[Sca-cooks] Apricot Paste: Was Cotignac

[Cat Dancer]

On Mon, 9 Oct 2006, Elise Fleming wrote:

> Hi, all.  Lots of chat about making fruit pastes, so here is a recipe that
> worked pretty well.  I found that substituting one fruit for another wasn’t
> exactly a one-to-one ratio.  This recipe worked for apricots but didn’t
> work well for apples.  Maybe I should try “raspes” next time??
>
>
> SWEET-MEATS OF MY LADY WINDEBANKS, Sir Kenelm Digby, The Closet of Sir
> Kenelm Digby Opened, 3rd edition, 1677
>
> She maketh a past of Apricocks (which is both very beautiful and clear, and
> tasteth most quick of the fruit) thus.  Take six pound of pared and sliced
> Apricocks, put them in a high pot, which stop close, and set it in a kettle
> of boiling water, till you perceive the flesh is all become a uniform pulp;
> then put it out into your preserving pan or possenet, and boil it gently
> till it be grown thick, stirring it carefully all the while.  Then put two
> pound of pure Sugar to it, and mingle it well, and let it boil gently, till
> you see the matter come to such a thickness and solidity, that it will not
> stick to a plate.  Then make it up into what form you will.  The like you
> may do with Raspes or Currants.
>

*blinks*

Something to do with all those currants I've been collecting!!

I have lots of red currants that I've been picking then stashing in the 
freezer every year until I have "enough to do something with". They tend 
to be fairly small--the big ones are about 1/4" across, and they're very 
seedy. Could I just start cooking them down in a little bit of water and 
then force them through a sieve to take the seeds out?

Many thanks,

Margaret