SC - Rose Soda redaction questions

[Stefan li Rous]

Thank you Crystal for the beverage recipes you gave. I have a few
questions on the rose soda recipe. Although I think they are somewhat
general to redacting drink recipes.

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#2 Rose Soda
Adapted from _The 'Libre de Diversis Medicinis' in the Thornton
Manuscript (MS. Lincoln Cathedral, A.5.2)_. Edited by Margaret Sinclair
Ogden. Published for the Early English Text Society by Humphrey Milford,
Oxford University Press. Amen House, E.C. 4. England. 1938. Text circa
early 1400 CE. Page 60

<Begin Quote>Rose Syrup
Tak an vnce or twa of roses & sethe tham in water to the ij partis be
sothen in. Than clene it thurgh clathe & do suger ther-to & sethe it to
it be thikk as hony & vse as thu dose the tother. <End Quote>

My interpretation:
Take an ounce or two of roses and seethe them in twice as much water
until they are soft. The strain them through cloth and add sugar. Reduce
it until it is the thickness of honey. The use it as you do the other
(the honey?).
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What is *seething*? Is it just boiling? This appears to say if you have four 
ounces of rose petals you want only eight ounces of water. Why? although the 
next question may answer this. Are we supposed to strain out the rose petals?
Or break them up into a mush by pushing them through the cloth? If we
aren’t throwing out the water then since we are to continue boiling the
liquid down, I can see where you would not want too much water. Perhaps
a better interpretation might be *Then strain the liquid through cloth and
add sugar.*?

Stefan li Rous
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