter upon them, to fill up the pot at least three fingers breadth above the fish, and then let it cool and harden; And thus it will keep a year, if need be, so the Butter be not opened, nor craked, that the air get into the fish.

To eat them presently, They dress them thus: When they are prepared, as abovesaid, (ready for baking) boil them with store of Salt and gross Pepper, and many Onions, in no more water, then is necessary to cover them, as when you boil a Carp or Pike au Court bouillon . In half or three quarters of an hour, they will be boiled tender. Then take them and drain them from the water, and serve them with thickened Butter, and some of the Onions minced into it, and a little Pepper, laying the fish upon some sippets of spungy bread, that may soak up the water, if any come from the fish; and pour butter upon the fish; so serve it up hot.


TO DRESS STOCK FISH, SOMEWHAT DIFFERINGLY FROM THE WAY OF HOLLAND

Beat the fish very well with a large Woodden-Mallet, so as not to break it, but to loosen all the flakes within. It is the best way to have them beaten with hard heavy Ropes. And though thus beaten, they will keep a long time, if you put them into Pease straw, so thrust in as to keep them from all air, and that they touch not one another, but have straw enough between every fish. When you will make the best dish of them, take only the tails, and tye up half a dozen or eight of them with White-thred. First, they must be laid to soak over night in cold water. About an hour and half, (or a little more) before they are to be eaten, put them to boil in a pot or Pipkin, that you may cover with a cover of Tin or Letton so close, that no steam can get out; and lay a stone or other weight upon it, to keep the cover from being driven off by the steam of the water. Put in no more water, then well to cover them. They must never boil strongly, but very leasurely and but simpringly. It will be near half an hour before the water begin to boil so: And from their beginning to do so, they must boil a good hour. You must never put in any new water, though hot, for that will make the fish hard. After the hour, take out the fishes and untie them, and lay them loose in a colander with holes to drain out the water, and toss them in it up and down very well, as you use to do Butter and Pease; and that will loosen and break asunder all the flakes, which will make them the more susceptible of the Butter, when you stew them in it, and make it pierce the better into the flakes, and make them tender. Then lay them by thin rows in the dish, they are to be served up in: casting upon every row a little salt, and some green Parsley minced very small. They who love young-green Onions or sives, or other savory Herbs, or Pepper, may use them also in the same manner, when they are in season. When all is in, fill up with sweet Butter well melted and thickened; and so let it stew there a while, to soak well into the fish; which will lie in fine loose tender flakes, well buttered and seasoned. You may eat it with Mustard besides.


BUTTERED WHITINGS WITH EGGS

Boil Whitings as if you would eat them