A RECEIPT TO MAKE METHEGLIN

Take four Gallons of water, two quarts of Honey, two ounces of Ginger, one ounce of Nutmegs, a good handful of Rose-mary tops, and as much of Bay-leaves, two ounces of dried Orange-peel. Boil all these till it be so strong as will bear an Egg, and not sink; when it is milk warm, work it up with barm, during twenty four hours, and then barrel it up. And after three months you may bottle it up at your pleasure.

As you desire a greater quantity of the drink, you must augment the ingredients, according to the proportions above recited.

TO MAKE METHEGLIN

Take four Gallons of water and one of Honey; boil and skim it: then put into it, Liverwort, Harts-tongue, Wild-carrot, and Yarrow, a little Rosemary and Bays, one Parsly-root, and a Fennel-root; let them boil an hour altogether. You may, if you please, hang a little bag of spice in it. When it is cold, put a little barm to it, and let it work like Beer. The roots must be scraped, and the Pith taken out.

MEATH FROM THE MUSCOVIAN AMBASSADOUR'S STEWARD

Take three times as much water as honey; then let the tubs, that the honey must be wrought in, be cleansed very clean with scalding water, so that it may not prove sowre; also when you mix them together, take half-warm-water, and half cold, and squeese them well together; Afterwards when you think the honey is well melted, then let it run through a sieve; and see your kettle of Copper or Iron (but Copper is better than Iron) be very clean; then put in your spice, as, Nutmegs, Ginger, Cloves, Cardamome, Anisseeds, Orange peel; put these in according to the quantity you make, and let them all be bruised, except the Orange peel, which leave whole. The Meath must boil an hour by the Clock; after put it into Tubs to cool, and when it is cold, take three or four slices of White-bread, tost them very hard, and spread very good yest on both sides of the tosts; then put them into the Tubs. If it be warm weather, let the Tubs be uncovered; but if it be cold, cover them. This being done, you will find it worked enough by the black that cometh up by the sides of the Tubs; then take a sieve and take off the yest and bread. Afterwards draw it off at a tap in the Tub into the cask you intend to keep it in; then take a quantity of spice as before, well-bruised, and put it into a bag, and make it fast at the bung, with a string, and if it begins to work, after it is in the cask, be sure to give it vent, or else you will loose all.

TO MAKE MEATH

To every quart of honey put four quarts of Springwater; temper the honey in the water, being a little warmed; then put it on the fire again, with Fennel, Rose-mary, Thyme, Agrimony, Parsley or the like. Let them boil half an hour, and upwards; and as it boileth, scum the froth; Then take it off, and strain it, and let it cool as you do your wort. Then put a little barm into it, then take off the froath again, and stir it well together. Then take two quarts of Ale, boiled with Cloves. Mace, Cinnamon, Ginger and Liquorice; and put it to the Meath and Tun it up.

A RECEIPT TO MAKE WHITE MEATH

Take Rose-mary, Thyme, Sweet-bryar, Peny-royal, Bays, Water-cresses, Agrimony, Marsh-mallow-leaves and flowers, Liver-wort, Maiden-hair, Betony, Eye-bright, Scabious, the bark of an Ash-tree, young Eringo-roots, Wild-Angelica, Ribwort, Sinacle, Roman-worm-wood, Tamarisk, Mother-thyme, Saxafrage, Philipendula, of each of these herbs a like proportion; or of as many as you please to put in. You must put in all but four handfuls of herbs, which you must steep a night and a day, in a little bowl of water, being close covered. The next day take another fresh quantity of water, and boil the same herbs in it, till the colour be very high; then take another quantity of water, and boil the same herbs in it, untill it look green; and so let them boil three or four times in several waters, as long as the Liquor looketh anything green. Then let it stand with these herbs in it a day and a night. Remember the last water you boil it in, to this proportion of herbs, must be eighteen Gallons. And when it hath stood a day and a night with these herbs in it after the last boiling, then strain the Liquor from the herbs; and put as much of the finest and best honey into the Liquor, as will bear an Egg; you must work the honey and liquor together a whole day, until the honey be consumed; then let it stand one whole night; then let it be well laboured again, and set it a clearing; and so boil it again with the whites of six New-laid-eggs with the shells; skim it very clean; and let it stand a day a cooling; then put it into a barrel, and take Cloves, Mace, Cinnamon and Nutmegs as much as will please your taste, and beat them all together, and put them in a Linnen bag, and hang it with a thread into the barrel. Then take the whites of two or three New-laid-eggs, a spoonful of barm, a spoonful of Wheat-flower, and beat them all together, and put it into your Liquor in the barrel, and let it work before you stop it; then afterwards stop it well, and set it in a cold place, and when it hath been settled some six weeks: draw it into bottles, and stop it very close, and drink not of it in a month after.

TO MAKE METHEGLIN

Take eight Gallons of water, set it over a clear fire in a Kettle; and when it is warm, put it to sixteen pounds of very good honey, and stir it well together; take off the scum, and put two large Nutmegs cut in quarters, and so let it boil at least an hour; Then take it off the fire, and put to it two good handfulls of grinded Malt, and with a white staff keep beating it together till it be almost cold; then strain it through a hair-sieve into a Tub, and put to it a wine-pint of Ale-yest, and stir it very well together; and when it is cold, you may if you please, Tun it up presently into a vessel fit for it, or else let it stand, and work a day, and when it hath done working in your vessel, stop it up very close. It will be three weeks or a month before it be ready to drink.

TO MAKE HONEY DRINK

To two quarts of water take one pound of Honey. When it boileth, skim it clean as long as any scum ariseth; boil it a pretty while; then take it off the fire, and put it in an earthen pot, and let it stand till the next day; then put it into clean bottles, that are throughly dry, rinsing first every bottle with a little of the liquor; Fill them not too full, and put into every bottle four or five Cloves, and four or five slices of Ginger: and stop it very close, and set it in Sand; and within ten or twelve days it will be ready to drink.

Some, when they take their Bees, put the honey-combs into fair-water, and make it so strong of the honey that it will bear an Egg; and then boil it with some Spice, and put it into a barrel: but I think it not so good, as that which is made of pure honey.

THE EARL OF DENBIGH'S METHEGLIN

Take twenty Gallons of Spring-water; boil it a quarter of an hour, and let it stand, until it be all most cold; then beat in so much honey, as will make it so strong as to bear an Egg, so that on the Top, you may see the breadth of a hasel-nut swimming above; The next day boil it up with six small handfuls of Rosemary; a pound and a half of Ginger, being scraped and bruised; then take the whites of twenty Eggs shells and all; beat them very well, and put them in to clarifie it; skim it very clean, then take it off the fire and strain: But put the Rosemary and Ginger in again: then let it remain till it be all most cold: then Tun it up, and take some New-ale-yest; the whites of two Eggs, a spoonful of flower, and beat them well together, and put them into the barrel; when it hath wrought very well, stop it very close for three weeks or a month: then bottle it, and a week after you may drink it.

TO MAKE MEATH

Take to every Gallon of water, a quart of honey, and set it over a clear fire, and when it is ready to boil, skim it very clear. Then take two handfulls of Sweet-marjoram, as much Rose-mary, and as much Baulm: and two handful of Fennel-roots, as much of Parsley-roots, and as many Esparages-roots: slice them in the middle, and take out the pith, wash and scrape them very clean, and put them with your herbs into your Liquor. Then take two Ounces of Ginger, one Ounce of Nutmegs, half an Ounce of Mace: bruise them and put them in: and let it boil till it be so strong that it will bear an Egg: then let it cool: and being cold, put in 3 or 4 spoon fulls of New-ale yest: and so skim it well, and put it into a Runlet, and it will work like Ale: and having done working, stop it up close, as you do New-beer: and lay salt upon it.

TO MAKE METHEGLIN

Take four Gallons of running water, and boil it a quarter of an hour, and put it in an earthen vessel, and let it stand all night. The next day take only the water, and leave the settling at the bottom: so put the honey in a thin bag, and work it in the water, till all the honey is dissolved. Take to four Gallons of water, one Gallon of Honey: Then put in an Egg, if it be strong enough of the honey, the Egg will part of it appear on the top of the liquor: if it do not, put more honey to it, till it do. Then take out the Egg, and let the Liquor stand till next morning. Then take two Ounces of Ginger, and slice it and pare it: Some Rose-mary washed and stripped from the stalk: dry it very well. The next day put the Rose-mary and Ginger into the drink, and so set it on the fire: when it is all most ready to boil, take the whites of three Eggs well beaten with the shells, and put all into the Liquor: and stir it about, and skim it well till it be clear. Be sure you skim not off the Rose-mary and Ginger: then take it off the fire, and let it run through a hair sieve: and when you have strained it, pick out the Rose-mary and Ginger out of the strainer, and put it into the drink, and throw away the Eggshells, and so let it stand all night. The next day Tun it up in a barrel: Be sure the barrel be not too big: then take a little flower and a little bran, and the white of an Egg, and beat them well together, and put them into the barrel on the top of the Metheglin, after it is tunned up, and so let it stand till it hath done working; then stop it up as close as is possible: and so let it stand six or seven weeks: then draw it out and bottle it. You must tye down the Corks, and set the bottles in sand five or six weeks, and then drink it.

