SC - Icelandic Chicken {RECIPE}

[Korrin S DaArdain]

Sorry it's taken me so long to post this -- this is the first time in weeks 
that I'm actually online from my own computer at home.

Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book has a wonderful jam recipe (page 128 for 
those who own the book):

To Preserve Plums or Gooseberries
Take to every pound of plums a pound of sugar, then beat it smal, & put so 
much water to it as  will wet, then boyle till it bee sugar againe, then put 
in the plums, & let them boile very softlie, till they be doone, then when 
they bee cold put them up, if they begin to grow then set them where fireis 
in a cupboard; you may doe respis this way & gooseberries, but you must boyle 
them verie soft , & not put the up till they bee cold, & likewise may 
Cherries bee doone as your gooseberries & respis.

Hilary Spurling has redacted the recipe:

Moisten the sugar with as little water as possible, say a quarter to half a 
pint per pound, put it in a large thick-bottomed pan, and stir it over the 
gentlest possible heat without boiling until it is dissolved. "Boyle till it 
bee sugar againe" means boil the syrup hard until it reaches what cooks of 
the period call "candie height" (240 degrees F, 115 degrees C on a sugar 
thermometer), when it will chrystalize if you beat it.

I (this is Renata again) have made this several times with a variety of fruit 
and it's scary but it works. You end up with a pan full of hot rock candy, 
then just dump your fruit in and let it sit over the lowest possible heat. 
The juice from the fruit re-melts the sugar, and needs an occassional stir 
and/or chipping sugar away from the sides of the pan.

By the time the sugar has totally remelted, the jam is ready to set (test 
this by putting a drop on a cold plate and pushing it -- if it forms a skin 
that wrinkles, it's ready to set) without ever boiling the fruit, which 
improves the flavor. 

The resulting jam is wonderful, and a hot water bath is not necessary, as the 
high sugar content keeps the jam from spoiling. 


Renata

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