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The closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight opened

1910

Page 52 · 3 recipe records on this page

Presented as published in 1910. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Must ; after which boiling take out your Mustard- seeds,and put your vessel well stopped intoa Cellar. If you will have it the taste of wine, put to thirty measures of Hydromel, one measure of the juyce of hopsA Most Excellent Metheglin, and it will begin to boil without any heat. Then fill up your vessel, and presently after this ebullition you will have a very strong Metheglin. TO MAKE WHITE METHEGLIN OF THE COUNTESS OF DORSET Take Rosemary, Thyme, Sweet-bryar,Peny-royal, Bays, Water-cresses, Agrimony, Marshmallow leaves, Liver-wort, Maiden-hair, Betony, Eye- bright, Scabious, the bark of the Ash-tree, Eringo- roots, Green-wild-Angelica, Ribwort, Sanicle, Ro- man-worm-wood, Tamarisk, Mother-thyme,Sassa- firas, Philipendula, of each of these herbs a like pro- portion ; or of as many of them as you please to put in. But you must put in all but four handfuls of herbs, which you must steep one night, andoneday, in alittlebowlofwater,beingclosecovered; thenext day take another quantity of fresh 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, until they look green ; and so let it boil three or four times in several waters, as long as the Liquor looketh any thing green. Then let it stand with these herbs in it a day and night. Re- member the last water you boil it in to this propor- tion of herbs, must be twelve gallons of water, 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, andput as muchof thefinest THS CLOSET OPEO^ED 6^ and best honey into the Liquor, as will make it bear an Egg. You must work and labour the honey and liquor together one whole day, until the honey be consumed. Then let it stand a whole night, and then let it be well laboured again, and let it stand again a clearing, and so boil it again a quarter of an hour, with the whites of six New-laid-eggs with the shells, the yolks being taken out ; so scum it very clean, and let it stand a day a cooling. Then put it into a barrel, and take Cloves, Mace, Cinamon, and Nutmegs, as much as will please your taste, and beat them altogether ; put them into a linnen bag, and hang it with a thread in the barrel. Take heed you put not too much spice in ; a little will serve. Take the whites of two or three New-laid-eggs, a spoonful of barmWhite Metheglin of the Countess of Dorset, and a spoonful of Wheat-flower, and beat them altogether, and put it into your Liquor into the barrel, and let it work, before you stop it. Then afterwards stop it well, and close it well with clay and Salt tempered together, and let it be set in a close place ; and when it hath been settled some six weeks, draw it into bottles, and stop it very close, and drink it not a month after : but it will keep well half a year, and more. ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE WHITE METHEGLIN Take ten Gallons of water ; then take six handfuls of Sweet-bryar ; as much of Sweet-marjoram ; and as much of Muscovy. Three handfuls of the best Broad-thyme. Boil these together half an hour ; then strain them. Then take two Gallons of Eng- lish-honey, and dissolve it in this hot Liquor, and 64 SIR KENELMS DIGBIS Another Way to Make White Metheglin