ANOTHER MEATH

Take twenty Gallons of fair Spring-water. Boil it a quarter of an hour, then let it stand till the next day. Then beat into it so much honey, as will make it so strong as to bear an Egg the breadth of a two pence above the water. The next day boil it up with six small handfulls of Rosemary, a pound and a half of Ginger, (being scraped and bruised) and the whites of twenty Eggs together with their shells beaten together, and well mingled with the Liquor. Clarifie it and skim it very clean, still as the scum riseth, leaving the Ginger and Rosemary in it. Let it stand till the next day, then Tun it up, and take some New-ale-yest, the whites of two Eggs, a spoonful of flower, beat all these together, and put it on the top of the barrel, when the barrel is full. Let it work, and when it hath done working, stop it up close for three weeks, or a month. Then you may bottle it, and a few days after, you may drink it.

ANOTHER

Take three Gallons of water, and boil in it a handful of Rose-mary (or rather the flowers) Cowslips, Sage-flowers, Agrimony, Betony, and Thyme, ana, one handful. When it hath taken the strength of the herbs, strain it through a hair-sieve, and let it cool twenty hours. Then to three Gallons of the clear part of this decoction, put one Gallon of honey, and mingle it very well with your hand, till it bear an Egg the breadth of a groat. Then boil it and skim it as long as any scum will rise. Afterwards let it cool twenty four hours. Then put to it a small quantity of Ale-barm, and skim the thin-barm that doth rise on it, morning and evening, with a feather, during four days. And so put it up into your vessel, and hang in it a thin linnen bag with two Ounces of good White-ginger bruised therein: And stop it up close for a quarter of a year. Then you may drink it.

ANOTHER

Take a quart of honey to a Gallon of water; set the Kettle over the fire, and stir it now and then, that the honey may melt; let it boil an hour; you must boil in it, a Sprig or two of Winter-savory, as much of Sweet-marjoram; put it into tubs ready scalded, till the next day towards evening. Then tun it up into your vessel, let it work for three days; after which hang a bag in the barrel with what quantity of Mace and sliced Nutmeg you please. To make it stronger then this, 'tis but adding more hony, to make it bear an Egg the breadth of a six pence, or something more. You may bottle it out after a month, when you please. This is the way, which is used in Sussex by those who are accounted to make it best.

ANOTHER RECEIPT

Take to every Gallon of Fountain-water a good quart of honey. Set the water on the fire, till it be pretty warm; then take it off, and put it in your honey, and stir it till it be dissolved. Then put into every three Gallons, two handfuls of Thyme: two good handfuls of Strawberry-leaves, one handful of Organ; one handful of Fennel-roots, the heart being taken out, and one handful of Parsley-roots the heart taken out: But as for the herbs, it must be according to the constitution of them, for whom the Mead is intended. Then set the Herbs in it on the fire, to boil for half an hour, still skimming it, as the scum riseth; it must boil but half an hour; then take it off the fire, and presently strain it from the herbs, and let it stand till it be fully cold; then pour it softly off the bottom, and put it in a vessel fit for it, and put a small quantity of barm in it, and mingle it with it, and when it hath wrought up, which will be in three or four days, skim off that barm, and set on fresh: but the second barm must not be mingled with the Meath, but onely poured on the top of it. Take an Ounce of Nutmeg sliced: one Ounce of Ginger sliced: one Ounce of Cinnamon cut in pieces, and boil them a pretty while in a quart of White-wine or Sack: when this is very cold, strain it, and put the spices in a Canvas-bag to hang in your Meath, and pour in the Wine it was boiled in.

This Meath will be drinkable, when it is a fortnight or three weeks old.

TO MAKE METHEGLIN THAT LOOKS LIKE WHITE-WINE

Take to twelve gallons of water, a handful of each of these Herbs: Parsley, Eglantine, Rosemary, Strawberry-leaves, Wild-thyme, Baulme, Liverwort, Betony, Scabious: when the water begins to boil, cast in the herbs: let them boil a quarter of an hour: then strain out the herbs; and when it is almost cold, then put in as much of the best honey, you can get, as will bear an Egg to the breadth of two pence; that is, till you can see no more of the Egge above the water, then a two pence will cover: Lave it and stir it till you see all the honey be melted; then boil it well half an hour, at the least: skim it well, and put in the whites of six Eggs beaten, to clarifie it: Then strain it into some woodden vessels; and when it is almost cold, put some Ale-barm into it. And when it worketh well, Tun it into some well seasoned vessel, where neither Ale nor Beer hath been, for marring the colour of it. When it hath done working, if you like it, Take a quantity of Cloves, Nutmegs, Mace, Cinnamon, Ginger, or any of these that you like best, and bruise them, and put them in a boulter bag, and hang it in the vessel. Put not too much of the Spice, because many do not like the taste of much Spice. If you make it at Michaelmas, you may tap it at Christmas: but if you keep it longer, it will be the better. It will look pure, and drink with as much spirit as can be, and very pleasant.

TO MAKE WHITE METHEGLIN

Take Sweet-marjoram, Sweet-bryar-buds, Violet-leaves, Strawberry-leaves, of each one handful, and a good handful of Violet flowers (the dubble ones are the best) broad Thyme, Borrage, Agrimony, of each half a handful, and two or three branches of Rosemary, The seeds of Carvi, Coriander, and Fennel, of each two spoonfuls, and three or four blades of large-mace. Boil all these in eight Gallons of running-water, three quarters of an hour. Then strain it, and when it is but blood-warm, put in as much of the best honey, as will make the Liquor bear an Egg the breadth of six pence above the water. Then boil it again as long as any scum will rise. Then set it abroad a cooling; and when it is almost cold, put in half a pint of good Ale-barm; and when it hath wrought, till you perceive the barm to fall, then Tun it, and let it work in the barrel, till the barm leaveth rising, filling it up every day with some of the same Liquor. When you stop it up, put in a bag with one Nutmeg sliced, a little whole Cloves and Mace, a stick of Cinnamon broken in pieces, and a grain of good Musk. You may make this a little before Michaelmas, and it will be fit to drink at Lent.

This is Sir Edward Bainton's Receipt, Which my Lord of Portland (who gave it me) saith, was the best he ever drunk.

TO MAKE A SMALL METHEGLIN

Take four Gallons of water, and set it over the fire. Put into it, when it is warm, eight pounds of honey; as the scum riseth, take it clean off. When it is clear, put into it three Nutmegs quartered; three or four Races of Ginger sliced; Then let it boil a whole hour, Then take it off the fire, and put to it two handfuls of ground Malt; stir it about with a round stick, till it be as cold as wort, when you put yest to it. Then strain it out into a pot or Tub, that hath a spiggot and faucet, and put to it a pint of very good Ale-yest; so let it work for two days; Then cover it close for about four or five days, and so draw it out into bottles. It will be ready to drink within three weeks.

TO MAKE MEATH

Take to six quarts of water, a quart of the best honey, and put it on the fire, and stir it, till the honey is melted: and boil it well as long as any scum riseth: and now and then put in a little cold water, for this will make the scum rise: keep your kettle up as full as you did put it on; when it is boiled enough, about half an hour before you take it off, then take a quantity of Ginger sliced and well scraped first, and a good quantity of Rosemary, and boil both together. Of the Rosemary and Ginger you may put in more or less, for to please your taste: And when you take it off the fire, strain it into your vessel, either a well seasoned-tub, or a great cream pot, and the next morning when it is cold, pour off softly the top from the settlings into another vessel; and then put some little quantity of the best Ale-barm to it and cover it with a thin cloth over it, if it be in summer, but in the winter it will be longer a ripening, and therefore must be the warmer covered in a close place, and when you go to bottle it, take with a feather all the barm off, and put it into your bottles, and stop it up close. In ten days you may drink it.

If you think six quarts of water be too much, and would have it stronger, then put in a greater quantity of honey.

METHEGLIN OR SWEET DRINK OF MY LADY STUART

Take as much water as will fill your Firkin: of Rosemary, Bays, Sweet-bryar, Broad-thyme, Sweet-majoram, of each a handful; set it over the fire, until the herbs have a little coloured the water; then take it off, and when it is cold, put in as much honey, till it will bear an Egg; Then lave it three days morning and evening. After that boil it again, and skim it very clean, and in the boiling clarifie it with the whites of six Eggs, shells and all, well beaten together. Then take it off, and put it to cool; and when it is cold, put it into your vessel, and put to it three spoonfuls of yest; stop it close, and keep it, till it be old at least three months.

A METHEGLIN FOR THE COLICK AND STONE OF THE SAME LADY

Take one Gallon of Honey to seven Gallons of water; boil it together, and skim it well; then take Pelitory of the Wall, Saxifrage, Betony, Parsley, Groundsel, of each a handful, of the seeds of Parsley, of Nettles, Fennel and Carraway-seeds, Anisseeds and Grumelseeds, of each two Ounces. The roots of Parsley, of Alexander, of Fennel and Mallows of each two Ounces, being small cut; let all boil, till near three Gallons of the Liquor is wasted: Then take it off the fire, and let it stand till it be cold; then cleanse it from the drugs, and let it be put into a clean vessel well stopped, taking four Nutmegs, one Ounce and half of Ginger, half an Ounce of Cinnamon, twelve Cloves; cut all these small, and hang them in a bag into the vessel, when you stop it up. When it is a fortnight old, you may begin to drink of it; every morning a good draught.

