[Sca-cooks] Almond Butter

[Decker, Terry D.]

These look like an interesting condiment for the bread.

Bear

To make Almond butter
Take almondes and blach them, and beate them in a morter verye small, and in
the beating put in a little water, and when they be beaten, poure in water
into two pots, and put in halfe into one and half into another, and put in
suger, and stirre them still, and let them boyle a good while, then straine
it through a strainer with rose water, and so dish it up.

Thomas Dawson, The Good Huswifes Jewell, 1596


To make Almond butter after the best and newest fashion.
Take a pound of Almondes or more, and blanch them in colde water or in warme
as you may have leyfure, after the blanching let hem lye one houre in cold
water, then stamp them in faire cold water as fine as you can, then put your
Almondes in a cloth, and gather your cloth round up in your handes, and
presse out the juice as much as you can, if you thinke they be not small
enough, beate them again, and so get out milke so long as you can, then set
it over the fire, and when it is ready to seeth, put in a good quantitie of
salte and Rosewater that will turne it, after that si in, let it have one
boyling, and then take it from the fire, and cast it abroad upon a linnen
cloth, and underneath the cloth scrape of the Whay so long as it will runne,
then put the butter together into the middest of the cloth, binding the
cloth together, and let it hang so long as it will drop, then take peeces of
Suger so much as you thinke will make it sweete, and put thereto a little
rosewater, so much as will melte the Suger, and so much fine pouder of
Saffron as you thinke will colour it, then let both your suger and Saffron
steep together in the little quantitye of Rosewater, and with that season up
your butter when you wil make it.

Thomas Dawson, The Good Huswifes Jewell, 1596