[Sca-cooks] vinegar

[Johnna Holloway]

Here are a couple mentions of vinegar and its making.
from
A thousand notable things, of sundry sortes Wherof some are  
wonderfull, some straunge, some pleasant, diuers necessary, a great  
sort profitable and many very precious. ...
Lupton, Thomas. [1579]
The eyght Booke of Notable thinges.

[ 1] _YOu shal make Vi|negar by and by, if you powre pure & good Wine  
halfe sodde, into a newe earthen vessell, then well couered and  
stopte: and so the same Potte set in hotte scalding water.

---
Then in Maison rustique, or The countrey farme¨ Compyled in the French  
tongue by Charles Steuens, and Iohn Liebault, Doctors of Physicke. And  
translated into English by Richard Surflet, .... Now newly reuiewed,  
corrected, and augmented,.... reconciled and made to agree with ours  
here in England: by Geruase Markham. 1616

(Charles Estienne's dates are 1504-ca. 1564 so this French work is  
much earlier than the 1616 English translation.)
CHAP. XIX.

Of the manner of making Vineger. [pages 618-619]

_VIneger commeth through the defect of wine, as wee may vnderstand by  
that which is gone before: the riotousnesse and pleasure of men, hath  
beene the cause that Vineger came euer in request, not onely for  
sauces, but also for many other vses: It shall not therefore be  
thought vnreaso|nable to vse a word or two about making of Vineger.

The most common way to make Vineger is on this sort: They vse to take  
good wine, and therewithall to fill the vessell to the halfe, leauing  
it vnstopt and set in a hot place, as in some corne loft, or in some  
gutter betwixt the tiles.

If you desire to make Vinegar in hast, you must cast into your wine,  
salt, pepper, and soure leuen mingled together: and yet to make it the  
more hastly, you must heat red hot some stone, tile, or gad of steele,  
and put it all hot into the wine, or else the mouth of the vessell  
must stand alwaies open, or else the vessell must be set in the Sunne  
three or foure daies and therewithall a little salt put in the  
vessell: or else fill a new earthen pot that is not halfe baked with  
wine, and stop it well, afterward put it in a kettle full of boiled  
water vpon the fire, and letting it there remaine a long time in the  
boiling water, it will grow soure; or else put into the wine a beete  
root stam|ped, or a radish root, or medlars, ceruises or hornes,  
mulberries, vnripe sloes, or a shiue of barley bread new baked: or  
else you must take of the blossomes of the cer|uise tree in there  
season, and drying them in the Sunne after the manner of rose-leaues,  
either in a glasse vessell, or in one of blacke earth, fill vp the  
same vessell with pure Vinegar or Wine, and so set it forth againe  
into the Sun or in the chimny end to the heate of the fire, and in a  
short time it will become strong and very sharpe Vineger: but if you  
would restore it againe to his former state of wine, then you must  
cast, of colewort roots into it.

CHAP. XX.

Of some obseruations and instructions concerning Vineger.

_TO make strong vineger, take the fruit of the cornell tree, when it  
begin|neth to grow red, and of bramble berries, such as grow in the  
fields, when they are halfe ripe, drie them, make them into powder,  
and with a little strong Vineger, you shall make little prettie  
balles, which you shall drie in the Sunne, afterward you must take  
wine, and heate it, and when it is hot put into it this composition,  
and it will bee turned very speedily into very strong Vineger.

To make Vineger with corrupted wine: take a rotten and corrupt wine  
and boile it,  taking away all the scum that riseth in the boiling  
thereof, thus let it continue vp|on the fire till it be boyled away  
one third part, then put it into a vessell wherein hath bin Vineger,  
putting thereto some cheruile, couer the vessell in such sort, that  
there get no aire into it, and in a short time it will proue good and  
strong Vineger.

To make drie Vineger to carrie whither a man listeth, take of wild  
cherries when they begin to be ripe (and yet the fruit of the cornell  
tree is better) of mulberies when they be red, and vnripe grapes th•t  
are very thicke, and of wild a cornes be|fore they bee ripe, stampt  
all together, then take of the best Vineger you can finde, and mingle  
them all together, make vp the masse into small loaues, setting them  
to drie in the Sunne: and when you would make Vineger, temper some of  
these small  loaues in wine, and you shall haue very good Vineger.  
Otherwise, take the vnripe iuice of corne that is very greene, and  
stampe the same putting Vineger thereto, and thereof make a past,  
wherof you shall make little loaues to be dried in the Sunne, and when  
you would haue Vineger, temper of these loaues in so much wine as you  
shall see sufficient, and you shall haue very good Vineger.

To make rose-vineger, take good white Vineger, and put therein red  
roses, either new or dried, keeping them many daies in the vessell,  
and afterward taking them out, put them in another glasse, and so  
keepe them in a coole place: after the same manner you may make  
Vineger of elder-tree flowers.

To make Vineger without wine, put into a vessell soft and daintie  
peaches, and vpon them pearched barley, letting them putrifie all a  
whole day, then straine them and vse the liquor: or else take old figs  
and burnt barley, together with the inner parts of orenges, put all  
these into a vessell, and stir them vp very well and oft, and whenas  
they are become putrified and resolued, straine them out and vse the  
liquor.