A RECEIPT FOR METHEGLIN OF MY LADY WINDEBANKE

Take four Gallons of water; add to it, these Herbs and Spices following. Pellitory of the Wall, Sage, Thyme, of each a quarter of a handful, as much Clove gilly-flowers, with half as much Borage and Bugloss flowers, a little Hyssop, Five or six Eringo-roots, three or four Parsley-roots: one Fennel-root, the pith taken out, a few Red-nettle-roots, and a little Harts-tongue. Boil these Roots and Herbs half an hour; Then take out the Roots and Herbs, and put in the Spices grosly beaten in a Canvass-bag, viz. Cloves, Mace, of each half an Ounce, and as much Cinnamon, of Nutmeg an Ounce, with two Ounces of Ginger, and a Gallon of Honey: boil all these together half an hour longer, but do not skim it at all: let it boil in, and set it a cooling after you have taken it off the fire. When it is cold, put six spoonfuls of barm to it, and let it work twelve hours at least; then Tun it, and put a little Limon-peel into it: and then you may bottle it, if you please.

ANOTHER OF THE SAME LADY

To four Gallons of water put one Gallon of honey; warm the water Luke-warm before you put in your honey; when it is dissolved, set it over the fire, and let it boil half an hour with these Spices grosly beaten and put in a Canvass-bag: namely, half an Ounce of Ginger, two Nutmegs, a few Cloves and a little Mace; and in the boiling put in a quart of cold water to raise the scum, which you must take clean off in the boiling. If you love herbs, put in a little bundle of Rosemary, Bays, Sweet-marjoram and Eglantine. Let it stand till it is cold, then put into it half a pint of Ale-barm, and let it work twelve hours; then Tun it, but take out the bundle of herbs first.

TO MAKE METHEGLIN

Take to every Gallon of Honey, three Gallons of water, and put them together and set them over so gentle a fire, as you might endure to break it in the water with your hand. When the Honey is all melted, put in an Egg, and let it fall gently to the bottom; and if your Egg rise up again to the top of the Liquor, then it is strong enough of the Honey. But if it lie at the bottom, you must put in more honey, and stir it, till it doth rise. If your honey be very good, it will bear half a Gallon of water more to a Gallon of Honey. Then take Sweet-bryar, Bays, Rosemary, Thyme, Marjoram, Savoury, of each a good handfull, which you must tye up all together in a bundle. This Proportion of Herbs will be sufficient for twelve Gallons of Metheglin; and according to the quantity of Metheglin you make, you must add or diminish your Herbs. When you have put these things together, set it over a quick fire, and let it boil as fast as you can for half an hour or better, skiming of it very clean and clarifying it with the whites of two or three Eggs. Then take it from the fire, and put it into some clean vessel or other, and let it stand till the next morning; Then pour the Clear from the dregs, and Tun it up, putting in a little bag of such Spice as you like, whereof Ginger must be the most. After it hath stood three or four days, you may put in two or three spoon-fulls of good Ale-yest, it will make it the sooner ready to drink. It must work before you stop it up. The older your Honey is, the whiter your Metheglin will be.

MEATH WITH RAISINS

Put forty Gallons of water into your Caldron, and with a stick take the height of the water, making a notch, where the superficies of the water cometh. Then put to the water ten Gallons of Honey, which dissolve with much Laving it; then presently boil it gently, skimming it all the while, till it be free from scum. Then put into it a thin bag of boulter-cloth containing forty pound weight of the best blew Raisins of the Sun, well picked and washed and wiped dry; and let the bag be so large, that the Raisins may lie at ease and loosly in it. When you perceive that the Raisins are boiled enough to be very soft, that you may strain out all their substance, take out the bag, and strain out all the Liquor by a strong Press. Put it back to the Honey-liquor, and boil all together (having thrown away the husks of the Raisins with the bag) till your Liquor be sunk down to the notch of your stick, which is the sign of due strength. Then let it cool in a woodden vessel, and let it run through a strainer to sever it from the settlings, and put it into a strong vessel, that hath had Sack or Muscadine in it, not filling it to within three fingers breadth of the top (for otherwise it will break the vessel with working) and leave the bung open whiles it worketh, which will be six weeks very strongly, though it be put into a cold cellar. And after nine moneths, you may begin to drink it.

MORELLO WINE

To half an Aume of white wine, take twenty pounds of Morello Cherries, the stalks being first plucked off. Bruise the Cherries and break the stones. Pour into the Wine the juyce that comes out from the Cherries; but put all the solid substance of them into a long bag of boulter-cloth, and hang it in the Wine at the bung, so that it lie not in the bottom, but only reach to touch it, and therefore nail it down at the mouth of the bung. Then stop it close. For variety, you may put some clear juyce of Cherries alone (but drawn from a larger proportion of Cherries) into another parcel of Wine. To either of them, if you will Aromatise the drink, take to this quantity two Ounces of Cinnamon grosly broken and bruised, and put it in a little bag at the spiggot, that all the wine you draw may run through the Cinnamon.

You must be careful in bruising the Cherries, and breaking the stones. For if you do all at once, the Liquor will sparkle about. But you must first bruise the Cherries gently in a mortar, and rub through a sieve all that will pass, and strain the Residue hard through your hands. Then beat the remaining hard so strongly, as may break all the stones. Then put all together, and strain the clean through a subtil strainer, and put the solider substance into the bag to hang in the Wine.

CURRANTS-WINE

Take a pound of the best Currants clean picked, and pour upon them in a deep straight mouthed earthen vessel six pounds or pints of hot water, in which you have dissolved three spoonfuls of the purest and newest Ale-yest. Stop it very close till it ferment, then give such vent as is necessary, and keep it warm for about three days, it will work and ferment. Taste it after two days, to see if it be grown to your liking. As soon as you find it so, let it run through a strainer, to leave behind all the exhausted currants and the yest, and so bottle it up. It will be exceeding quick and pleasant, and is admirable good to cool the Liver, and cleanse the blood. It will be ready to drink in five or six days after it is bottled; And you may drink safely large draughts of it.

SCOTCH ALE FROM MY LADY HOLMBEY

The Excellent Scotch Ale is made thus. Heat Spring-water; it must not boil, but be ready to boil, which you will know by leaping up in bubbles. Then pour it to the Malt; but by little and little, stirring them strongly together all the while they are mingling. When all the water is in, it must be so proportioned that it be very thick. Then cover the vessel well with a thick Mat made on purpose with a hole for the stick, and that with Coverlets and Blankets to keep in all the heat. After three or four hours, let it run out by the stick (putting new heated water upon the Malt, if you please, for small Ale or Beer) into a Hogshead with the head out. There let it stand till it begin to blink, and grow long like thin Syrup. If you let it stay too long, and grow too thick, it will be sowre. Then put it again into the Caldron, and boil it an hour or an hour and a half. Then put it into a Woodden-vessel to cool, which will require near forty hours for a hogshead. Then pour it off gently from the settling. This quantity (of a hogshead) will require better then a quart of the best Ale-barm, which you must put to it thus. Put it to about three quarts of wort, and stir it, to make it work well. When the barm is risen quick scum it off to put to the rest of the wort by degrees. The remaining Liquor (that is the three quarts) will have drawn into it all the heavy dregs of the barm, and you may put it to the Ale of the second running, but not to this. Put the barm, you have scummed off (which will be at least a quart) to about two gallons of the wort, and stir it to make that rise and work. Then put two Gallons more to it. Doing thus at several times, till all be mingled, which will require a whole day to do. Cover it close, and let it work, till it be at it's height, and begin to fall, which may require ten or twelve hours, or more. Watch this well, least it sink too much, for then it will be dead. Then scum off the thickest part of the barm, and run your Ale into the hogshead, leaving all the bung open a day or two. Then lay a strong Paper upon it, to keep the clay from falling in, that you must then lay upon it, in which you must make a little hole to let it work out. You must have some of the same Liquor to fill it up, as it works over. When it hath done working, stop it up very close, and keep it in a very cold Cellar. It will be fit to broach after a year; and be very clear and sweet and pleasant, and will continue a year longer drawing; and the last glass full be as pure and as quick as the first. You begin to broach it high. Let your Cask have served for Sweet-wine.

TO MAKE ALE DRINK QUICK

When small Ale hath wrought sufficiently, draw into bottles; but first put into every bottle twelve good raisins of the Sun split and stoned; Then stop up the bottle close, and set it in sand (gravel) or a cold dry Cellar. After a while this will drink exceeding quick and pleasant. Likewise take six Wheat-corns, and bruise them, and put into a bottle of Ale; it will make it exceeding quick and stronger.

TO MAKE CIDER

Take a Peck of Apples, and slice them, and boil them in a barrel of water, till the third part be wasted; Then cool your water as you do for wort, and when it is cold, you must pour the water upon three measures of grown Apples. Then draw forth the water at a tap three or four times a day, for three days together. Then press out the Liquor, and Tun it up; when it hath done working, then stop it up close.

