fruit-pastes-msg

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fruit-pastes-msg - 3/28/20

Period fruit pastes. Recipes.

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This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

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Stefan at florilegium.org

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Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:31:23 -0400

From: "Elise Fleming" <alysk at ix.netcom.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Fruit Paste: Was OOP Canning adventures

To: "sca-cooks at ansteorra.org" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Freda asked:

<<< Is fruit paste period? If so do you have a source and recipe? >>>

Yes, it's period. Femke de Roas (hollyvandenberg(at)hotmail.com) sent in a

number of sources in 2006 which I copied to my computer. Sources include

Thirteenth Century Andalusian (in Cariodoc's Collection)

Le Menagier de Paris, 1390

Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks

The Good Huswife’s Jewell, 1597

The English Housewife, 1615

There is also Sir Kenelm Digby, The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Opened, 3rd

edition, 1677, "Sweet-Meats of my Lady Windebanks" which I've made. And

there's TO MAKE A PASTE OF PEACHES, #S112, A Booke of Sweetmeats, Martha

Washington's Booke of Cookery, transcribed by Karen Hess, Columbia

University Press, New York, 1981, ISBN 0-231-04930-7.

Most can be adapted to any type of fruit if you are careful about the

amount of water used.

Here's the Windebanks/Digby recipe which I adapted from a modern source.

The original recipe says:

She maketh a past of Apricocks (which is both very beautiful and clear, and

tasteth most quick of the fruit) thus. Take six pound of pared and sliced

Apricocks, put them in a high pot, which stop close, and set it in a kettle

of boiling water, till you perceive the flesh is all become a uniform pulp;

then put it out into your preserving pan or possenet, and boil it gently

till it be grown thick, stirring it carefully all the while. Then put two

pound of pure Sugar to it, and mingle it well, and let it boil gently, till

you see the matter come to such a thickness and solidity, that it will not

stick to a plate. Then make it up into what form you will. The like you

may do with Raspes or Currants.

Redaction from 'Banquetting Stuffe' edited by C. Anne Wilson, chapter 4,

Rare Conceits and Strange Delightes by Peter Brears. (Edinburgh University

Press, Edinburgh, 1986, ISBN 0 7486 0103 1)

8 oz (225 g) (when prepared) peeled and stoned apricots

3 oz (75 g) sugar (Alys: 1/2 cup; 1 lb. apricots to 1/3 lb. sugar)

Place the apricots in a heatproof jar, seal the top with a piece of cooking

foil, and stand in a covered saucepan of boiling water for an hour. Pour

the apricots into a small saucepan and gently boil, stirring continuously

until the paste is extremely thick, then add the sugar and continue

stirring. When it is so thick that it has to be spread across the bottom

of the pan with a spoon, it may be turned on to a lightly greased plate,

worked into a shallow square block, and allowed to cool. It has a deep

orange colour, and is every bit as good today as Sir Kenelm found it three

centuries ago.

Alys's revision: (1 lb. apricots to 1/3 lb. sugar. Ten apricots (2-2

1/2") are slightly under one pound when peeled and stoned.)

Slice the apricots, place in cooking container (Corningware 1 3/4 quart pan

holds a little over 2 lbs. of apricots). Seal with foil and rubber band

for extra security. Place in large pot, or larger Corningware container.

If you put a lid on the outer container you needn't top it off with boiling

water as quickly. Add boiling water and set on burner at simmer for a good

two hours. The apricots should have fallen into a mush by then.

To peel apricots easily, place them in boiling water for about two minutes

and then remove them. The skins should peel off easily with a knife or

your fingers. If you let them stay in the boiling water too long they

begin to cook and get mushy under the skin. You can also just slice the

apricots without peeling them. After they have cooked for two or more

hours, puree them in a blender. It is best to use a thick pan for cooking

the pureed apricots and sugar. If you simmer them on a low heat you need

not stir them continuously until the mixture begins to thicken and erupt

into "burps." This "cooking down" process can take 4 hours or so depending

on the amount of apricots you use and the temperature of the heat. You

will need to stir the mixture more and more as it gets thicker. The

apricots are done when you can drag your spoon through the mixture and it

leaves a trail. It should also be pulling away from the sides of the pan

at this time.

While this recipe doesn't call for a sugar syrup, you can make one by

taking an amount of sugar, wetting it enough to dissolve the sugar, and

heating it to hard crack stage. Add it to the apricots, stirring as you

add it. Then cook the mixture down over low heat until you can make a

trail with your spoon. Pour into shallow, buttered pans and allow to cool.

You can cut them into squares or into shapes using small cookie or canapé

cutters. Store between waxed paper or parchment paper. With proper

storage they will keep for a year or so.

Alys Katharine

Elise Fleming

alysk at ix.netcom.com

http://home.netcom.com/~alysk/

Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:49:38 -0500

From: Sharon Palmer <ranvaig at columbus.rr.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] apple juice sotelties?

Back on Feb 18, Ranvaig said:

<<< Rumpolt's Ein New Kochbuch in the menus has several long lists of

things that can be made as subtleties from marzipan, sugar (probably

sugar paste), almonds and cinnamon (perhaps cinnamon flavored

marzipan), thickened apple juice, almond cheese (and recipes to make

the almond cheese), or from pastry. >>>

Can you tell us more about this "thickened apple juice"? What did they use this for, was it as the main item in a soltelie? or was it a decorative addition to some other material?

And was it thickened by boiling it down? Or by adding something to it?

Sounds like possibly an interesting solteltie tool...

