Kenelm Digby

“ Take fair water, and the best honey; beat them well together, but not in a woodden vessel, for wood drinketh up the honey, put it together in a Kettle, and try it with a New-laid-egg, which will swim at top, if it be very strong; but if it bob up and sink again, it will be too weak. Boil it an hour, and put into it a bundle of herbs, what sort you like best; and a little bag of Spice, Nutmegs, Ginger, Cloves, Mace and Cinamon; and skim it well all the while it boileth: when it hath boiled an hour, take it off, and put it into earthen Pans, and so let it stand till next day. ”

“ I conceive, that bitter and strong herbs, as Rosemary, Bayes, Sweet-marjoram, Thyme, and the like, do conserve Meathe the better and longer, being as it were in stead of hops. But neither must they, no more than Clove-gilly-flowers, be too much boiled: For the Volatil pure Spirit flies away very quickly. Therefore rather infuse them. Beware of infusing Gillyflower in any vessel of Metal, (excepting silver:) For all Metals will spoil and dead their colour. Glased earth is best.
SACK WITH CLOVE-GILLY FLOWERS
If you will make a Cordial Liquor of Sack with Clove-gilly-flowers, you must do thus. ”

“ He had an eye for all—though it may have been one of his correspondents who says of the remnants of a dish that it "will make good Water-gruel for the Servants."
The seriousness of the business is tremendous; and to ignore the fine shades in the 106 receipts for mead and metheglin would have been a frivolity unknown in Digby's circle. There is care; there is conscience; there is rivalry. The ingredients are mingled with a nice discrimination between the rights of the palate and the maintenance of health. "Use only Morello cherries (I think) for pleasure, and black ones for health." ”

“ Digby, therefore, having accepted her apologies and extenuations, challenged Sackville to a duel; whereupon the faithless one proved at least magnanimous; refused to fight, gave up the picture, and swore that Venetia was blameless as she was fair. A private marriage followed; and it was only on the birth of his second son John that Sir Kenelm acknowledged it to the world. To read nearly all his Memoirs is to receive the impression that he looked on his wife as a wronged innocent. ”

“ AN EXCELLENT WAY OF MAKING WHITE METHEGLIN
Take of Sweet-bryar berries, of Rosemary, broad Thyme, of each a handful. Boil them in a quantity of fair water for half an hour; then cleanse the water from the herbs, and let it stand 24 hours, until it be thorough cold. Then put your hony into it (hony which floweth from the Combs of it self in a warm place is best) make it so strong of the honey that it bear an egge (if you will have it strong) the breadth of a groat above the Liquor. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ When this hath boiled so long, that you judge the water hath drawn out all the vertue of the Herbs (which may be in half an hour) pour out all into a vatte to cool and settle. Scum away the herbs, and pour the clear from the sediment, and to every four gallons of liquor (luke-warm) put one gallon of honey, and lave it to dissolve the honey, letting it stand two or three days, laving it well thrice every day. Then boil it till it will bear an Egge high, then clarifie it with whites and shells of Eggs, and pour it into a vatte to cool, which it will do in a days space or better. ”

“ Take one Measure of Honey, and three Measures of Water, and let it boil till one measure be boiled away, so that there be left three measures in all; as for Example, take to one Pot of Honey, three Pots of Water, and let it boil so long, till it come to three Pots. During which time you must Skim it very well as soon as any scum riseth; which you are to continue till there rise no scum more. You may, if you please, put to it some spice, to wit, Cloves and Ginger; the quantity of which is to be proportioned according as you will have your Meath, strong or weak. ”

“ When you take it out of the Press, set on the fire two gallons of the same whey; then put your Cheese in a big bowl, break the Curd as small with your hands as you do your Cheese-cakes: when your whey is scalding hot, take off the scum: lay your strainer over the Curd, and put in your whey: take a slice, and stir up your Curd, that it may scald all alike: put in as much whey as will cover it well: if you find that cold, put it out, and put in more to it that is hot. ”

