[Sca-cooks] To make Jumballs

[johnna holloway]

Jumbals vary widely from source to source and recipe
to recipe. I would suggest that anyone wanting to know
about jumbals and their origins and such changes ought to
take a look at Hess's commentary in Martha Washington's
Booke of Cookery. She provides a number of details as
well as noting that the Booke of Sweetmeates contains
4 differing recipes for them in just that one manuscript.

Just as a bibliographer's note--
Given the interesting problems associated with the
Archimagirus A-G and its history, one might well consider
in this case that source as somewhat less than
straight forward. Are you working with the actual volume
in facsimile or someone else's transcription for instance?

Johnnae llyn Lewis  Johnna Holloway

Anne duBosc wrote:
>From: England, 17th century | SOURCE: Archimagirus Anglo-Gallicus; Or, Excellent & Approved Receipts and Experiments in Cookery, 1658
> To make Jumballs.
> Take a pound of fine flower, a pound and a half of sugar beaten and searsed, six egs, taking away two egs, two or three spoonfuls of rose-water, two spoonfuls of cream. Put your egges, cream, and rose-water together, and put them over the fire, and stirre it till it be something hot, then mingle the flower and sugar, and that together, and make paste of it somewhat stiffe, then put in a pretty quantity of anniseeds being rubbed and fanned clean, and so make them up in Jumballs.
>
> I would disagree strongly with the redactions given below.  The original given above clearly states to mix the dry ingredients, and the liquid ingredients separately, to heat the liquids, then mix into the dry.  It says nothing about beating the egg whites and folding them into the dry ingredients, then adding the cream and rosewater.  This would make a rather noticeable difference in the texture of the finished cookies.  It also does not mention butter, mace, or caraway at all.
> > Mordonna