To Preserve Cucumbers

Take the best sort of cucumbers, that are not too ripe, and set them in good order in a pail, earthen pan, or some other vessel, in which is put an equal quantity of water and vinegar, with some salt; so as they may be thoroughly steept: they must be well cover’d, and not touch’d for the space of a whole month. Thus when cucumbers are out of season, these may be us’d, after they have been well par’d and soak’d. If you would garnish potages with them, they must be scalded; also when they are us’d for filets, as well on day of abstinence as on flesh-days, they must be cut after the usual manner, and dress’d, as if they were fresh. Indeed they will be of great use through-out the whole Winter, and during the time of Lent. To those that are to be eaten in a sallet, some pepper is usually added, with some handfuls of salt, and they may be stuck with cloves, at least one for every cucumber. They are commonly call’d girkins or pickled cucumbers; and to this purpose, the lesser sort is to be chosen, such as grow in the latter season. They are generally pickled with the stalk or leaves of purslane, and more especially with samphire, which serves instead of sweet herbs for that sort of sallet.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 100.

These cucumbers are Parisian Pickling from Baker Creek Rare Seeds. They are the crunchiest, crispest non-bitter cucumbers I have ever eaten!

Cantaloupe Preserves

SHF's Can You Can? entry.

To preserve cantaloupe . . .

2 pounds firm, ripe cantaloupe
4 cup sugar
juice of 1 lemon

Peel cantaloupe and cut in thin slices [I mashed mine, as I will be using this in calissons later in the year]. Mix sugar and cantaloupe. Stand overnight [I find this causes the cantaloupe to lose too much water and can then make a tough preserve. Just long enough to get the fruit to begin loosing its liquid is enough time--after all, you're looking for enough liquid to dissolve the sugar]. Add lemon juice and cook until clear in a large pot. Pour into hot jars. Cover with a piece of white paper soaked in brandy [can cover with a thin film of wax]. Makes about 2 pints

Sardines in Marinade

Sardines and tomatoes--today an ubiquitous snack to spread on crackers out of a tin--but in the 18thC Century, a delicious treat in countries that bordered the Mediterranean. Tomatoes arrived in France from Italy and Spain, but weren't eaten in the ways we think of until the end of the 18thC century. A sauce with tomato was served to Marie Antoinette, and after the Revolution, it became a mainstay, especially in Provence.

Sardines are a very oily fish and are best grilled and/or marinated--sardines in mustard or tomato sauce are today found on many grocers'shelves the world over. Try this marinade on fresh sardines, either after grilling or by baking the fish in the sauce.

Une autre sorte de marinade pour des poissons peut être faite, après qu'ils aient été faits frire de cette manière ; laissez quelques tranches de citron ou d'orange être mis dans la poêle avec les feuilles de compartiment, le beurre de raffinage, les échalotes, le poivre, le sel, la noix de muscade, et le vinaigre, et laissez cette sauce être versé sur les poissons ; comme des semelles, des congers, des sardines, le thon coupé en tranches rondes et etc.

Le cuisinier royal et bourgeois, Massialot. Paris, 1691

J'ai employé la peau d'orange et ai épluché, ai semé et ai coupé la tomate et ai réduit la sauce résultante d'un demi-. Cette sauce me rappelle la « sauce piquante » - il est très bon.

* * * * *

Another sort of marinade for fish may be made, after they have been fried in this manner; let some slices of lemon or orange be put into the frying pan with bay leaves, refined butter, chibbols[shallots], pepper, salt, nutmeg, and vinegar, and let this sauce be poured upon the fish; such as soles, congers, pilchards [sardines], tunnies cut into round slices & etc.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 153.

I used orange peel and peeled, seeded and chopped tomato and reduced the resulting sauce by one half. This sauce reminds me of 'sauce piquant' - it is very good.

Pâté de Poulets à la Crême - A Chicken Pie with Cream

Pâté de Poulets à la Crême
Vôtre Pâté étant dressé; mettez-y vos poulets par quartiers, assaisonné de sel, poivre, muscade, champignons & morilles, lard pilé and fines herbes: couvrez-le de tranches de veau and de bardes de lard, and le recouvrez d’une abaisse, and le mettez au four; étant cuit, découvrez-le, and ôtez-en les bardes de lard, tranches de veau, and le dégraissez; mettez-y un coulis blanc. Le maniere de faire le coulis blanc est marquée à la letter C. Voyez que le pàté soit d’un bon goût, and le servez chaudement pour Entrée.

Le cuisiner roïal et bourgeois, François Massialot. Paris: Charles de Sercy, 1691.

Translation:
Line your pie dish with pastry; put your quartered chickens in, season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, mushrooms & morels, crushed, fried bacon and sweet herbs: cover it with calf and sections of bacon, and cover it with an uppercrust, and bake it in the oven; after it’s cooked, uncover it, and remove the bacon bards, calf sections, and degrease it; put a white sauce in. The manner of making the white sauce is marked with the letter C. See that your pastry is of a good taste, and serve hot for Entrée


Adaptation:
A Chicken Pie with cream
As soon as the pastry [undercrust] is in your pie dish, put your chickens into it in quarters [I used cubed chicken breast], seasoned with pepper, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and fines herbs [I used celery and onions. I fried the onions and celery in a little butter and olive oil and added the fresh cubed chicken breast and sautéed it until the vegetables were translucent and the chicken was white and mostly done. I then added one cup of milk and 1/3 cup of flour stirred together and cooked it until a white sauce came together. Next I poured the filling in to pastry lined pie dish] and covered it with an uppercrust of the same paste. [Most pies of this type had vent holes in the upper crust with applied circles of pastry, which when baked, make it possible to add liquids {aspic, cream, mushroom juice, etc.}] When it is baked, pour in some cream and let it stand a little while longer in the oven. Lastly, add some mushroom juice and serve it up hot to table.

Comment:
The nutmeg and cinnamon is not a flavor we associate with chicken today; however, it is delicious and would make a very tasty “hot dish” to share at impromptu dinners where one is asked to bring a dish. This is one place to use all of the green veggie leftovers [I think carrot or squash would overpower this dish] or fresh green herbs—green onions, chives, celery, artichokes, etc.

I will make this dish again; my husband was pleased with the complexity of flavors. Enjoy!

Beignets de Fleurs d'Acacia & Baie de Sureau - Flower Fritters

On a quick trip through Ontario to attend Old Fort Niagara's French & Indian Encampment, I found many elderberry plants in full bloom, and I could smell the acacia or locusts, as well. A delicious fritter or beignet can be made from the blossoms; actually any edible flower, including squash and calendula or four o'clocks.

Sift 1 1/4 cups flour with a pinch of salt. Stir in 1 egg yolk (save the white to beat for later addition), 2 tablespoons oil and enough beer to make a light batter. You may flavor this batter with brandy or flower water (orange or rose). Leave to set for several hours.

Pick your flowers in the morning and leave a little bit of stem to dip with. Fold in your stiffly beaten egg white and dip each flower into the batter. Deep-fry until golden. Drain on paper and sprinkle with sugar. Serve with hot tea and lemon.

Vin de Noix - Walnut Wine

I cannot give you an aperitif/digestif wine recipe, nor pictures of its preparation, better than William Rubel's instructions for vin de noix, or green walnut wine. His instructions are the ones I follow, as they are just like my family's recipe

Pictured above is my batch from 2004, sweet, dark, and mellow, like a fine port. The longer it sits in a dark cupboard, the better. Enjoy!

Pickled Green Walnuts

2 - 3 lb young green walnuts
1/4 lb salt
3 1/2 pints water
1 oz black peppercorns
1 teaspoon allspice berries
2 1/2 pints malt or wine vinegar
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 inch stick of cinnamon, crushed


Prick the walnuts all over with a large needle (these nuts are best picked before June 24th--you don't want any developed hard shell within the nut itself). Place the nuts in a ceramic bowl, dissolve half the salt in half the water and pour over the walnuts. Cover and leave for 5 days in a cool place, stirring twice a day to ensure even brining.

Drain the walnuts, mix the remaining salt and water, pour over the brine and leave for another five days, stirring twice a day as before. Drain, spread out in a single layer on a flat dish and leave to dry in the sun until they are black but not dry, turning every few hours.

Crush the peppercorns and allspice berries and simmer the vinegar with the sugar and spices for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and strain. Pack the walnuts into sterilized, wide-mouth jars, filling them no more than three-quarters full, and pour in the spiced vinegar. Cover and leave in a cool place for 6 weeks before using.

These pickles are delicious smashed into a viniagrette or mayonnaise for a salad or sandwich dressing. Try a slice of pickle and a slice of cheese for a canapé.

Spruce Tips - Jelly & Beer & Salad

Pick only soft, light-colored tips--if they are hard, or dark, they will taste of "turpentine."



Spruce Tip Jelly
Pick about 6 cups of spruce tips selecting only the smallest, less open ones in the early spring. Rinse in cold water. Chopping them gives them more flavor than leaving them whole. Cover the tips with water and simmer for 10 minutes. Let stand overnight, strain with cheesecloth.

7 cups prepared spruce tip juice
1 cup lemon juice
2 packages MCP pectin (18thC cooks would have used tart apples or quince jelly)
10 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. butter (optional)
Mix juice with lemon juice and pectin, stir until dissolved. Bring to a full rolling boil for 2 minutes (or jelly test). Add butter to control foaming and pour into jars and seal. Serve on your favorite breads or heat and serve on pancakes. Or just spoon it out of the jar. But don't get caught!

Prince of Wales Island Fair Recipes, 1st issue, 1998
Recipe submitted by Sharon Hillis, Whale Pass, Alaska

Use left over tea for drinking or brew up another batch just for drinking. Add water to dilute and honey to taste.

Spruce beer was the frontier's answer to scurvy prevention.

Benjamin Franklin's Spruce Beer Source: Thomas Manteufel

A Way of Making Beer with Essence of Spruce:

For a Cask containing 80 bottles, take one pot of Essence and 13 Pounds of Molases. -or the same amount of unrefined Loaf Sugar; mix them well together in 20 pints of hot Water: Stir together until they make a Foam, then pour it into the Cask you will then fill with Water: add a Pint of good Yeast, stir it well together and let it stand 2 or 3 Days to ferment, after which close the Cask, and after a few days it will be ready to be put into Bottles, that must be tightly corked. Leave them 10 or 12 Days in a cool Cellar, after which the Beer will be good to drink.

Comments: Translated from the french while he was stationed in France.

The light bluish-green tips make a delightfully citrusy, spritely addition to green salads.

Ginger Ice Cream with Balsamic Caramel Sauce

Ruth at Once Upon a Feast is host for this month's Sugar High Friday--she chose ginger as her focus. Enjoy.

GINGER ICE CREAM from epicurious.com

4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coarsely grated peeled fresh gingerroot
2 tablespoons water
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup crystallized ginger*
*available at some supermarkets and specialty foods shops.

In a large bowl lightly whisk yolks. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook sugar, fresh gingerroot, and water over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add half-and-half and bring to a simmer. Add hot half-and-half mixture to yolks in a slow stream, whisking, and pour into pan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until a thermometer registers 170°F. (Do not let boil.)
Pour custard through a sieve into cleaned bowl and stir in cream and vanilla. Cool custard. Chill custard, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day.
Finely chop crystallized ginger. Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker, adding crystallized ginger three fourths of way through freezing process. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden. Ice cream may be made 1 week ahead.

Makes about 1 quart.
Gourmet
November 1998

* * * * *

Balsamic-Caramel Sauce from Michael Chiarello foodnetwork.com
2 cups heavy cream, divided
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water, plus more for brushing
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon salt

Bring 1 cup cream just to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep the cream warm. In a large high-sided saucepan over medium-high heat, dissolve 1 cup of sugar with 2 tablespoons of water. As the sugar mixture begins to bubble, watch for crystals developing on the inside of the pan just above the liquid. Using a pastry brush dipped in water, brush the inside of the pan right above the crystals so the water drips down and dissolves the crystals back into the liquid. When the sugar begins to brown, occasionally move the pan to swirl the liquid gently and cook it evenly. Continue to cook until the mixture is dark golden brown. The total cooking time will be 8 to 9 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Very carefully add the hot cream to the sugar mixture a few tablespoons at a time. The liquid will bubble up dramatically. Stir the sauce and cook for 1 minute. Add the vinegar, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt, mix well. Pour into a heatproof bowl. You should have about 1 1/4 cups of sauce. The sauce can be made several weeks ahead, covered with plastic, and stored either at room temperature or in the refrigerator. If refrigerated, warm in a microwave oven before using.
Serve on top of ice cream.

Asparagus Disguised as Peas

Kevin, of Seriously Good, has asked for a plethora of recipes, an Asparagus Extravaganza, if you will.

Asperges en petits pois
Ayez des petites asperges; coupez tout le tender comme des petis pois; étant bien lavées vous les faites faire deux ou trios bouillons à l’eau bouillante; égouttez et les passez sur le feu avec un bon morceau de beurre, un bouquet de persil, ciboules, un clou de girofle, un peu de sariette; mettez-y une pincée de farine; mouillez de bouillon, un peu de sucre et du sel; faites cuire et réduire à courte sauce; en finissant mettez-y une liaison de juanes d’oeuf et de crème.

Menon, Les Soupers de la cour (1755), 4:173-74.

Asparagus Disguised as Peas
1 pound slender asparagus, weighed after the tough ends are cut off
3 tablespoons butter
a bouquet of 3 or 4 sprigs of parsley, 2 scallions, trimmed, 1 whole clove, and 3 or 4 sprigs winter savory, all tied with string
2 teaspoons flour
½ cup bouillon
1 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste
2 egg yolks
¼ cup cream

Clean the asparagus and cut it into pea-sized lengths. Bring water to a boil and parboil them in it for or two minutes, then drain. Melt the butter in a saucepan until it bubbles; add the asparagus and the bundle of herbs; sauté until half cooked, and then stir in the flour. Cook and stir for another minute or two, then add the bouillon, the sugar, and some salt. Cook and stir until the liquid has thickened and reduced slightly. Remove the mixture from the fire, also remove the herb bouquet. Beat together the egg yolks and the cream; stir some of the asparagus mixture into it, and then pour the liaison into the saucepan; stir the mixture well together and heat, but do not boil. Serve at once as a separate dish or as a garnish.

1983 Wheaton, Barbara Ketcham. SAVORING THE PAST : The French Kitchen And Table from 1300 to 1789. Touchstone, New York, NY, p. 268.

Asperges Glacé avec Fraises Coulis Balsamique

Pour blog appetit! de ce mois J'offre un goût délicieux et colore la combinaison. Les dirigeants [cuisiniers froids de cuisine] aux 17èmes et 18èmes siècles, faits glace de tout imaginable, y compris l'asperge. Comme le créateur de cette recette trouvé, la glace Cream de Asparagus de goûte comme la pistache, ainsi elle est la couleur verte impaire peut être pardonnée [la recette suit]. L'appareillement de elle avec des coulis de fraise avec un contact de vinaigre balsamique est génie pur.

Ingrédients
Une asperge de groupe
sucre de 1 tasse (pour faire le double sirop de sucre)
l'eau de tasse de 1/2
tasse Amaretto de 1/2
2 oeufs (à la température ambiante)
sucre de tasse de 1/2
(1 pinte) crème 600mL
(pinte de 1/2) lait 200mL
Méthode

NOTA:. Cette crême glacée est complètement expérimentale. Ainsi j'ai enregistré la méthode que j'ai employée et des pensées j'ai eues pendant la fabrication. Si vous avez n'importe quoi à ajouter, satisfaire /msg je.

Dissolvez 1 tasse de sucre dans l'eau et l'apportez à l'ébullition. Enlevez la partie boisée de l'asperge, et du coup de hache dans de petits morceaux. Ajoutez l'asperge. Revenez à l'ébullition et enlevez la chaleur. Puisque l'asperge était d'être puréed, j'à gauche il pour se refroidir vers le bas dans le sirop, pour tremper dans le sirop de sucre.

Faites la crème. Battez les oeufs et le sucre ensemble. Chauffez doucement la crème et le lait. Ajoutez la crème/lait aux oeufs tout en remuant. Filtrez la crème de nouveau dans le pot au-dessus d'une chaleur douce. Remuez jusqu'à la crème enduira le dos d'une cuillère.

Mélangez la liqueur d'asperge et d'amande. Je n'ai pas vidangé l'asperge complètement, tellement il y avait un peu du sirop de sucre dans le mélangeur, mais pas trop. Je sûrement n'ai pas voulu concentrer la saveur d'asperge.

Ajoutez le purée d'asperge à la crème. Bien que j'aie voulu à, je n'ai pas tendu le mélange encore. J'ai pensé qu'une texture douce serait une bonne idée. Mais l'éloge de la crême glacée était son inclusion de fibre.

Battez selon les instructions sur la machine de crême glacée.

Fraises Coulis Balsamique
300 fraises fraîches de g
150 ml d'eau
sucre glace de 100 g
15 ml de jus de citron
25 ml au vinaigre balsamique

Lavez les fraises et placez-les dans un mélangeur ;
ajoutez l'eau, le sucre glace et le jus et le mélange de citron tout ensemble complètement ;
placez les coulis dans une casserole et un cuisinier de sauté pendant quelques minutes ;
laissez frais pendant 5 minutes ;
ajoutez le vinaigre balsamique au goût.

* * * * *

For this month's blog appetit! I offer a delightful taste and color combination. Officers [cold kitchen cooks] in the 17th and 18th centuries, made ices from everything imaginable, including asparagus. As this recipe's creator found, Asparagus Ice Cream does taste a little like pistachio, so it's odd green color can be forgiven [recipe follows]. Pairing it with strawberry coulis with a touch of balsamic vinegar is pure genius.

Ingredients
One bunch asparagus
1 cup sugar (to make double sugar syrup)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Amaretto
2 eggs (at room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar
600mL (1 pint) cream
200mL (1/2 pint) milk
Method

NB. This ice cream is completely experimental. So I have recorded both the method I used and thoughts I had during the making. If you have anything to add, please /msg me.

Dissolve 1 cup of sugar in the water and bring to the boil. Remove the woody part of the asparagus, and chop into small pieces. Add the asparagus. Return to the boil and take off the heat. Because the asparagus was to be puréed, I left it to cool down in the syrup, to steep in the sugar syrup.

Make the custard. Whisk the eggs and sugar together. Gently warm the cream and milk. Add the cream/milk to the eggs while stirring. Strain the custard back into the pot over a gentle heat. Stir until the custard will coat the back of a spoon.

Blend the asparagus and almond liqueur. I didn't drain the asparagus completely, so there was a small amount of the sugar syrup in the blender, but not too much. I surely did not want to concentrate the asparagus flavour.

Add the asparagus purée to the custard. Although I wanted to, I did not strain the mixture again. I thought a smooth texture would be a good idea. But the praise of the ice cream was its inclusion of fibre.

Churn as per the instructions on the ice cream machine.

Strawberry Coulis with Balsamic Vinegar
300 g fresh strawberries
150 ml water
100 g icing sugar
15 ml lemon juice
25 ml balsamic vinegar

Wash the strawberries and place them in a blender;
add the water, icing sugar and lemon juice and blend everything together thoroughly;
place the coulis in a sauté pan and cook for a few minutes;
let cool for 5 minutes;
add balsamic vinegar to taste.

Puff Paste -- Pâte de Feüilletage

Pâte de feüilletage Massialot's Les Confitures (1717), p. 217.

Faites une pâte à l’ordinaire, avec de la farine, de l’eau, du sel, & si vous voulez quelques jaunes d’œufs: quand vôtre pâte est bien petrie & renduë bien maniable; vous l’étendez sur le tour avec vôtre rouleau, en long d’une bonne épaisseur; vous le couvrez ensuite d’autant de bon beurre: & ayant renversé l’un des bouts sur l’autre, que cela renferme tout le beurre en-dedans; vous la détendrez une seconde fois, la replirez, & la détendrez de rechef avec le rouleau, continuant ainsi jusqu’a cing ou six fois: sur trois livres de farine, vous y mettez deux livres & demie de bon beurre frais.

Cette pâte est propre pour d’autres tourtes qu’on auroit à faire hors d’un dessert, où ce n’est point l; ordre de rien servir où il entre du beurre. On en peut aussi faire des feüillantines [ ] & des mazatines[tartlets of mashed potatoes, eggs and butter; filled wth a hash]; qui sont des petites tartes de la largeur de la paûme de la main; que l’on replit aussi de confiture, pour garnir quelque autre tourte plus grande pour l’entremets: & si c’est pour le dessert, on en peur faire avec des abaisses croquantes, comme ci-devant.

Method for preparing puff-pastry
Let some paste be made after the usual manner, with flour, water, salt, and if you please, the yolk of an egg. As soon as it is well kneaded, and made very pliable; roll it out upon the table, of a convenient length and thickness. Then cover it with as much good butter, and having turned one of the ends upon the other, so as all the butter may be enclosed on the inside, roll it again, continuing to do the same thing five or six times. Two pounds and a half of good fresh butter ought to be allowed for every three pounds of flour.

This sort of paste is proper for other tarts/tourtes/pies that are brought to table without a dessert, in which it is not customary to serve up anything that is prepared with butter. However, feuillantines [small individual pies--think turnovers], feuillantins[think Napoleans - sheets of puff pastry] and mazarines [small, pressed or molded tart shells], which are certain small tarts of the breadth of the palm of a man’s hand, may be made ot it, being ususally filled with sweet-meats, to garnish some other pie of a larger size, set among the intermesses; but if these little tarts are designed for the dessert, they may be made of crackling crust [marzipan or pistachio].

Very good on-line instruction in French and in English, with pictures and video for making puff-paste can be found here.

Gene Hunting in Canada--Quebec "founder" population

"In the 17th century, 15,000 French immigrants bravely made their way to eastern Canada. Some headed further west, many returned to France, but a hardy few stayed in Quebec. Starting with a total of just 2,600 people between 1608 and 1760, this group would grow 800-fold over the next 10 or so generations, with little marriage outside the group. The result is the Quebec "founder" population -- a genetically homogenous group of individuals that is ideally suited to the genetic study of disease."

Read more of this fascinating article here.

My thanks to Franco-American News & Events, 4 for drawing my attention to this post.

Leftovers

Sometimes all you have in the kitchen is a piece of this and some of that. Derrick asked me to find a use for that stale bread in the panetiere.

I “freshened” the bread by drying it even further to a golden color before crushing into crumbs. I added a pinch of dried dill weed and some melted butter and patted it into a pie pan for crust.

A piece of flaked, smoked salmon and some eggs, cream, sauteed onions and more dill weed poured into the crust made for a very tasty quiche. Bake in a slow oven until center is set.

Serve cold with sour cream and more dill.

You are a dainty Violet . . .

Title from A Meditation for his Mistress by Robert Herrick, 1591-1674

“These are the two months of the year [March & April] that afford matter for new comfits, that is to say, violets, which are the first flowers of a fragrant smell that the earth brings forth, after it has been delivered from the tyranny of the sharp winter.”

Eau de Violette
Prenez de la violette une quantité suffisante; par exemple, deux bonne poignées pour deux pintes de liqueur, epluchez-les, & les meetez dans de l’eau, avec une demi-livre de sucre; & étant infuse du matin au soir, ou pendant cinq ou six heures, vous coulerez vôtre liqueur à travers quelque linge, ou seulement au tamis, & la mettre glacer.

Violet Water
Take a sufficient quantity of violet; for example, two good handfuls for two quarts of liquor, peel them [strip flowers from stems and leaves], & put them in [two quarts ] of water, with a quarter or half a pound of sugar; & infuse from morning till evening, or during five or six hours; strain your liquor through some [white] linen, or only with the sieve, & to put it to ice [bottle and set back in a cool, dark place].
* * *
Sirop Violet
Prenez une livre de violette épluchée, & la pilez dans un mortier, avec un demi-verre d’eau, afin que cela la puisse un peu humecter: ensuite faites cuire quatre livres de sucre à perlé; & étant à cette caisson, vous le descendrez de dessus le fue, & laisserez rabaisser le bouillon; puis vous y mettrez votre violette, & délayerez bien le tout: vous le passerez ensuite par un linge bien fin, recevant vôtre sirop dans une terrine; & quand il ser froid, vous le mettrez dans des bouteilles.

Pour le marc qui vous restera, prenez deux livres de sucre, que vous serez cuite à perlé; & quand le bouillon sera rabaissé, vous y jetterez vôtre marc, & délayerez bien le tout; puis le mettrez dans un pot, pour vous en server quand vous voudrez faire des pâtes & de la conserve de violette, comme il a été dit ailleurs.

La meilleure violetter pour cela, est celle qui est d’un violet vermeil, & non pale, & d’une odeur tres-suave, il la faut cueillir le matin, qu’il n’ait pas plu, & auparavant que le soleil ait dissipé sa vertu.

Violet Syrup
Take a pound of violet flowers, and crush them in a mortar, with half a glass of water, to moisten them a little, while four pounds of sugar are brought to the pearled quality: then taking the pan off from the fire, as soon as the boiling sinks, throw in your violets and stir all together. Afterwards you are to press the mixture through a fine linen cloth, so the syrup may be collected in an earthenware pan, and put into bottles when cold.

The mass that remains may then be slipped into two pounds of pearled sugar, after its boiling has settled; when well mixed, pour it into a pot. This sugary mixture can be used in the making of pastes and conserve of violets, according to the instructions elsewhere laid down. The best violets for this purpose are of a dark purple color, not pale, and of a very sweet scent. They ought to be gathered in the morning, when no rain has fallen, and before the sun had impaired their virtue.
* * *
Conserve de Violette
Vous prendrez de la violette la plus belle, vous en pe-serrez deux onces que vous pilerez dans un mortier: en la pilant mettez y une petite goute de jus de citron. Vous serrez cuire une livre de sucre a la premiere plume, vous le lasserez un peu refroidir, & remuërez avac une cuiillier trios ou quatre tours, & y mettez la fleur dedans; la remuer encore un tour, & la dresser. Quand vous en aurez verse un moule, si vous voulez déguiser le reste, presses y promtement un peu de jus de citron, le remuer avec la cuilllier, & le verser dans un autre moule.

Conserve of Violets
Take the most beautiful violets, two well-packed ounces which you will then crush in a mortar while adding a few drops of lemon juice. Cook a pound of sugar to the first feather, allow it to cool slightly while stirring three or four turns, & then put the flowers in; stir till crystals begin to form around the edge of the pan. Pour immediately into moulds. If you want to use the remainder [clinging to the pan], add a few drops of lemon juice and stir to dissolve, & to pour it in another mould.
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Pâtes de Violette
Prenez une livre de violette épluchée; pilez la dans un mortier, & mettez-y une goute ou deux de jus de citron en la pilant; mettez la dans un plat, & joignez-y denx ou trios cuillerées de marmalade de pommes: faites cuire du sucre à la plume, & en mettez dans vôtre marmalade le quantitez qu’il en faut, en délayant doucement avec une cuillier: faites la fremir, & la dresses à demi-froide, dans voc mouls, ou sur des ardoises; & les mettre à l’Etuve, & les finir comme les autres: en les retournant, poudrez les legerement de sucre.

Violet Paste
Take a pound of violet flowers; crush in a mortar, while adding several drops of lemon juice; put it in a dish, & add two or three spoonfuls of apple marmalade [or jelly]. Cook one pound of sugar to the feather, & add in your violet and marmalade mixture, stir gently: cook gently and at a low heat, & draw it up [cook until most moisture is gone and the bottom of the pan can be seen when drawing a spoon through the paste]; pour onto a slate or marble or into moulds; & put them in the Drying oven. When dry, turn them in powdered sugar to cover all the paste edges.
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Pastilles de Violette, & autres
Pour leur donner la couleur & l’odeur de violette, vous d’etrempez d’indigo & de l’iris, & vous mêlez cette eau avec vôtre gomme, quand elle est fondue & dans le mortier. Vous y ajoûtez ensuite du sucre fin en poudre; & continuez de tourner & bien démêler le tout, tant que vous a yez une pâte maniable. On en forme ensuite des pastilles rondes, en batons, & lacs-d’amour; & on les finit comme les autres.

Si on en veut faire des rouge, il n’y a qu’a y mettre de la cochenille preparée en pisant le pâte, ou bien une cuillerée de marmalade d’epine-vinette, qui soit d’un beau rouge.

Violet Pastilles
To give them the color & the odor of violet, steep some indigo & orris with your violets, & mix this water with your gum [Arabic]; when it is dissolved add fine powdered sugar; & continue to turn & pound in your mortar until you have a handy paste. Form them as round pastilles, in sticks, & tongues of love; finish them like the others [roll in powdered sugar].

If you want a red color, prepare cochineal by making a paste, or a spoonful of marmalade of berberis, which is of a beautiful red.

From Massialot's Les Confitures (1717), translation (c) 2006, Carolyn Smith-Kizer.