Stefan

================

The menus for emperors have lists of subtleties.

A pig head, crabs, pears, apples, bread, a plate,

nuts, cucumber, a calves head, calves feet, lamb

feet, a hen, larks, doves, chestnuts, pastries, a

tree with pears on it, are made from "Epffel

Safft". An aspic decorated with a lion made from

"Safft" or juice.

There are a number of recipes for various

"confect" or "larwerge" some mentioning "model"

or molds. But none for molding apple juice.

Confect 23. Hungarian Plum Confect/ be it white

or brown. Take the sour cherries/ and take the

stems from it/ set them in a kettle over the fire

or coals/ and let simmer/ until they give from

themselves enough juice. When they are cold then

strain them through a hair cloth/ put them in a

tinned fishkettle/ and set on coals/ let simmer/

and stir up/ that it doesn't burn. And when it

is half cooked/ then take a little ground

cinnamon and cloves in it/ make well sweet with

sugar/ and let simmer together/ until it becomes

well thickened/ take away/ and let cool/ so you

can lift it/ and keep it a year or two.

Confect 28. Also (a latwerge or preserve) from apples.

Eyngemachten 2. Sour cherry juice. Take

cherries/ that are nicely red/ tear the stems

off/ and wash them clean/ set on (the fire) in a

clean fish kettle/ and let come to a simmer/ like

this it gives a juice from itself/ put them in a

sack/ and press out/ take a clean fish kettle or

a clean pot/ put a little sugar in it/ and let

simmer together/ until becomes thick/ until it

becomes thick/ which you think such to pour in a

mold/ and from the mold to put in a box. If you

however would have it sweet/ then you might take

even more sugar. If you would like to have it

sour/ then take even less sugar/ so it becomes

good and elegant.

Eyngemachten 3. Grate Pears/ and put them in a

sack/ and press them out/ take other pears/ peel

and slice them very small and thin/ put them in

the pear juice/ and let simmer together/ break

apart with a wooden spoon/ and if you will make

it sweet/ then do not let it boil too thick. If

you instead have no sugar in it/ then you let it

boil even thicker. If you however have quince

juice/ then pour in/ so it becomes even better.

Therefore one makes the pear latwerge. You can

also take juice from pears and no sugar/ let

simmer/ until you think to pour in a mold/ and

put into a box/ like this it becomes beautiful

and lovely to see.

Eyngemachten 17. Take quince juice/ and boil it

with clarified sugar/ let it make a fine boil/

and when you think/ that it is nearly cooked/

then take out in a box/ let the juice boil/ until

it becomes thick. Let the heat and moisture go

from it a little/ and pour the juice over the

quince pieces/ that it goes over them/ so it

becomes good and lovely/ is quince and juice

together. You can also preserve whole quinces

with such a juice. And one can pour various

figures (figure shaped molds) from such juice.

Mandelk?? 2. Strain the almonds with isinglass

and cherry sauce through each other/ make well

sweet/ set it on coals/ and stir around/ until it

boils up/ that it does not burn/ when it is cold

then pour in a mold/ that you have spread with

almond oil.

Mandelk?? 6. Strain almonds with isinglass/ make

brown/ or leave white/ when cooked/ and is cold/

and well prepared with sugar/ then pour it in the

mold/ that is nicely made like a crab/ or in

various fish molds/ like this it stands elegant

and beautiful/ it has a color that as you choose

may be white/ black, yellow/ rose or violet

color/ like this it is elegant and charming.

Zugem?? 151. Take grated almonds/ strain them

with isinglas/ cooked with water/ make sweet with

clarified white sugar/ set on coals/ and stir

well until it boils/ pour rosewater on it/ set in

cold water/ stir well until it becomes cold/ pour

it in an earthen (terra cotta??) or wax mold/

that are smeared inside with almond oil/

And when you want to dress it/ then pour a little

almond milk that is nicely cold and sweet/ and

that tastes of rosewater/ into it/ like this it

becomes well tasting and elegant. If you have no

isinglas/ then simmer calves foot in clear water/

so you can strain the almonds with it. If you

instead have no calves foot/ then take pig skin/

that is nicely clean and not fatty/ simmer it

with water/ then you can also use it for the

almond cheese.

Zugem?? 152. Take a mold of John's head/ pressed

from wax/ cook calves feet with water/ and let

run through a hair cloth/ break whole cinnamon

into the broth/ and make it well sweet/ close/

and let simmer again/ let it run through a wool

sack/ like this a beautiful clear color develops

from the cinnamon/ then pour into the model/ when

it is standing/ then overturn/ into a dish/ that

the face stands up/ like this it is beautiful/

elegant and well tasting.

Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:35:50 -0500

From: Elise Fleming <alysk at ix.netcom.com>

To: sca-cooks <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>, SCA Subtleties E-List

<SCA_Subtleties at yahoogroups.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Apple juice sotelties

Greetings! Johnna mentioned items made from pippin/apple paste. I've

posted a photo on Flickr showing the items that we made at one of Ivan

Day's cookery courses. She and I (and the others in our session) got to

take the items we made home with us. Made in 2006, mine is still

wrapped in "cling film" and sits on a shelf. It's darkened with age and

is now hard as a rock, so I don't think I'll ever eat it!

You can see the "knot" at http://tinyurl.com/7tn5p72 and the round,

molded paste at http://tinyurl.com/767rwa9 .

Alys K.

Elise Fleming

alysk at ix.netcom.com

alyskatharine at gmail.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8311418 at N08/sets/