[Sca-cooks] Ideas for homemade holiday gifts

Elaine Koogler kiridono at gmail.com
Tue Dec 9 12:12:17 PST 2008


The chutney I gave the recipe for a few minutes ago works very well, and
I've canned it using the boiling water method.  It's not period, but it's
good.  I also made a Cider Sauce that is period:

Para Hacer Salsa de Zumo de Manzanas (Cider Sauce)
Diego Granado, Libro del Arte de Cozina, Madrid, 1599
Translated/Redacted by Robin Carroll-Mann (Brighid ni Chiarain)

1 quart sweet apple cider (non-alcoholic)
1 lb. sugar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup white wine
1 ounce cinnamon sticks
1 whole nutmeg, cut in half
8 whole cloves

1.    Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat
about 45 minutes, until the volume is reduced by half and a candy
thermometer reads 220F (105C).

2.    Strain through cheesecloth.

3.    Pour into a clean glass jar. Refrigerate.

Original:  Take the apples, and without peeling them, grate them and extract
the juice from them, as we said of the quinces; adding a little vinegar, and
white wine, and take the clearest part, and for each pound of juice, put
eight ounces of sugar, and cook it like the juice of the quinces, with the
same spices.

Yield is 2 cups.

This is really easy to make and can be canned using the boiling water
method.

I have a couple of other things, but they are either not really period...or
they take time to age.  I am including my version of Platina's Reddish
Mustard:

2 cups mustard seed
2 cups must
4 tsp. Cinnamon
3/4 cups raisins
3/4 cups dates
1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar   (or, if you have access to verjus, 2 cups of
that)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup bread crumbs

1.    Place mustard in a blender with vinegars and must.  Liquify.

2.    Add cinnamon, raisins and dates and reduce this to a liquid.

3.    Add enough bread crumbs to thicken the mustard so that a wooden spoon
or spatula will almost stand in it.

4.    Let cure in a crock with a cloth cover for several weeks.

Original Recipe:  Grind in a mortar or mill, either separately or all
together, mustard, raisins, dates, bits of bread, and a little cinnamon.
When it is ground,  with verjuice or vinegar and a bit of must, and pass
thorugh a sieve into serving dishes.  This heats less than the one above and
stimulates thirst but does not nourish badly.

This is from Mary Ellen Milham's translation, and it is my redaction.  I
also let mine age for as long as possible...if you're giving it as gifts,
there's probably enough time between when you make it and when your
recipients actually use it.  I make it in a large crock or jar, then, after
it's aged for a few weeks, put it into smaller jars to use as gifts.

I do have a few others that are not period, including Gunthar's Wine
Jelly...I've made that using a wonderful Black Raspberry Merlot from a
winery near us.  If you're interested in any others, let me know.

Kiri

On Tue, Dec 9, 2008 at 2:36 PM, Amy Cooper <amy.s.cooper at gmail.com> wrote:

> Our holiday spending budget is getting slashed pretty harshly because my
> husband is likely to be laid off at the end of next week. I still want to
> make gifts for my friends, though, and I figure food-type gifts are the
> easiest and cheapest. I will probably make some of my spiced honey butter,
> but I've been trying to come up with other ideas. My google-fu has been
> fairly weak on this, especially for simpler recipes (not many of my friends
> who will be gifted are foodies). Ideas? Especially for recipes that are
> period or period-ish?? I should also advise that I do not have a pressure
> canner, and while I am interested in cannable items, the boiling water
> method will have to do for now...
>
> Many thanks,
> Ilsebet
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