Monday, June 7, 2010

White lemon cream

Do you remember "ENGLISH HOUSEWIFRY EXEMPLIFIED, In above FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY RECEIPTS, Giving DIRECTIONS in most PARTS of COOKERY; And how to prepare various SORTS of SOOPS, CAKES, MADE-DISHES, CREAMS, PASTES, JELLIES, PICKLES, MADE-WINES, &c." by Elizabeth Moxon [1764]? She who gave us Common Cheese Cakes? Yeah, those were not so good.

This is pretty good though!


IMG_2854.jpg picture by seshet27

To make white LEMON CREAM.

Take a jill of spring water and a pound of fine sugar, and set it over a fire till the sugar and water be dissolv'd, then put the juice of four good lemons to your sugar and water, the whites of four eggs well beat, set it on the fire again, and keep it stirring one way till it just simmers and does not boil, strain it thro' a fine cloth, then put it on the fire again, adding to it a spoonful of orange-flower water, stir it till it thickens on a slow fire, then strain into basons or glasses for your use; do not let it boil, if you do it will curdle.


IMG_2856.jpg picture by seshet27
1 jill = 1/4 imperial pint
1 imperial pint = 20 oz.
1 lb. sugar = 2 1/4 cups

IMG_2855.jpg picture by seshet27

Verdict:
This makes enough for four glasses. It would serve 6-8 just fine. This stuff is stroooong. I wasn't sure what "well beat" egg whites meant, so I went for soft peaks. I suspect now she meant to beat just until it was foamy. This is pretty good stuff though! It turns out surprisingly thick, and is sort of like thick lemonade with foam.



Rejected
:
To dress OX LIPS.
Take three or four ox lips, boil them as tender as possible, dress them
clean the day before they are used; then make a rich forc'd-meat* of
chicken or half-roasted rabbits, and stuff the lips with it; they will
naturally turn round; tie them up with pack-thread and put them into
gravy to stew; they must stew while the forc'd-meat be enough. Serve
them up with truffles, morels, mushrooms, cockscombs**, forc'd-meat
balls, and a little lemon to your taste.


*
Forced meat is meat which has been forced through a sieve. Think pureed.
**Don't worry. That is a type of mushroom. I hope that is the kind she means.

cow_800-1.jpg picture by seshet27
I'm a cow!

2 comments:

American Homemaker said...

I love old fashioned recipes! I'm gonna be checking out all of yours :)

Kathleen said...

Egg frothy lemonade? I'll pass. Pass on the ox lips too.