[Sca-cooks] Re: rice with currants, was Lemonwhyt?

[Cindy M. Renfrow]

Never say never.

Robert May's "The Accomplisht Cook" (Prospect Books facsimile ed., 2000, p.
268-9.)

"A made Dish of Rice in Puff Paste.
   Boil your rice in fair water very tender, scum it, and being boil'd put
it in a dish, then put to it butter, sugar, nutmeg, salt, rose-water, and
the yolks of six or eight eggs, put it in a dish, of puff paste, close it
up and bake it, being baked, ice it, and caste on red and white biskets,
and scraping sugar.
   Sometimes for a change you may add boil'd currans and beaten cinamon,
and leave out nutmeg.

Otherways of Almond-Paste, and boiled Rice.
   Mix all together with some cream, rose-water, sugar, cinamon, yolks of
eggs, salt, some boil'd currans, and butter; close it up and bake it in
puff-paste, ice it, and cast on red and white biskets and scrape on sugar

Otherways a Made Dish of Rice and Paste.
  Wash the rice clean, and boil it in cream till it be somewhat thick, then
put it out into a dish, and put to it some sugar, butter, six or eight
yolks of eggs, beaten cinamon, slic't dates, currans, rose-water, and salt,
mix all together, and bake it in puff paste or short paste, being baked ice
it, and cast biskets on it."

Another rice tart with currants is found in Markham.

Pages 182-3:

"To make Rice Puddings in guts.
  Boil half a pound of rice with three pints of milk, and a little beeaten
mace, boil it until the rice be dry, but never stir it, if you do, you must
stir it continually, or else it will burn, pour your rice into a cullender
or strainer, that the moisture may run clean from it, then put to it six
eggs, (put away the whites of three) half a pound of sugar, a quarter of a
pint of rose-water, a pound of currans, and a pound of beef-suet shred
small; season it with nutmeg, cinamon, and salt, then dry the small guts of
a hog, sheep, or beefer, and being, finely cleansed for the purpose, steep
and fill them, cut the guts a foot long, and fill them three quarters full,
tie both ends together, and put them in boiling water, a quarter of an hour
will boil them.

...

Otherways [to make rice puddings in guts]
 Steep it [rice] in fair water all night, then boil it in new milk, and
drain out the milk through a cullender, then mince a good quantity of
beef-suet not too small, and put it into the rice in some bowl or tray,
with currans being first boil'd, yolks of eggs, nutmeg, cinamon, sugar, and
barberries, mingle all together; then wash the second guts, fill them and
boil them."

Another rice pudding sausage with currants is found in Markham.

I'm going to play in the kitchen now.

Cindy