[Sca-cooks] Jams and Jellies in period

[Daniel Phelps]

Was written:
> 
> >From "A Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye" [circa
> 1557-1558]:

I've translated this line by line as follows:

> ¶. For to make wardens in Conserue.
    For to make pears in a conserve
> Fyrste make the syrope in this wyse,                    
First make a syrup in this wise
> take a quarte of good romney and putte a            
take a quart of good romney and put a
> pynte of claryfyed honey, and a pounde or a        
a pint of clarified honey and a pound or a
> halfe of suger, and myngle all those                      
half pound of sugar, and mingle all those
> together over the fyre, till tyme they                     
togeather over the fire, until they 
> seeth, and then set it to cole. And thys                 
Seeth (boil?) and then set to cool.  And this
> is a good sirope for manye thinges, and                
is a good syrup for many things, and
> wyll be kepte a yere or two. Then take                
will keep a year or two.  Then take
> thy warden and scrape cleane awaye the              
the pears and scrape away their 
> barke, but pare them not, and seeth                      
peel, but leave them whole and seeth (boil?)
> them in good redde wyne so that they                  
them in good red wine so that they  
> be wel soked and tender, that the wyne be           
are well permeated and tender, the wine is
> nere hande soked into them, then take and            
permeated in to the pears, then take and
> strayne them throughe a cloth or through               
strain the pears through a cloth or through
> a strayner into a vessell, then put to them               
a strainer into a vessel, then put over them
> of this syrope aforesayde tyll it be almost              
the syrup previously mentioned until the almost
> fylled, and then caste in the pouders, as                
full and then put in as powders
> fyne canel, synamon, pouder of gynger                 
fine canel, cinnamon, powder of ginger
> and such other, and put it in a boxes and              
and such other, and put it in boxes and 
> kepe it yf thou wylt and make thy                         
keep it if as you will and make the
> syrope as thou wylt worke in                                
syrup as you would to work in
> quantyte, as if thou wylt                                       
in quantity so that if you would
> worke twenty wardens                                        
work 20 pears 
> or more or lesse as                                              
or more or less 
> by experience.                                                     
by experience

I've a few questions:

It does not seem as if the syrup is reduced very much but just brought to a boil?

"good romney"  
I think that this is a wine but is it red or white, sweet or dry? What would be a good modern reasonable substitution?

"fyne canel, synamon, pouder of gynger and such other"
I thought that canel and cinamon were essentially the same spice?  What other spices might be added?  I can think of clove, nutmeg and/or mace and cardamon but I'm not sure if cardamon is period.

Daniel