The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened — John Shaqi
The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight OpenedDigby, Kenelm
History
The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened
Digby, Kenelm
Cooking -- Early works to 1800; Digby, Kenelm, Sir, 1603-1665; Liquors; Wine and wine making -- Early works to 1800
If you make it work with yeast, you must have great care, to draw it into
bottles soon after it hath done working, as after a fortnight or three
weeks. For that will make it soon grow stale, and it will thence grow sower
and dead before you are aware. But if it work singly of itself, and by help
of the Sun without admixtion of either Leaven or Yeast, it may be kept long
in the Barrel, so it be filled up to the top, and kept very close stopp'd.
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 either 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-marjoram, 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
than Clove-gilly-flowers, be too much boiled: For the Volatil pure Spirit
flies away very quickly. Therefore rather infuse them. Beware of infusing
Gillyflower in any vessel of Metal, (excepting silver:) For all Metals will
spoil and dead their colour. Glased earth is best.
SACK WITH CLOVE-GILLY FLOWERS
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