A VERY PLEASANT DRINK OF APPLES

Take about fifty Pippins; quarter and core them, without paring them: for the paring is the Cordialest part of them. Therefore onely wipe or wash them well, and pick away the black excrescence at the top; and be sure to leave out all the seeds, which are hot. You may cut them (after all the superfluities are taken away) into thinner slices, if you please. Put three Gallons of Fountain water to them in a great Pipkin, and let them boil, till the Apples become clear and transparent; which is a sign, they are perfectly tender, and will be in a good half hour, or a little more. Then with your Ladle break them into Mash and Pulpe, incorporated with the water; letting all boil half an hour longer, that the water may draw into it self all the vertue of the Apples. Then put to them a pound and a half of pure dubble refined Sugar in powder, which will soon dissolve in that hot Liquor. Then pour it into an Hippocras bag, and let it run through it two or three times, to be very clear. Then put it up into bottles; and after a little time, it will be a most pleasant, quick, cooling, smoothing drink. Excellent in sharp Gonorrhoeas.

SIR PAUL NEALE'S WAY OF MAKING CIDER

The best Apples make the best Cider, as Pearmains, Pippins, Golden-pippins, and the like. Codlings make the finest Cider of all. They must be ripe, when you make Cider of them: and is in prime in the Summer season, when no other Cider is good. But lasteth not long, not beyond Autumn. The foundation of making perfect Cyder consisteth in not having it work much, scarce ever at all; but at least, no second time; which Ordinary Cider doth often, upon change of weather, and upon motion: and upon every working it grows harder. Do then thus:

Choose good Apples. Red streaks are the best for Cider to keep; Ginet-moils the next, then Pippins. Let them lie about three weeks, after they are gathered; Then stamp and strain them in the Ordinary way, into a woodden fat that hath a spigot three or four fingers breadth above the bottom. Cover the fat with some hair or sackcloth, to secure it from any thing to fall in, and to keep in some of the Spirits, so to preserve it from dying; but not so much as to make it ferment. When the juyce hath been there twelve hours, draw it by the spigot (the fat inclining that way, as if it were a little tilted) into a barrel; which must not be full by about two fingers. Leave the bung open for the Air to come in, upon a superficies, all along the barrel, to hinder it from fermenting; but not so large a superficies as to endanger dying, by the airs depredating too many spirits from it.

The drift in both these settlings is, that the grosser parts consisting of the substance of the Apple, may settle to the bottom, and be severed from the Liquor; for it is that, which maketh it work again (upon motion or change of weather) and spoils it. After twenty four hours draw of it, to see if it be clear, by the settling of all dregs, above which your spigot must be. If it be not clear enough, draw it from the thick dregs into another vessel, and let it settle there twenty four hours. This vessel must be less then the first, because you draw not all out of the first. If then it should not be clear enough, draw it into a third, yet lesser than the second; but usually it is at the first. When it is clear enough draw it into bottles, filling them within two fingers, which stop close. After two or three days visit them; that if there be a danger of their working (which would break the bottles) you may take out the stopples, and let them stand open for half a quarter of an hour. Then stop them close, and they are secure for ever after. In cold freesing weather, set them upon Hay, and cover them over with Hay or Straw. In open weather in Winter transpose them to another part of the Cellar to stand upon the bare ground or pavement. In hot weather set them in sand. The Cider of the Apples of the last season, as Pippins, not Peermains, nor codlings, will last till the Summer grow hot. Though this never work, 'tis not of the Nature of Strummed Wine; because the naughty dregs are not left in it.

DOCTOR HARVEY'S PLEASANT WATER-CIDER, WHEREOF HE USED TO DRINK MUCH, MAKING IT HIS ORDINARY DRINK

Take one Bushel of Pippins, cut them into slices with the Parings and Cores; boil them in twelve Gallons of water, till the goodness of them be in the water; and that consumed about three Gallons. Then put it into an Hypocras-bag, made of Cotton; and when it is clear run out, and almost cold, sweeten it with five pound of Brown-sugar, and put a pint of Ale-yest to it, and set it a working two nights and days: Then skim off the yest clean, and put it into bottles, and let it stand two or three days, till the yest fall dead at the top: Then take it off clean with a knife, and fill it up a little within the neck (that is to say, that a little about a fingers breadth of the neck be empty, between the superficies of the Liquor, and the bottom of the stopple) and then stop them up and tye them, or else it will drive out the Corks. Within a fortnight you may drink of it. It will keep five or six weeks.

ALE WITH HONEY

Sir Thomas Gower makes his pleasant and wholesom drink of Ale and Honey thus. Take fourty Gallons of small Ale, and five Gallons of Honey. When the Ale is ready to Tun, and is still warm, take out ten Gallons of it; which, whiles it is hot, mingle with it the five Gallons of Honey, stirring it exceeding well with a clean arm till they be perfectly incorporated. Then cover it, and let it cool and stand still. At the same time you begin to dissolve the honey in this parcel, you take the other of thirty Gallons also warm, and Tun it up with barm, and put it into a vessel capable to hold all the whole quantity of Ale and Honey, and let it work there; and because the vessel will be so far from being full, that the gross foulness of the Ale cannot work over, make holes in the sides of the Barrel even with the superficies of the Liquor in it, out of which the gross feculence may purge; and these holes must be fast shut, when you put in the rest of the Ale with the Honey: which you must do, when you see the strong working of the other is over; and that it works but gently, which may be after two or three or four days, according to the warmth of the season. You must warm your solution of honey, when you put it in, to be as warm as Ale, when you Tun it; and then it will set the whole a working a fresh, and casting out more foulness; which it would do too violently, if you put it in at the first of the Tunning it. It is not amiss that some feculence lie thick upon the Ale, and work not all out; for that will keep in the spirits. After you have dissolved the honey in the Ale, you must boil it a little to skim it; but skim it not, till it have stood a while from the fire to cool; else you will skim away much of the Honey, which will still rise as long as it boileth. If you will not make so great a quantity at a time, do it in less in the same proportions. He makes it about Michaelmas for Lent.

When strong Beer groweth too hard, and flat for want of Spirits, take four or five Gallons of it out of a Hogshead, and boil five pounds of honey in it, and skim it, and put it warm into the Beer; and after it hath done working, stop it up close. This will make it quick, pleasant and stronger.

SMALL ALE FOR THE STONE

The Ale, that I used to drink constantly of, was made in these proportions. Take fourteen Gallons of Water, and half an Ounce of Hops; boil them near an hour together. Then pour it upon a peck of Malt. Have a care the Malt be not too small ground; for then it will never make clear Ale. Let it soak so near two hours. Then let it run from the Malt, and boil it only one walm or two. Let it stand cooling till it be cool enough to work with barm, which let be of Beer rather than Ale, about half a pint.

After it hath wrought some hours, when you see it come to it's height, and is near beginning to fall in working, Tun it into a barrel of eight Gallons; and in four or five days it will be fit to broach to drink. Since I have caused the wort to be boiled a good half hour; since again I boil it a good hour, and it is much the better; because the former Ale tasted a little Raw. Now because it consumes in boiling, and would be too strong, if this Malt made a less proportion of Ale; I have added a Gallon of water at the first, taking fifteen Gallons instead of fourteen. Since I have added half a peck of Malt to the former proportions, to make it a little stronger in Winter.

APPLE DRINK WITH SUGAR, HONEY, &c

A very pleasant drink is made of Apples, thus; Boil sliced Apples in water, to make the water strong of Apples, as when you make to drink it for coolness and pleasure. Sweeten it with Sugar to your tast, such a quantity of sliced Apples, as would make so much water strong enough of Apples; and then bottle it up close for three or four months. There will come a thick mother at the top, which being taken off, all the rest will be very clear, and quick and pleasant to the taste, beyond any Cider. It will be the better to most taste, if you put a very little Rosemary into the liquor, when you boil it, and a little Limon-peel into each bottle, when you bottle it up.

TO MAKE STEPPONI

Take a Gallon of Conduit-water, one pound of blew Raisins of the Sun stoned, and half a pound of Sugar. Squeese the juyce of two Limons upon the Raisins and Sugar, and slice the rindes upon them. Boil the water, and pour it so hot upon the ingredients in an earthen pot, and stir them well together. So let it stand twenty four hours. Then put it into bottles (having first let it run through a strainer) and set them in a Cellar or other cool place.

WEAK HONEY-DRINK

Take nine pints of warm fountain water, and dissolve in it one pint of pure White-honey, by laving it therein, till it be dissolved. Then boil it gently, skimming it all the while, till all the scum be perfectly scummed off; and after that boil it a little longer, peradventure a quarter of an hour. In all it will require two or three hours boiling, so that at last one third part may be consumed. About a quarter of an hour before you cease boiling, and take it from the fire, put to it a little spoonful of cleansed and sliced Ginger; and almost half as much of the thin yellow rinde of Orange, when you are even ready to take it from the fire, so as the Orange boil only one walm in it. Then pour it into a well-glased strong deep great Gally-pot, and let it stand so, till it be almost cold, that it be scarce Luke-warm. Then put to it a little silver-spoonful of pure Ale-yest, and work it together with a Ladle to make it ferment: as soon as it beginneth to do so, cover it close with a fit cover, and put a thick dubbled woollen cloth about it. Cast all things so that this may be done when you are going to bed. Next morning when you rise, you will find the barm gathered all together in the middle; scum it clean off with a silver-spoon and a feather, and bottle up the Liquor, stopping it very close. It will be ready to drink in two or three days; but it will keep well a month or two. It will be from the first very quick and pleasant.

