A Queens Delight | Page 8

coring Iron, taking out the meat and seeds; then rub them with a dry
cloth till they be clean, add to every pound of Oranges a pound and half
of Sugar, and to a pound of sugar a pint of water; then mingle your,
sugar and water well together in a large skillet or pan; beat the whites
of three Eggs and put that into it, then set it on the fire, and let it boil
till it rises, and strain it through a Napkin; then set it on the fire again,
and let it boil till the syrup be thick, then put in your Oranges, and
make them seethe as fast as you can, now and then putting in a piece of
fine loaf Sugar the bigness of a Walnut, when they have boiled near an
hour, put into them a pint of Apple water; then boil them apace, and
add half a pint of white Wine, this should be put in before the
Apple-water, when your Oranges are very clear, & your Syrup is so
thick that it will gelly, (which you may know by setting some to cool in
a spoon) when they are ready to be taken off from the fire; then put in
the juyce of eight Lemons warm into them, then put them into an
earthen pan, and so let them stand till they be cold, then put every
Orange in a several glass or pot; if you do but six Oranges at a time it is
the better.
To preserve green Plums.
The greatest Wheaten Plum is the best, which will be ripe in the midst
of July, gather them about that time, or later, as they grow in bigness,
but you must not suffer them to turn yellow, for then they never be of
good colour; being gathered, lay them in water for the space of twelve
hours, and when you gather them, wipe them with a clean linnen cloth,
and cut off a little of the stalks of every one, then set two skillets of
water on the fire, and when one is scalding hot put in your Plums, and
take them from the fire, and cover them, and let them rest for the space
of a quarter of an hour; then take them up, and when your other skillet
of water doth boil, put them into it; let them but stay in it a very little
while, and so let the other skillet of water, wherein they were first

boiled, be set to the fire again, and make it to boil, and put in your
Plums as before, and then you shall see them rivet over, and yet your
Plums very whole; then while they be hot, you must with your knife
scrape away the riveting; then take to every pound of Plums a pound
and two ounces of Sugar finely beaten, then set a pan with a little fair
water on the fire, and when it boils, put in your Plums, and let them
settle half a quarter of an hour till you see the colour wax green, then
set them off the fire a quarter of an hour, and take a handful of Sugar
that is weighed, and strow it in the bottom of the pan wherein you will
preserve, and so put in your Plums one by one, drawing the liquor from
them, and cast the rest of your Sugar on them; then set the pan on a
moderate fire, letting them boil continually but very softly, and in three
quarters of an hour they will be ready, as you may perceive by the
greenness of your Plums, and thickness of your syrup, which if they be
boiled enough, will gelly when it is cold; then take up your Plums, and
put them into a Gallipot, but boil your Syrup a little longer, then strain
it into some vessel, and being blood-warm, pour it upon your plums,
but stop not the pot before they be cold. Note also you must preserve
them in such a pan, as they may lye one by another, and turn of
themselves; and when they have been five or six days in the syrup, that
the syrup grow thin, you may boil it again with a little Sugar, but put it
not to your Plums till they be cold. They must have three scaldings, and
one boiling.
To dry Plums.
Take three quarters of a pound of Sugar to a pound of black Pear-plums,
or Damsins, slit the Plums in the crest, lay a lay of Sugar with a lay of
Plums, and let them stand all night; if you stone the Plums, fill up the
place with sugar, then boil them gently till they be very tender, without
breaking the skins, take