Cowslip Wine

Ingredients

• a gallon of Watter
• four p^* of Shug’r
• two quarts of Cowslipts
• two Lemmons sliced
• 3 or 4 cloves
• 3 or 4 Lumps of Shug’r
• 3 or 4 Bits of Lemon pill

Method

1. 1

   Boil water, sugar, and cowslips together for 45 minutes, skimming as necessary.

2. 2

   Once cooled, add a spoonful of barn and sliced lemons.

3. 3

   Let it work for a week, stirring daily, then bottle with cloves and sugar in each bottle.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Hilda's diary of a Cape housekeeper (1902) by Hildagonda J. Duckitt, page 27. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

COWSLIP WINE IN 1750 salt on each layer of peaches as you put them in a bowl, where you leave them for a day or two. Then drain the sliced peaches and put them on a clean cloth to dry for a day or two — not more — in the sun. (Perhaps an oven would do if there were no sun ?) Next take 4 or 5 onions, cut them in slices, and fry a light-brown colour in olive oil ; lastly, take 2 bottles of good vinegar and put into an enamelled saucepan with i dozen red chillies, a tablespoon- ful of cracked ginger, a few cloves of garlic, a large table- spoonful of turmeric, to give it a good yellow colour, and you may add 25 small onions if wished. Boil these in- gredients, stirring well. Pour the boiling vinegar, in which all the ingredients are, on the peaches, and let them boil up, put in a large jar and stir well. The next day bottle for use. Cowslip Wine. — Does not “Cowslip Wine” remind one of old-fashioned days, and sweet, homely recipes ? And those who have seen the fields full of cowslips in England in the spring, and the children making the lovely sweet- scented yellow “ cowslip balls,” will be specially interested in a quaint old recipe belonging to Miss Elliott, Holyhead, which is marked, “ March y" 29th, 1750.” It is called “ A Receipt to Make Cowslipt Wine, by Miss Wooliston,” and I have carefully copied the peculiar phonetical spell- ing, and the many abbreviations, in which it is written. “ Cowslipt,” you see, and that name, I think, is more likely to be the original meaning, for I suppose the cattle did not eat them ? “ Take a gallon of Watter, four p^* of Shug’r, two quarts of Cowslipts. Cut y*" tops of (off), only for your use be sure you don’t slip ’em. Dry ’em well in the sun to Boyll ’em all together for three quarter of an hour, sciming 60 CUCUMBER PICKLE Feb, (skimming) ’em weil the whille, then take ’em of (off) the fire, w" quite couio (when quite cold), put a spoonfull of Barne to it with two Lemmons sliced Rine and all. Let It work for a week stirring it well once a day, then Bkrell It up close for a month, to Bottle it off putting in 3 or 4 cioves and 3 or 4 Lumps of Shug’r in each Bottle w* 3 or 4 Bits of Lemon pill

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.