To make sweet Vineger, take fiue pints of strong Vineger, and with as  
much new wine reserued vpon the treading out of the grapes, adde some  
quantitie of pitch, and and put altogether in a vessell which you must  
stop very carefully: and after that all these haue continued together  
for the space of some thirtie daies, you may vse there|of for Vineger:  
otherwise, take a vessell of new wine, and mingle it with two vessels  
of Vineger, and boile them together till the third part be consumed.  
Some doe adde three vessels of spring water vnto two of new wine and  
one of Vineger, boiling them all together vntill the third part be  
consumed.

To make mightie strong Vineger, drie the grosse of grapes two whole  
daies, then put it in new wine, put thereto some of the vnripe iuice  
of corne, and you shall make a strong Vineger, whereof you may haue  
the vse within seuen daies after: or other|wise, put pellitorie of  
Spaine into Vineger and it will make it strong. Furthermore, if you  
boile the fourth or fifth part of Vineger vpon the fire, and put it  
vnto that which is before prescribed, putting it after all this in the  
Sunne some eight daies, you shall haue a pleasant and strong vineger.  
The rootes of couch-grasse when they are old, boiled grapes, the  
leaues of the wild peare tree stamped, the roots of brambles and whay,  
the quicke coales of burned acornes, and boiled ciche pease and hot  
tiles, euen euery one of these by themselues being cast into Vineger  
doe make the same strong.

Pepper vineger is made by casting into vineger or hanging therein  
whole pep|per made vp in a linnen cloth, for the space of eight daies,

You shall know if there be any water in the vineger, if you put into  
it any Salni|trum, for then if it swell vp as though it would boile,  
you may boldly say that there is water in it.

To make vineger good to helpe digestion, and for your health, take  
eight drams of the sea onion, and two pints of vineger, put them  
together into a vessell, and vvith them as much of pepper, mints, and  
iuniper berries, then vse it afterward.

To make vineger of sea onions, you must put ten such onions salted  
into fiftie quartes of sweet new vvine, and foure pints and a halfe of  
strong vineger, and if it be not sharp enough, then twice so much, in  
a pot holding fiftie four quarts, & boile them till the fourth part  
bee consumed: or if the wine bee sweete, it must be boiled to the  
spending of the third part, but such wine may be of his owne  
distilling out of the grapes before they be trodden and very cleere:  
otherwise, put into a vessell thirtie pints of strong vineger, wherein  
let steepe for the space of twelue daies, the inward part of a white  
sea onion which hath beene in the Sunne thirtie daies: after that,  
take the vineger and let it settle and abide in some place where you  
wil to vse it afterward. Dioscorides in his one and twentieth chapter  
of his fourth booke discribeth another manner of it.

It is to obserued and noted that all sorts of vineger are best helped  
to keepe their tartnesse, by putting into their vessels at the bung  
hole a sticke of red withie.

CHAP. XXI.

Of the manner of making of Veriuice. [page 620]

_THe most common manner of making of Veriuice in this countrie, is to  
gather the greene grapes from of the vine frames, or the grapes which  
are not yet ripe, and are left vpon the vines after vintage, and  
hauing gathered them, to tread and presse them afterward, after the  
manner of ripe grapes, putting the liquor or iuice thereof into  
vessells, and salting the same by and by, after that it hath purged  
out all its scum and filth, by boiling as new wine doth. In the  
Northern countries they do also make Veriuice of crabs mingling a lit| 
tle salt therewithall. Some make a drie Veriuice after this manner:  
they take the gree|nest that they can get, pressing the iuice  
thereout, which afterward they boile in a brasen vessell vntill it  
become thicke, and as it were congealed, then they drie it in the  
Sunne, and keepe it for their vse: othersome boile it not at all, but  
drie it in the Sunne, till it come to the thicknesse of honie.

To make your Veriuice looke more greene, and to be better, and to  
preuent that it may not turne and become mouldie or hoarie, you must  
the day after it is turned vp into its vessell, plucke a bunch or two  
of blacke grapes, and cast them into the ves|sell at the bung-hole,  
euen in whole clusters, and then to salt it after that it hath beene  
boiled.

----------
Markham's own instructions from The 1623 English Housewife read:

[page 139]

To make excellent strong Vinegar, you shall brew the strongest Ale  
that may be, and hauing tunned it in a very strong vessell, you shal  
set it either in your garden or some other safe place abroad, where it  
may haue the whole summer daies sunne to shine vpon it, and there let  
it lie till it be extreame sowre, then into a Hogshead of this Vinegar  
put the leaues of foure or fiue hundred Da|maske Roses, and after they  
haue layen for the space of a moneth therein, house the Vinegar and  
draw it as you neede it.

To make drie Vinegar which you may carry in your pocket, you shall  
take the blades of greene corne either Wheat or Rie, and beat it in a  
morter with the strongest Vinegar you can get till it come to a paste;  
then role it in|to little balls, and dry it in the sunne till it be  
very hard, then when you haue any occasion to vse it, cut a little  
peece thereof and dissolue it in wine, and it will make a strong  
Vinegar.

Hope this helps.

Johnnae

On Nov 30, 2010, at 1:13 AM, Stefan li Rous asked about vinegar recipes.