[Sca-cooks] Jam (was Medieval Questionnaire)

[Daniel Myers]

On Oct 29, 2007, at 5:55 PM, Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote:

>
> On Oct 29, 2007, at 4:18 PM, jenne at fiedlerfamily.net wrote:
>
>> It sounds like a marmalade to me, which is *a preserve* meant to be
>> eaten
>> with a spoon, and for which there are lots of 16th c. recipes.
>
> It was my understanding that marmalades that aren't basically  
> cotignac/
> quidony, IOW, quince pastes, are 18th or 19th century for spoonable
> versions. I think Elinor Fettiplace has some recipes for jam-like
> preserves, but she's not really medieval and she calls them preserves,
> IIRC.

It's hard to tell if this is "preserves" like or more "cotignac" like...

Source [A Book of Cookrye, 1591]: To make Conserve of Orenges. Take  
Orenges and pare them very thin the red of the out sides away and  
quarter them in four, and take away the white of the inside, then  
seeth them in faire water softlye for breaking, ofte change them in  
warm water til they be lost: as the yelownes dooth seeth away, so  
weareth away the bitternes, then take them out of the water and lay  
them in a fair vessell that the water may run away from them, then  
beate them small with a spoone, and put to every pound of Orenges one  
pound of sugar, and half a pound of Rosewater, and boile them  
togither and box them.

The earliest marmalade recipe I've got is late 17th century...

Source [The English Housewife, G. Markham]: Marmalade of Quinces,  
red. To make red Marmalade of Quinces, take a pound of Quinces and  
cut them in half, and take out the cores, and pare them; then take a  
pound of Sugar, and a quart of fair water, and put them all into a  
pan, and let them boyl with a soft fire, and sometimes turn and keep  
them covered with a pewter dish, so that the steam or air may come a  
little out: the longer they are in boyling, the better colour they  
will have: and when they be soft take a Knife, and cut them cross  
upon the top, it will make the syrup go through that they may be all  
of the like colour: then set a little of your syrup to cool, and when  
it beginneth to be thick, then break your Quinces with a slice or  
spoon, so small as you can in the pan, and then strew a little fine  
Sugar in your boxes bottom, and so put it up.


As others have said, without the quantities and cooking times, some  
of the compotes and such could easily be "jam-like".

- Doc


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  Edouard Halidai  (Daniel Myers)
  Pasciunt, mugiunt, confidiunt.
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