[Sca-cooks] Meringues?

[Elaine Koogler]

I used a similar one from "Fooles and Fricasses" which was published by 
the Folger Shakespeare Library...I'm including a copy of it below, 
alongwith my redaction.  In this one, the almonds work as a binder as 
the flour did in the one Adamantius cited.  I've done this a number of 
times and have always received great comments about them!

p.       19, Mrs Sarah Longe her Receipt Booke [c. 1610] from Fooles and 
Fricassees:  Food in Shakespeare's England (Published by the Folger 
Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC, 1999)

 Take a pound of Almons, blanch them, then beate them in a morter [;] 
then put in a little rosewater to them, that they may not turn to an 
Oyle in their beating; when they are beaten very small take them up and 
put them into a Dish [;] then take half a pound of sugar beaten very 
small and put to them the whites of 4 Eggs, with a little Quantity of 
musk, and Ambergrease [;] then beat it altogether a quarter of an hour, 
then put it upon papers in what fashion you will.  You must be careful 
in the making of it, that it be not coloured to[o] much.

Redaction--Minowara Kiritsubo  (makes about 4 ½ dozen cookies)

2 cups blanched almonds
1/2 teaspoon rose water
1 cup sugar
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

 1.     Grind almonds in a mill or food processor.  Add the rosewater to 
keep them from getting oily.
2.     Add sugar, egg whites and almond extract and blend thoroughly in 
the food processor.
3.     Put teaspoonfuls of the batter onto a greased cookie sheet.
4.     Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.  Be very careful to check the 
bottoms of the
cookies as they tend to get too brown.  The cookies should be VERY 
lightly "coloured" as the recipe above states.

 Notes:

I added almond extract to intensify the almond flavor.  This is a 
slightly perfumed taste and would, I believe, approximate the ambergris 
and/or musk the recipe called for.  I was unable to locate either of 
these ingredients.  Also, I've heard differing opinions on the safety of 
cooking with these ingredients so prefer to stay away from them.

Kiri



Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote:

>
> I think La Chapelle (I'm working off the top of my head here, be 
> warned) is "officially" credited with their invention in the early 
> 18th century (IOW, it's probably culinary fakelore like the "official" 
> inventions of potato chips and Lobster Newburgh), but Elinor 
> Fettiplace has a similar recipe for white bisket bread in the early 
> 17th century.
>
> The primary difference between white bisket bread and meringue is the 
> inclusion of a very small amount of wheat flour (think if it as a 
> stabilizer) to the egg whites and sugar in the bisket bread, which, 
> IIRC, also contains anise seeds.
>
> Adamantius

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Learning is a lifetime journey...growing older merely adds experience to 
knowledge and wisdom to curiosity.
					-- C.E. Lawrence