Take large pickled Herrings, take off the Skin; then take the Flesh from the Bones, on each side, all in one piece, crossing them every half-inch. Then lay the Parts next the Head, in the middle of the Plate, spreading their Bodies to the outside, like a Star, garnishing them with the Roots of red Beets sliced, Lemon sliced, and Berberries pickled. This is commonly eaten with Vinegar, and Bread and Butter, but Onion and Pepper is sometimes used.
Marmalade of Peaches. From the same.
Take Peaches, well grown and almost ripe; pare them, and take their Flesh clean from the Stones. Lay them with a little Water into a Stew-Pan, and add three Quarters of their weight of fine Sugar powder'd. Let this stew till the Peaches are tender, and then mash them with a Spoon, letting them boil gently all the while, till the Whole becomes thick, almost like a Paste; then take it out, and cool it in a China Dish, or earthen glazed Pan; and when it is cold, put it into Glasses, and cover them over with white Paper.
White _Peach-_Tarts. From the same.
Make some Coffins of sweet Paste, and when they are gently baked, and cold, fill them with the above-mention'd Marmalade of Peaches, and serve them.
Apricots preserv'd for Tarts. From the same.
Take Apricots of the largest kind, When they begin to turn to Ripeness, pare them and discharge them from the Stones. Cut them in Halves, and stew them with a little Water, and their weight of fine Sugar powder'd. Boil these gently over a clear Charcoal Fire, till the Liquor becomes of the Consistence of a Jelly, and the Apricots are clear. Then when they are cool, put them up in glazed Gallypots, or in Glasses. If you use them for Tarts, put them in Coffins of sweet Paste, and cover them, and put them in the Oven, till they are hot through. Then serve them with double-refined Sugar grated over them. These may be either serv'd hot or cold. The Jelly of this kind, in the Glasses, may be serv'd as a Sweetmeat in a Desert.
Memorandum, If, when these Fruits are ripe, you can have any Apples near ripe, pare them, and slice them free from the Core, and stew them in as much Water as will cover them, and their weight in fine Sugar, till by boiling and stirring, the whole becomes of a Jelly; then in this, when it is clear, stew your Apricots, or Peaches, till they are what you desire. N.B. You may always colour these with Syrup of Mulberries, which gives no additional Taste.
Plums to make _Marmalade _of. From the same.
There are several sorts of Plums, which are fit for this use. And though they differ in colour, that is, some red and some white, yet the Marmalade made of any of them will be white, for the Colour is only in the Skin; and that if it was to be used, could give no Tincture; but in our Case, we do not want it. The Sorts are either the Bonum Magnum, as it is call'd, which is a large, long, red Plum, with a Pulp very tender, but sour, when it is raw from the Tree. Another is a large Plum, rather yellowish than white, when it is ripe, and of the former Shape, like an Egg, which is called by some the Egg-Plum; but more particularly the white Holland Plum, and is so called by the Gardeners. These two have a Flesh and Juice much like one another, and make a fine Shew in a Dish by way of Desert; but are in my Opinion only fit for stewing. However, the Skins will part easily from 'em, when they are ripe, and they both quit the Stone freely. Take these and peel them, and divide them; then put them in a little Water and their weight of fine Sugar, made into a Syrup, over a gentle Fire: put them in when the Liquor is only warm, and when they are cover'd with the Syrup, stew them gently, if you would preserve them in their Shape; and put them, with the Syrup, into Glasses as soon as they are clear, or else mash them into the Syrup, and let them boil till they become like a Paste; keeping all stirring while they are over the Fire, or else they will burn to the Pan. This Marmalade is good to be serv'd in Glasses as a Sweet-meat in a Desert, or to be put into Coffins for Tarts, or to be brought upon the Table in Saucers among the other Sweet-meats in a Desert.