MR. WEBB'S ALE AND BRAGOT

Five Bushels of Malt will make two Hogsheads. The first running makes one very good Hogshead, but not very strong; the second is very weak. To this proportion boil a quarter of a Pound of Hops in all the water that is to make the two Hogsheads; that is, two Ounces to each Hogshead. You put your water to the Malt in the Ordinary way. Boil it well, when you come to work it with yest, take very good Beer-yest, not Ale-yest.

To make Bragot, He takes the first running of such Ale, and boils a less proportion of Honey in it, then when He makes His ordinary Meath; but dubble or triple as much spice and herbs. As for Example to twenty Gallons of the Strong-wort, he puts eight or ten pound, (according as your taste liketh more or less honey) of honey; But at least triple as much herbs, and triple as much spice as would serve such a quantity of small Mead as He made Me (For to a stronger Mead you put a greater proportion of Herbs and Spice, then to a small; by reason that you must keep it a longer time before you drink it; and the length of time mellows and tames the taste of the herbs and spice). And when it is tunned in the vessel (after working with the barm) you hang in it a bag with bruised spices (rather more then you boiled in it) which is to hang in the barrel all the while you draw it.

He makes also Mead with the second weak running of the Ale; and to this He useth the same proportions of honey, herbs and spice, as for his small Mead of pure water; and useth the same manner of boiling, working with yest, and other Circumstances, as in making of that.

THE COUNTESS OF NEWPORT'S CHERRY WINE

Pick the best Cherries free from rotten, and pick the stalk from them; put them into an earthen Pan. Bruise them, by griping and straining them in your hands, and let them stand all night; on the next day strain them out (through a Napkin; which if it be a course and thin one, let the juyce run through a Hippocras or gelly bag, upon a pound of fine pure Sugar in powder, to every Gallon of juyce) and to every gallon put a pound of Sugar, and put it into a vessel. Be sure your vessel be full, or your wine will be spoiled; you must let it stand a month before you bottle it; and in every bottle you must put a lump (a piece as big as a Nutmeg) of Sugar. The vessel must not be stopt until it hath done working.

STRAWBERRY WINE

Bruise the Strawberries, and put them into a Linnen-bag which hath been a little used, that so the Liquor may run through more easily. You hang in the bag at the bung into the vessel, before you do put in your Strawberries. The quantity of the fruit is left to your discretion; for you will judge to be there enough of them, when the colour of the wine is high enough. During the working, you leave the bung open. The working being over, you stop your vessel. Cherry-wine is made after the same fashion. But it is a little more troublesome to break the Cherry-stones. But it is necessary, that if your Cherries be of the black soure Cherries, you put to it a little Cinnamon, and a few Cloves.

TO MAKE WINE OF CHERRIES ALONE

Take one hundred pounds weight, or what quantity you please, of ripe, but sound, pure, dry and well gathered Cherries. Bruise and mash them with your hands to press out all their juyce, which strain through a boulter cloth, into a deep narrow Woodden tub, and cover it close with clothes. It will begin to work and ferment within three or four hours, and a thick foul scum will rise to the top. Skim it off as it riseth to any good head, and presently cover it again. Do this till no more great quantity of scum arise, which will be four or five times, or more. And by this means the Liquor will become clear, all the gross muddy parts rising up in scum to the top. When you find that the height of the working is past, and that it begins to go less, tun it into a barrel, letting it run again through a boulter, to keep out all the gross feculent substance. If you should let it stay before you tun it up, till the working were too much deaded, the wine would prove dead. Let it remain in the barrel close stopped, a month or five weeks. Then draw it into bottles, into each of which put a lump of fine Sugar, before you draw the wine into it, and stop them very close, and set them in a cold Cellar. You may drink them after three or four months. This wine is exceeding pleasant, strong, spiritful and comfortable.



OF COOKERY

TO MAKE A SACK POSSET

Boil two wine-quarts of Sweet-cream in a Possnet; when it hath boiled a little, take it from the fire, and beat the yolks of nine or ten fresh Eggs, and the whites of four with it, beginning with two or three spoonfuls, and adding more till all be incorporated; then set it over the fire, to recover a good degree of heat, but not so much as to boil; and always stir it one way, least you break the consistence. In the mean time, let half a pint of Sack or White muscadin boil a very little in a bason, upon a Chafing-dish of Coals, with three quarters of a pound of Sugar, and three or four quartered Nutmegs, and as many pretty big pieces of sticks of Cinnamon. When this is well scummed, and still very hot, take it from the fire, and immediately pour into it the cream, beginning to pour neer it, but raising by degrees your hand so that it may fall down from a good height; and without anymore to be done, it will then be fit to eat. It is very good kept cold as well as eaten hot. It doth very well with it, to put into the Sack (immediately before you put in the cream) some Ambergreece, or Ambered-sugar, or Pastils. When it is made, you may put powder of Cinnamon and Sugar upon it, if you like it.

ANOTHER

To two quarts of Cream, if it be in the Summer, when the Cream is thick and best, take but two or three yolks of Eggs. But in the Winter when it is thin and hungry, take six or seven; but never no whites. And of Sack or Muscadin, take a good third (scarce half) of a pint; and three quarters of a pound of fine Sugar. Let the Sugar and Sack boil well together, that it be almost like a Syrup; and just as you take it from the fire, put in your ground Amber or Pastils, and constantly pour in the Cream with which the Eggs are incorporated; and do all the rest as is said in the foregoing Process.

Ambered-sugar is made by grinding very well, four grains of Ambergreece, and one of Musk, with a little fine Sugar; or grinding two or three Spanish Pastils very small.

A PLAIN ORDINARY POSSET

Put a pint of good Milk to boil; as soon as it doth so, take it from the fire, to let the great heat of it cool a little; for doing so, the curd will be the tenderer, and the whole of a more uniform consistence. When it is prettily cooled, pour it into your pot, wherein is about two spoonfuls of Sack, and about four of Ale, with sufficient Sugar dissolved in them. So let it stand a while near the fire, till you eat it.

A SACK POSSET

Take three pints of Cream; boil in it a little Cinnamon, a Nutmeg quartered, and two spoonfuls of grated bread; then beat the yolks of twelve Eggs very well with a little cold Cream, and a spoonful of Sack. When your Cream hath boiled about a quarter of an hour, thicken it up with the Eggs, and sweeten it with Sugar; and take half a pint of Sack and six spoonfuls of Ale, and put into the basin or dish, you intend to make it in, with a little Ambergreece, if you please. Then pour your Cream and Eggs into it, holding your hand as high as conveniently you can, gently stirring in the basin with the spoon as you pour it; so serve it up. If you please you may strew Sugar upon it.

You may strew Ambred sugar upon it, as you eat it; or Sugar-beaten with Cinnamon, if you like it.

A BARLEY SACK POSSET

Take half a pound or more of French barley, (not Perle-barley) and pour scalding water upon it, and wash it well therein, and strain it from the water, & put it into the Corner of a Linnen-cloth and tie it up fast there, and strike it a dozen or twenty blows against a firm table or block, to make it tender by such bruising it, as in the Countrey is used with wheat to make frumenty. Then put it into a large skillet with three pints of good milk. Boil this till at least half be consumed, and that it become as thick as hasty pudding, which will require at least two hours; and it must be carefully stirred all the while, least it burn too: which if by some little inadvertence it should do, and that some black burned substance sticketh to the bottom of the skillet, pour all the good matter from it into a fresh skillet (or into a basin whiles you scoure this) and renew boiling till it be very thick; All which is to make the barley very tender and pulpy, and will at least require two or near three hours. Then pour to it three pints of good Cream, and boil them together a little while, stirring them always. It will be sometime before the cold Cream boil, which when it doth, a little will suffice. Then take it from the fire, and season it well with Sugar. Then take a quarter of a pint of Sack, and as much Rhenish-wine (or more of each) and a little Verjuyce, or sharp Cider, or juyce of Orange, and season it well with Sugar (at least half a pound to both) and set it over Coals to boil. Which when it doth, and the Sugar is well melted, pour the Cream into it; in which Cream the barley will be settled to the bottom by standing still unmoved, after the Sugar is well stirred and melted in it, or pour it through a hair-sieve; and you may boil it again, that it be very hot, when you mingle them together; else it may chance not curdle. Some of the barley (but little) will go over with it, and will do no hurt. After you have thus made your Posset, let it stand warm a while that the curd may thicken: but take heed it boil not, for that would dissolve it again into the consistence of Cream. When you serve it up, strew it over with Powder of Cinnamon and Sugar. It will be much the better, if you strew upon it some Ambergreece ground with Sugar. You may boil bruised sticks of Cinnamon in the Cream, and in the Sack, before you mingle them. You must use clear Char-coal-fire under your vessels. The remaining barley will make good barley Cream, being boiled with fresh Cream and a little Cinnamon and Mace; to which you may add a little Rosemary and Sugar, when it is taken from the fire: or butter it as you do wheat. Or make a pudding of it, putting to it a Pint of Cream, which boil; then add four or five yolks, and two whites of Eggs, and the Marrow of two bones cut small, and of one in lumps: sufficient Sugar, and one Nutmeg grated. Put this either to bake raw, or with puff-past beneath and above it in the dish. A pretty smart heat, as for white Manchet, and three quarters of an hour in the Oven. You may make the like with great Oat-meal scalded (not boiled) in Cream, and soaked a night; then made up as the other.

