[Sca-cooks] Clove gillyflowers, cloves, etc.

[Johnna Holloway]

The flowers seem to have been around since Norman times
in Britain but weren't called gillyflowers. The Medieval Flower Book  
by Celia Fisher says they weren't grown as
garden flowers until late in the 14th century when one friar called  
them garofila.

Looking up Gillyflower and the variants (including just the word  
gilly)  in EEBO-TCP one finds a  mention in Tusser's Fiue hundreth  
points of good husbandry in 1573 where for September he records:
"/ Set gilly flowers all, / that growes on the wall."

  Fynes Moryson Gent. in 1617 mentions seeing "Pease, Artichokes,  
cloued Gilly flowers, and other flowers of the best kinds, sold in the  
Market-place of Saint Marke" in his section on Italy.

   -----

17th century recipe mentions include and there's no doubt that these  
are the flowers--

Markham, Gervase. The English house-vvife. 1631.

To make Conserue of Flow|ers.
To make conserue of Flowers, as Roses, Violets, Gil|ly flowers, and  
such like: you shall take the flowers from the stalkes, and with a  
paire of sheeres cut away the white ends at the roots thereof, and  
then put them into a stone morter or wooden brake, and there crush or  
beate them till they be come to a soft substance: and then to euery  
pound thereof, take a pound of fine refined sugar well searst and  
beate it all  together, till it come to one intire body, and then pot  
it vp, and vse it as occasion shall serue.

Mid-late 17th century

The Queens closet opened incomparable secrets in physick, chyrurgery,  
preserving, and candying &c. which were presented unto the queen.   
1659. Including the medicinal recipes of The Pearle of Practice, I  
counted at least 11 recipes calling for gilly-flowers. Lots of various  
cures call for them. Also --
  To make Gilly-flower Wine.

Take two ounces of dried Gilly-flowers, and put them into a pottle of  
Sack, and beat three ounces of Sugarcandy, or fine Sugar, and grinde  
some Ambergreece, and put it in the bottle and shake it oft, then run  
it through a gelly bag, and give it for a great Cordial after a weeks  
standing or more. You make Lavander Wine as you do this.

To make Paste of flowers of the colour of Marble, tasting of natural  
flowers.
Take every sort of pleasing flowers, as Violets, Cowslips, Gilly- 
flowers, Roses or Marigolds, and beat them in  a Mortar, each flower  
by it self with sugar, till the sugar become the colour of the flower,  
then put a little Gum Dragon steept in water into it, and beat it into  
a perfect paste; and when you have half a dozen colours, every flower  
will take of his nature, then rowl the paste therein, and lay one  
piece upon another, in mingling sort, so rowl your Paste in small  
rowls, as big and as long as your finger, then cut it off the bigness  
of a small nut, overthwart, and so rowl them thin, that you may see a  
knife through them, so dry them before the fire till they be dry.


Digby in his The closet of the eminently learned Sir Kenelme Digbie  
Kt. includes the following:

  "I conceive it will be exceeding good thus: when you have a strong  
Honey-liquor of three parts of water to one of Honey, well-boiled and  
scummed, put into it Lukewarm, or better (as soon as you take it from  
the fire) some Clove-gilly-flowers, first wiped, and all the whites  
clipped off, one good handful or two to every Gallon of Liquor. Let  
these infuse 30 or 40 hours. Then strain it from the flowers, and ei| 
ther work it with yeast, or set it in the Sun to work; when it hath  
almost done working, put into it a bag of like Gilly-flowers (and if  
they are duly dried, I think they are the better) hanging it in at the  
bung. And if you will put into it some spirit of wine, that hath drawn  
a  high Tincture from Clove-gilly flowers (dried, I conceive is best)  
and some other that hath done the like from flowers and tops of  
Rosemary, and some that hath done the like from Cinnamon and Ginger, I  
believe it will be much the nobler, and last the longer.

I conceive, that bitter and strong herbs, as Rosemary, Bayes, Sweet- 
majoram, Thyme, and the like, do conserve Meathe the better and  
longer, being as it were in stead of hops. But neither must they, no  
more then Clove-gilly-flowers be too much boiled: For the Volatil pure  
Spirit flies away very quickly. Therefore rather infuse them. Beware  
of infusing Gilly-flower in any vessel of Metal, (excepting sil|ver:)  
For all Metals will spoil and dead their colour. Glased earth is best."

  page 15 in the Prospect Books reprint
  Digby also includes a long recipe for "Sack with Clove-Gilly  
Flowers" on pages 16-18.


The Accomplish'd lady's delight in preserving, 1675, includes:

165. To Pickle Clove-gilly Flowers for Sallets.
Take the fairest Clove-Gilly-Flowers, clip off the whites from them,  
put them into a wide-mouth'd Glass, and strew a good deal of Sugar  
finely beaten among them, then put as much wine Vinegar to them as  
will throughly wet them, tye them up close, and set them in the Sun,  
and in a little while they will be fit for use.

-----
Hesperides, or, The works both humane & divine of Robert Herrick, Esq.
1648 includes this poem that mentions them:

Upon a Lady that dyed in child-bed, and left a daughter behind her.

AS Gilly flowers do but stay
To blow, and seed, and so away;
So you sweetLady (sweet as May)
The gardens-glory liv'd a while,
To lend the world your scent and smile.
But when your own faire print was set
Once in a Virgin Flosculet,
(Sweet as your selfe, and newly blown)
To give that life, resign'd your own:
But so, as still the mothers power
Lives in the pretty Lady-flower.

And on that note I'll end these selections.

Johnna


On Apr 1, 2010, at 10:59 AM, Christiane wrote:snipped
> Since the Pennsbury recipes were drawn from a lot of Jacobean-era  
> cookbooks like "The Queens Closet Unlock'd," this looks very  
> familiar to me: