SC - query: Elizabethan jams

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Karen wrote:
> 
> One that caught my eye was a collection of "Elizabethan jellies" in
> jars on one shelf.  They had (as I remember) Lemon Curd and Honey,
> Orange Curd, Quince and Rose Petal, and some others that I can't think
> of right now.  On the label, it gives a -very- brief pseudo-history of
> the 16th century, and the item, such as (with quince) the Elizabethans
> thought of the quince as the fruit Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of
> Eden.
> 
> Now my question.  Has anyone tried these?

Not these particular products.

>  Are they truly Elizabethan?

Qunice and Rose Petal preserves certainly existed in the 16th cenury,
although usually as separate entities. AFAIK.

Orange and Lemon Curds are something I have never found recipes for, in
their current forms, prior to the early 20th century. Of course this is
not comething I have researched deeply, but they're conspicuously absent
from Mrs. Beeton's book of household management, while both older and
newer sources (than the Crimean War-era Beeton) have recipes for orange
and lemon cheese curds, made by actually curdling milk with citrus
juice, as for Indian panir, and draining them and sweetening them with
sugar. As with the modern egg/butter/sugar-based lemon curd, they are
used to fill little tarts or eaten like other soft cheeses.
    
> Are these items that would be found on Elizabeth's table?

Quince preserves of some kind, yes, almost certainly. Rose petal jam,
possibly, even likely. Lemon or orange curd, as we know them today,
almost certainly not, unless I'm way off base here.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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