MY LORD OF CARLILE'S SACK-POSSET

Take a Pottle of Cream, and boil in it a little whole Cinnamon, and three or four flakes of Mace. To this proportion of Cream put in eighteen yolks of Eggs, and eight of the whites; a pint of Sack; beat your Eggs very well, and then mingle them with your Sack. Put in three quarters of a pound of Sugar into the Wine and Eggs with a Nutmeg grated, and a little beaten Cinnamon; set the basin on the fire with the wine and Eggs, and let it be hot. Then put in the Cream boyling from the fire, pour it on high, but stir it not; cover it with a dish, and when it is settled, strew on the top a little fine Sugar mingled with three grains of Ambergreece, and one grain of Musk, and serve it up.

A SYLLABUB

My Lady Middlesex makes Syllabubs for little Glasses with spouts, thus. Take 3 pints of sweet Cream, one of quick white wine (or Rhenish), and a good wine glassful (better the 1/4 of a pint) of Sack: mingle with them about three quarters of a pound of fine Sugar in Powder. Beat all these together with a whisk, till all appeareth converted into froth. Then pour it into your little Syllabub-glasses, and let them stand all night. The next day the Curd will be thick and firm above, and the drink clear under it. I conceive it may do well, to put into each glass (when you pour the liquor into it) a sprig of Rosemary a little bruised, or a little Limon-peel, or some such thing to quicken the taste; or use Amber-sugar, or spirit of Cinnamon, or of Lignum-Cassiae; or Nutmegs, or Mace, or Cloves, a very little.

A GOOD DISH OF CREAM

Boil a quart of good Cream with sticks of Cinnamon and quartered Nutmeg and Sugar to your taste. When it is boiled enough to have acquired the taste of the Spice, take the whites of six New laid eggs, and beat them very well with a little Fresh-cream, then pour them to your boyling Cream, and let them boil a walm or two. Then let it run through a boulter, and put a little Orange flower-water to it, and sliced bread; and so serve it up cold.

AN EXCELLENT SPANISH CREAM

Take two quarts (you must not exceed this proportion in one vessel) of perfectly Sweet-cream, that hath not been jogged with carriage; and in a Possnet set it upon a clear lighted Char-coal-fire, not too hot. When it beginneth to boil, cast into it a piece of double refined hard Sugar about as much as two Walnuts, and with a spoon stir the Cream all one way. After two or three rounds, you will perceive a thick Cream rise at the top. Scum it off with your spoon, and lay it in another dish. And always stir it the same way, and more Cream will rise; which as it doth rise, you put it into your dish, one lare upon an other. And thus almost all the Cream will turn into this thick Cream, to within two or three spoonfuls. If you would have it sweeter, you may strew some Sugar upon the top of it. You must be careful not to have the heat too much; for then it will turn to oyl; as also if the Cream have been carried. If you would have it warm, set the dish you lay it in, upon a Chafing-dish of Coals.

ANOTHER CLOUTED CREAM

Milk your Cows in the evening about the ordinary hour, and fill with it a little Kettle about three quarters full, so that there may be happily two or three Gallons of Milk. Let this stand thus five or six hours. About twelve a Clock at night kindle a good fire of Charcoal, and set a large Trivet over it. When the fire is very clear and quick, and free from all smoak, set your Kettle of Milk over it upon the Trivet, and have in a pot by a quart of good Cream ready to put in at the due time; which must be, when you see the Milk begin to boil simpringly. Then pour in the Cream in a little stream and low, upon a place, where you see the milk simper: This will presently deaden the boiling, and then you must pour in no more Cream there, but in a fresh place, where it simpreth and bubbeleth a little. Continue this pouring in, in new places where the milk boileth, till all your Cream is in, watching it carefully to that end. Then let it continue upon the fire to boil, till you see all the Milk rise up together to the top, and not in little parcels here and there, so that it would run over, if it should stay longer upon the fire. Then let two persons take it steadily off, and set it by in a Cool-room to stand unmoved, uncovered; but so as no Motes may fall in, for the rest of that night, and all the next day and night, and more, if you would have it thicker. Then an hour or two before Dinner cut the thick Cream at the top with a Knife into squares as broad as your hand, which will be the thicker the longer it hath stood. Then have a thin slice or skimmer of Latton, and with that raise up the thick Cream, putting your slice under it so nicely, that you take up no milk with it; and have a Ladle or Spoon in the other hand to help the cream upon the slice, which thereby will become mingled: and lay these parcels of Cream in a dish, into which you have first put a little raw Cream, or of that (between Cream and Milk) that is immediately under the Clouts. To take the Clouts the more conveniently, you hold a back of a Ladle or skimming-dish against the further side of the Clout, that it may not slide away when the Latton slice shuffeth it on the other side to get under it, and so the Clout will mingle together or dubble up, which makes it the thicker, and the more graceful. When you have laid a good Laire of Clouts in the dish, put upon it a little more fresh raw or boiled cream, and then fill it up with the rest of the Clouts. And when it is ready to serve in, you may strew a little Sugar upon it, if you will you may sprinkle in a little Sugar between every flake or clout of Cream. If you keep the dish thus laid a day longer before you eat it, the Cream will grow the thicker and firmer. But if you keep it, I think it is best to be without sugar or raw Cream in it, and put them in, when you are to serve it up. There will be a thin Cream swimming upon the milk of the Kettle after the Clouts are taken away, which is very sweet and pleasant to drink. If you should let your clouts lie longer upon the milk, then I have said, before you skim it off, the Milk underneath would grow soure, and spoil the cream above. If you put these clouts into a Churn with other cream, it will make very good butter, so as no sugar have been put with it.

MY LORD OF S. ALBAN'S CRESME FOUETTEE

Put as much as you please to make, of sweet thick cream into a dish, and whip it with a bundle of white hard rushes, (of such as they make whisks to brush cloaks) tyed together, till it come to be very thick, and near a buttery substance. If you whip it too long, it will become butter. About a good hour will serve in winter. In summer it will require an hour and a half. Do not put in the dish, you will serve it up in, till it be almost time to set it upon the table. Then strew some poudered fine sugar in the bottom of the dish it is to go in, and with a broad spatule lay your cream upon it: when half is laid in, strew some more fine sugar upon it, and then lay in the rest of the Cream (leaving behinde some whey that will be in the bottom) and strew more sugar upon that. You should have the sugar-box by you, to strew on sugar from time to time, as you eat off the superficies, that is strewed over with sugar. If you would have your whipped cream light and frothy, that hath but little substance in the eating, make it of onely plain milk; and if you would have it of a consistence between both, mingle cream and milk.

TO MAKE THE CREAM CURDS

Strain your Whey, and set it on the fire; make a clear and gentle fire under your kettle; as they rise, put in Whey, so continuing till they are ready to skim. Then take your skimmer, and put them on the bottom of a hair sieve, so let them drain till they are cold; then take them off, and put them into a basin, and beat them with two or three spoonfuls of Cream and Sugar.

TO MAKE CLOUTED CREAM

Take two Gallons more or less of new milk, set it upon a clear fire; when it is ready to boil, put in a quart of sweet cream, and take it off the fire, and strain it through a hair sieve into earthen pans; let it stand two days and two nights; then take it off with a skimmer; strew sugar on the cream, and serve it to the Table.

TO MAKE A WHIP SYLLABUB

Take the whites of two Eggs, and a pint of Cream, six spoonfuls of Sack, as much Sugar as will sweeten it; then take a Birchen rod and whip it; as it riseth with froth, skim it, and put it into the Syllabub pot; so continue it with whipping and skimming, till your Syllabub pot be full.

TO MAKE A PLAIN SYLLABUB

Take a pint of Verjuyce in a bowl; milk the Cow to the Verjuyce; take off the Curd; and take sweet-cream and beat them together with a little Sack and Sugar; put it into your Syllabub pot; then strew Sugar on it, and so send it to the Table.

CONCERNING POTAGES

The ground or body of Potages must always be very good broth of Mutton, Veal and Volaille. Now to give good taste, you vary every month of the year, according to the herbs and roots that are in season. In Spring and Summer you use Cersevil, Oseille, Borage, Bugloss, Pourpier, Lettice, Chicoree and Cowcombers quartered, etc. The manner of using them is to boil store of them about half an hour or a quarter, in a pot by it self, with some bouillon taken out off the great pot; half an hour before dinner, take light bread well dryed from all moisture before the fire; then cut in slices, laid in a dish over coals, pour upon it a ladleful of broath, no more then the bread can presently drink up; which when it hath done, put on another ladleful, and stew that, till it be drunk up; repeat this three or four times, a good quarter of an hour in all, till the bread is swelled like a gelly (if it be too long, it will grow glewy and stick to the dish) and strong of broth; then fill it up near full with the same strong broth, which having stewed a while, put on the broth and herbs, and your Capon or other meat upon that, and so let it stew a quarter of an hour longer, then turn it up.