“ It is a cuisine that does not reek of shops and co-operative stores, but of the wood, the garden, the field and meadow. Like Culpeper's pharmacopeia, it is made for the most part of "Such Things only as grow in England, they being most fit for English Bodies." Is it any wonder that the metheglin should be called the "Liquor of Life," which has these among its ingredients: Bugloss, borage, hyssop, organ, sweet-marjoram, rosemary, French cowslip, coltsfoot, thyme, burnet, self-heal, sanicle, betony, blew-button, harts-tongue, meadowsweet, liverwort, bistort, St. ”

“ Immediately as soon as He hath killed it, he seasoneth and baketh it as soon as He can, so that the flesh may never be cold. And this maketh that the fat runneth in among the lean, and is like calvered Salmon, and eats much more mellow and tender. But before the Deer be killed, he ought to be hunted and chafed as much as may be. Then seasoned and put in the oven before it be cold. Be sure to pour out all the gravy, that settleth to the bottom, under the flesh after the baking, before you put the Butter to it, that is to lie very thick upon the meat, to keep it all the year. ”

“ Dissolve the honey very well in the water, then boil it gently, skimming it all the while as the scum riseth, till no more scum riseth. Then pour it out of the Copper into a fit vessel or vessels to cool. Then Tun it up in a strong and sweet cask, and let it stand in some place, where there is some little warmth; (It will do as well without warmth, but be longer growing ripe) This will make it work. At first a course foul matter will work over; to which purpose it must be kept always full with fresh Liquor of the same, as it worketh over. ”

“ Beat the fish very well with a large Woodden-Mallet, so as not to break it, but to loosen all the flakes within. It is the best way to have them beaten with hard heavy Ropes. And though thus beaten, they will keep a long time, if you put them into Pease straw, so thrust in as to keep them from all air, and that they touch not one another, but have straw enough between every fish. When you will make the best dish of them, take only the tails, and tye up half a dozen or eight of them with White-thred. First, they must be laid to soak over night in cold water. ”

“ To the decoction and Syrup, I put three pound of pure Sugar, which being dissolved and scummed, I put in the flesh, and in near an hour of temperate boiling (covered) and often turning the quarters, it was enough. When it was cold, it was store of firm clear red gelly, environing in great quantity the quarters, that were also very tender and well penetrated with the Sugar. I found by this making, that the juyce of Quinces is not so good to make gelly. It maketh it somewhat running like Syrup, and tasteth sweetish, mellowy, syrupy.
The Decoction of the flesh is only good for Syrup. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Those innocent recreations you mention of tabors and pipes, and dancing ladies, and convenient country houses, shady walks and close arbours, make one sigh to be again a spectator of them, and to be again in little England, where time slides more gently away than in any part of the world. ”

“ 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 ”

“ When they are exceeding liquid, clear, and uniformly a thin Liquor, put to them one pound of pure double refined Sugar (if it be not so pure, it must be clarified before) and stew them in your dish or bason over a very gentle fire, stirring them continually, whiles they are over it, so that the whole may become one uniform substance, of the consistence of an Electuary (beware they grow not too hard; for without much caution and attention, that will happen on a sudden) which then you may eat presently, or put into pots to keep. ”

“ 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. ”

“ If you have much supernatant Liquor, you may parboil more Mushrooms next day, and put them to the first. If you have not gathered at once enough for a dressing, you may keep them all night in water to preserve them white, and gather more the next day, to joyn to them.
TO STEW WARDENS OR PEARS
Pare them, put them into a Pipkin, with so much Red or Claret Wine and water, ana, as will near reach to the top of the Pears. Stew or boil gently, till they grow tender, which may be in two hours. After a while, put in some sticks of Cinnamon bruised and a few Cloves. ”

“ The men of to-day seem all of little stature, and less consequence, beside the gigantic creature who made his way with equal address and audacity in courts and councils, laboratories and ladies' bowers. ”

“ Stuff the Call of Veal cut into the bigness of little Hogs-puddings; you must sow them all to one end; and so fill them; then sow up the other end, and when they are boiled, take hold of the thred, and they will all come out. You must boil them in half white Wine and half Water; with one large Mace, a few Currants, a spoonful of the Pudding stuff, the Marrow in whole lumps; all this first boiled up, then put in your Puddings, and when half boiled, put in your Marrow. One hour will boil them. Serve them up with Sippets, and no more Liquor, then will serve them up ”