[Sca-cooks] Jam (was Medieval Questionnaire)
Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius
adamantius1 at verizon.net
Sat Oct 27 19:07:07 PDT 2007
On Oct 27, 2007, at 9:59 PM, ranvaig at columbus.rr.com wrote:
>> I disagree with their equating jam with jelly. They aren't the
>> same. Jam
>> is definitely a later "invention". Or, can anyone show me a "jam"
>> recipe?
>>
> Rumpolt Confect 23. Ungarische Pflaumen Confect / es sei weiß oder
> braun. Nimm die sauren Weichesl / und thu die Stengel darvon / setz
> sie in einem Kessel auf dz Feuwer oder Kolen / und laß auf sieden /
> denn sie geben von sich selbst Saft genug. Wenn sie kalt sein / so
> streich sie durch ein Härin Tuch / thu sie in ein uberzindten
> Fischkessel / und setz auf Kolen / laß sieden / und rürs umb / daß
> nicht anbrennet. Und wenns halb eingesotten ist / so nimm
> gestossenen Zimt und Nelken darunter / machs wohl süß mit Zucker /
> und laß darmit sieden / biß wohl dick / setz hinweg / und laß kalt
> werden / so kanstu es aufheben / so helt sichs ein Jar oder zwei.
>
> Hungarian Plum Preserves/ be it white or brown. Take the sour
> cherries/ and take the stems from it/ set them in a kettle over the
> fire or coals/ and let simmer/ until they give from themselves
> enough juice. When it is cold then strain it through a hair cloth/
> put them in a tinned fishkettle/ and set on coals/ let simmer/ and
> stir up/ that it doesn't burn. And when it is half cooked/ then
> take a little ground cinnamon and cloves in it/ make well sweet with
> sugar/ and let simmer together/ until it well thickened/ take away/
> and let cool/ so you can lift it/ and keep it in a jar or two.
>
> Ok, 1581 for Rumpolt, while period, might not be "medieval".
> Rumpolt has recipes for a number of other fruits confects too. This
> came out very jam-like, although I think it was probably meant to be
> eaten as a spoon-sweet, rather than spread on bread.
Is there any really strong evidence that it's not a sliceable
"lechemete" like the many quince, warden, and other fruit pastes you
see all over France and England throughout period? I note that there's
no mention of sugar proportions, and the use of the clause "so you can
lift it".
I mean, this could be jam, but given that there don't seem to be a lot
of contemporary jam recipes, and there are a lot of more or less
contemporary recipes for fruit pastes, what are the odds?
Adamantius
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