In winter, boil half an hour a pretty bundle of Parsley, and half as much of Sives, and a very little Thyme, and Sweet-marjoram; when they have given their taste to the herbs, throw the bundle away, and do as abovesaid with the bread. Deeper in the Winter, Parsley-roots, and White-chicoree, or Navets, or Cabbage, which last must be put in at first, as soon as the pot is skimmed; and to colour the bouillon it is good to put into it (sooner or later, according to the coursness or fineness of what you put in) Partridges or Wild-duck, or a fleshy piece of Beef half rosted. Green-pease may some of them be boiled a pretty while in the great pot; but others in a pot by themselves, with some Bouillon no longer then as if they were to eat buttered, and put upon the dish, containing the whole stock a quarter of an hour after the other hath stewed a quarter of an hour upon the bread. Sometimes Old-pease boiled in the broth from the first, to thicken it, but no Pease to be served in with it. Sometimes a piece of the bottom of a Venison Pasty, put in from the first. Also Venison bones.

PLAIN SAVOURY ENGLISH POTAGE

Make it of Beef, Mutton and Veal; at last adding a Capon, or Pigeons. Put in at first a quartered Onion or two, some Oat-meal, or French barley, some bottome of a Venison-pasty-crust, twenty whole grains of Pepper: four or five Cloves at last, and a little bundle of sweet-herbs, store of Marigold-flowers. You may put in Parsley or other herbs.

Or make it with Beef, Mutton and Veal, putting in some Oat-meal, and good pot-herbs, as Parsley, Sorrel, Violet-leaves, etc. And a very little Thyme and Sweet-marjoram, scarce to be tasted: and some Marigold leaves, at last. You may begin to boil it overnight, and let it stand warm all night; then make an end of boiling it next morning. It is well to put into the pot, at first, twenty or thirty corns of whole Pepper.

POTAGE DE BLANC DE CHAPON

Make first a very good bouillon, seasoned as you like. Put some of it upon the white flesh of a Capon or Hen a little more than half-rosted. Beat them well in a Mortar, and strain out all the juyce that will come. You may put more broth upon what remains in the strainer, and beat again, and strain it to the former. Whiles this is doing, put some of your first plain broth upon some dryed bread to mittonner well. Let there be no more broth, then just to do that. None to swim thin over. When you will serve the potage in, pour the white liquor upon the swelled and gellied-bread, and let them stew together a little upon the Coals. When it is through hot, take it off, and squeese some limon or orange into it, and so send it in presently. It mendeth a Bouillon much, to boil in it some half-rosted Volaille, or other good meat.

TO MAKE SPINAGE-BROTH

Take strong broth, and boil a neck of Mutton, and a Marrow-bone in it, and skim it very well; then put in half a pound of French barley, and a bundle of sweet herbs, and two or three blades of Large-mace. Let these boil very well. Then mince half a peck of Spinage, and two great Onions very small, and let it boil one hour or more; season it with salt as you please, and send the Mutton and the Marrow-bone in a dish with French bread or Manchet to the Table.

ORDINARY POTAGE

Take the fleshy and sinewy part of a leg of Beef, crag-ends of necks of Veal and Mutton. Put them in a ten quarts pot, and fill it up with water. Begin to boil about six a clock in the Morning, to have your potage ready by Noon. When it is well skimmed, put in two or three large Onions in quarters, and half a loaf (in one lump) of light French bread, or so much of the bottom crust of a Venison Pasty; all which will be at length clean dissolved in the broth. In due time season it with Salt, a little Pepper, and a very few Cloves. Likewise at a fit distance, before it be ended boiling, put in store of good herbs, as in Summer, Borrage, Bugloss, Purslain, Sorel, Lettice, Endive, and what else you like; in Winter, Beetes, Endive, Parsley-roots, Cabbage, Carrots, whole Onions, Leeks, and what you can get or like, with a little Sweet-marjoram and exceeding little Thyme. Order it so that the broth be very strong and good. To which end you may after four hours (or three) boil a Hen or Capon in it; light French-bread sliced, must be taken about noon, and tosted a little before the fire, or crusts of crisp new French-bread; lay it in a dish, and pour some of the broth upon it, and let it stew a while upon a Chafing-dish. Then pour in more Broth, and if you have a Fowl, lay it upon the bread in the broth, and fill it up with broth, and lay the herbs and roots all over and about it, and let it stew a little longer, and so serve it up covered, after you have squeesed some juyce of Orange or Limon, or put some Verjuyce into it. Or you may beat two or three Eggs, with part of the broth, and some Verjuyce, or juyce of Orange, and then mingle it with the rest of the broth.

BARLEY POTAGE

Take half a pound of French-barley, and wash it in three or four hot-waters; then tye it up in a course linnen-cloth and strike it five or six blows against the table; for this will make it very tender. Put it into such a pot full of meat and water, as is said in the ordinary potage, after it is skimmed; and season this with Salt, Spice, Marjoram and Thyme, as you did the other. An hour before you take it from the fire, put into it a pound of the best Raisins of the Sun well washed; at such a distance of time, that they may be well plumped and tender, but not boiled to mash. When the broth is enough boiled and consumed, and very strong, pour some of it upon sliced dry bread in a deep potage-dish, or upon crusts, and let it stew a while. Then pour on all the rest of the broth, with the barley and Raisins, upon a Capon or Hen, or piece of Mutton or Veal; and let it mittonner awhile upon the Chafing-dish, then serve it in.

STEWED BROTH

Take a like quantity of water and flesh, as in the others, adding two Marrow bones: which tie at the ends with pieces of Linnen, that the Marrow may not melt out, and make the broth too fat. A while after it is skimmed, put into it a loaf of French bread very thin sliced, (which is better than grated) and this will be all dissolved in the broth. Season it in due time with salt, four or five flakes of Mace, and five or six Cloves; as also with sweet herbs: And an hour, or better, before you take it off, put in Raisins of the Sun, Prunes, and Currants, of each one Pound, well picked and washed. When it is boiled enough, pour the broth into a bason, that if it be too fat, you may take it off. There season it with a little Sugar, and four or five spoonfuls of White-wine or Sack. Then pour it upon sliced-bread, and stew it a while. Then squeese an Orange or Limon (or both) upon it, and serve it up with the Marrow-bones in it.

AN ENGLISH POTAGE

Make a good strong broth of Veal and Mutton; then take out the meat, and put in a good Capon or Pullet: but first, if it be very fat, parboil it a little to take away the Oyleness of it, and then put it into the broth; and when it hath boiled a little therein, put in some grated bread, a bundle of sweet herbs, two or three blades of Mace, and a peeled Onion. When it is ready to be dished up take the yolks of six Eggs, beat them very well with two or three spoonfuls of White-wine. Then take the Capon out of the broth, and thicken it up with the Eggs, and so dish it up with the Capon, and tostes of White-bread or slices, which you please; and have ready boiled the Marrow of two or three bones with some tender boiled white Endive, and strew it over the Capon.

ANOTHER POTAGE

A good Potage for dinner is thus made: Boil Beef, Mutton, Veal, Volaille, and a little piece of the Lean of a Gammon of the best Bacon, with some quartered Onions, (and a little Garlick, if you like it) you need no salt, if you have Bacon, but put in a little Pepper and Cloves. If it be in the Winter, put in a Bouquet of Sweet-herbs, or whole Onions, or Roots, or Cabbage. If season of Herbs, boil in a little of the broth apart, some Lettice, Sorrel, Borage, and Bugloss, &c. till they be only well mortified. If you put in any gravy, let it boil or stew a while with the broth; put it in due time upon the tosted-bread to Mittoner, &c. If you boil some half rosted meat with your broth, it will be the better.

PORTUGAL BROTH, AS IT WAS MADE FOR THE QUEEN

Make very good broth with some lean of Veal, Beef and Mutton, and with a brawny Hen or young Cock. After it is scummed, put in an Onion quartered, (and, if you like it, a Clove of Garlick,) a little Parsley, a sprig of Thyme, as much Minth, a little balm; some Coriander-seeds bruised, and a very little Saffron; a little Salt, Pepper and a Clove. When all the substance is boiled out of the meat, and the broth very good, you may drink it so, or, pour a little of it upon tosted sliced-bread, and stew it, till the bread have drunk up all that broth, then add a little more, and stew; so adding by little and little, that the bread may imbibe it and swell: whereas if you drown it at once, the bread will not swell, and grow like gelly: and thus you will have a good potage. You may add Parsley-roots or Leeks, Cabbage or Endive in the due time before the broth is ended boiling, and time enough for them to become tender. In the Summer you may put in Lettice, Sorrel, Purslane, Borage and Bugloss, or what other pot-herbs you like. But green herbs do rob the strength and vigor and Cream of the Potage.

The Queen's ordinary Bouillon de sante in a morning was thus. A Hen, a handful of Parsley, a sprig of Thyme, three of Spear-minth, a little balm, half a great Onion, a little Pepper and Salt, and a Clove, as much water as would cover the Hen; and this boiled to less then a pint, for one good Porrenger full.

NOURISSANT POTAGE DE SANTE

Fill a large earthen pot with water, and make it boil; then take out half the water, and put in Beef and Mutton (fit pieces) and boil and skim: and as soon as it boils, season it with Salt and Pepper. After an hour and half, or two hours, put in a Capon, and four or five Cloves; when it is within a good half hour of being boiled enough, put in such herbs, as you intend, as Sorrel, Lettice, Purslane, Borage and Bugloss, or Green-pease; and in the Winter, Parsley-roots and White-endive, or Navets, &c. so pour the broth upon tosted light bread, and let it stew a while in the dish covered. You should never put in fresh water. And if you should through the consuming of the water by long boiling, it must be boiling hot. The less broth remains, the better is the Potage, were it but a Porrenger full, so that it would be stiff gelly when it is cold. It is good to put into the water, at the first, a whole Onion or two; and if you will, a spoonful of well-beaten orge monde or bottom crust of bread, or some of the bottom of a Venison Pasty.

POTAGE DE SANTE

Make strong broth with a piece of Beef, Mutton and Veal, adding a piece of the sinews of the leg of Beef, seasoning it with two great Onions quartered, some Cloves, and White-pepper. In due time put in a Capon, or take some broth out to boil it in. But before you put in the Capon, take out some of the Broth, in which boil and stew Turneps first prepared thus. Fry them in scalding butter, till they be tender; then take them out with a holed skimmer, and lay them in a holed dish warmed, set in another whole dish. When all the butter is quite drained out, stew them in a Pipkin in the broth, as is said above. When you will make up your potage, put some Ladlefuls of the broth of the great pot (driving away the fat with the ladle) upon slices of scorched bread in a deep dish. Let this mittonner a while. Then lay the Capon upon it, and pour the Turneps and broth of them over all. A Duck in lieu of a Capon will make very good potage. But then it is best, to fry that first, as the Turneps, then boil it.

POTAGE DE SANTE

Make a good and well-seasoned bouillon with lean Beef, Mutton and Veal, in which boil a Capon. Boil with it either Cabbage, or Turneps, or whole Onions. The first two you put into the broth all over the dish; but the Onions you lay all round about the brim, when you serve it in. Whiles the meat is boiling to make the bouillon, you rost a fleshy piece of Beef (without fat) of two or three pound; and when it is half rosted, squeese out all the juyce, and put the flesh into the pot with the rest of the meat to boil, which will both colour and strengthen it. When you find your Bouillon good, pour it into the dish, where your bread lieth sliced (which must be very light and spungy, and dryed first, after it is sliced) and let it mittonner a little. Then pour your gravy of beef upon it, (or of mutton) and lay your Capon upon it, and lay in your roots round about it. It is best to boil by themselves in some of the bouillon in a pot a part, the roots or Onions.

POTAGE DE SANTE

Mounsieur De S. Euremont makes thus his potage de sante and boiled meat for dinner, being very Valetudinary. Put a knuckle of Veal and a Hen into an earthen Pipkin with a Gallon of water (about nine of the Clock forenoon) and boil it gently till you have skimmed it well. When no more scum riseth (which will be in about a quarter of an hour), take out the Hen (which else would be too much boiled,) and continue boiling gently till about half an hour past ten. Then put in the Hen again, and a handful of white Endive uncut at length, which requireth more boiling then tenderer herbs. Near half hour after eleven, put in two good handfuls of tender Sorrel, Borage, Bugloss, Lettice, Purslane (these two come later then the others, therefore are not to be had all the winter) a handful a piece, a little Cersevil, and a little Beet-leaves. When he is in pretty good health, that he may venture upon more savoury hotter things, he puts in a large Onion stuck round with Cloves, and sometimes a little bundle of Thyme and other hot savoury herbs; which let boil a good half hour or better, and take them out, and throw them away, when you put in the tender herbs. About three quarters after eleven, have your slice dried bread ready in a dish, and pour a ladleful of the broth upon it. Let it stew covered upon a Chafing-dish. When that is soaked in, put on more. So continue till it be well mittonee, and the bread grown spungy, and like a gelly. Then fill up the dish with broth, and put the Hen and Veal upon it, and cover them over with herbs, and so serve it in. He keeps of this broth to drink at night, or make a Pan-cotto, as also for next morning. I like to adde to this, a rand of tender brisket Beef, and the Cragg-end of a neck of Mutton. But the Beef must have six hours boiling. So put it on with all the rest at six a Clock. When it is well scummed, take out all the rest. At nine, put in the Veal and Mutton, and thenceforwards, as is said above. But to so much meat, and for so long boiling, you must have at least three Gallons of water. Either way you must boil always but leisurely, and the pot covered as much as is convenient, and season it in due time with a little salt, as also with Pepper, if you like it; and if you be in vigorous health, you may put a greater store of Onions quartered. The beets have no very good taste, peradventure it were best leave them out. In health you may season the potage with a little juyce of Orange. In season green Pease are good, also Cucumbers. In winter, Roots, Cabbage, Poix chiches, Vermicelli at any time. You may use yolks of Eggs beaten with some of the broth and juyce of Oranges or Verjuyce, then poured upon the whole quantity.

TEA WITH EGGS

The Jesuite that came from China, Ann. 1664, told Mr. Waller, That there they use sometimes in this manner. To near a pint of the infusion, take two yolks of new laid-eggs, and beat them very well with as much fine Sugar as is sufficient for this quantity of Liquor; when they are very well incorporated, pour your Tea upon the Eggs and Sugar, and stir them well together. So drink it hot. This is when you come home from attending business abroad, and are very hungry, and yet have not conveniency to eat presently a competent meal. This presently discusseth and satisfieth all rawness and indigence of the stomack, flyeth suddainly over the whole body and into the veins, and strengthneth exceedingly, and preserves one a good while from necessity of eating. Mr. Waller findeth all those effects of it thus with Eggs. In these parts, He saith, we let the hot water remain too long soaking upon the Tea, which makes it extract into it self the earthy parts of the herb. The water is to remain upon it, no longer that whiles you can say the Miserere Psalm very leisurely. Then pour it upon the sugar, or sugar and Eggs. Thus you have only the spiritual parts of the Tea, which is much more active, penetrative and friendly to nature. You may from this regard take a little more of the herb; about one dragm of Tea, will serve for a pint of water; which makes three ordinary draughts.

NOURISHING BROTH

Make a very good gelly-broth of Mutton, Veal, joynt-bones of each, a Hen, and some bones (with a little meat upon them) of rosted Veal or Mutton, breaking the bones that the marrow may boil out. Put to boil with these some barley (first boiled in water, that you throw away) some Harts-horn rasped, and some stoned raisins of the Sun. When the broth is thoroughly well boiled, pour it from the Ingredients, and let it cool and harden into a gelly: then take from it the fat on the top, and the dregs in the bottom. To a porrenger full of this melted, put the yolk of a new-laid egg beaten with the juyce of an Orange (or less if you like it not so sharp) and a little Sugar; and let this stew gently a little while altogether, and so drink it. Some flesh of rosted Veal or Mutton, or Capon, besides the rosted-bones, that have marrow in them, doth much amend the broth.

The Joynts I have mentioned above, are those, which the Butchers cut off, and throw to their dogs, from the ends of shoulders, legs, and other bare long parts, and have the sinews sticking to them.

GOOD NOURISHING POTAGE

Take any bones of rosted or boiled Beef, from which the meat is never so clean eaten and picked; as the Ribs, the Chine-bones, the buckler plate-bone, marrow-bones, or any other, that you would think never so dry and insipid. Break them into such convenient pieces, as may lie in your pipkin or pot; also you may bruise them. Put with them a good piece of the bloody piece of the throat of the Beef, where he is sticked, and store of water to these. Boil and scum them, till the first foul scum is risen and taken away; afterwards scum no more, but let the blood boil into the broth. You may put a quartered Onion or two to them, if you like them. After four or five hours boyling, put in a good knuckle with some of the leg of Veal; and, if you please, a crag-end or two of necks of Mutton. Let these boil very well with the rest. You may put in what herbs you please, in due time, as Lettice, Sorrel, Borage and Bugloss, Spinage and Endive, Purslane, &c. and a bundle of sweet herbs: In winter, Cabbage, or Turneps, or Parsley-roots, or Endive, &c. It will be done in two or three hours after the Veal and Mutton are in. Pour out the broth, and boil it a little by it self over a Chafing-dish, in some deep vessel, to scum off the superfluous fat. Then pour it upon tosted bread (by degrees, if you will, stewing it, to gelly it) to serve it in (after it hath stewed a little,) you must remember to season it with salt, Pepper and Cloves, in the due time. You will do well to quicken it with some Verjuyce, or juyce of Orange; or with some yolks of Eggs and the juyces, if the broth be not over-strong. Green-pease in the season do well with the Potage. You may put in, near the beginning, some bottom of a Peppered Pasty, or of a loaf of bread.

WHEATEN FLOMMERY

In the West-country, they make a kind of Flomery of wheat flower, which 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 MONDE

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 monde 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.