Introduction
This
is a re-creation of a recipe from The Good Huswifes Jewell Part 2 (England,
1597) by Thomas Dawson, entitled ‘To make Iombils, a hundred’.
“Jumbles
were knot shaped biscuits that first appeared in the wonderful book The good
Huswifes Jewell by Thomas Dawson, dating to 1585. But legend places this
biscuit right at the heart of The War of the Roses a century before Dawson’s
recipe…The story goes that Richard III’s chef brought biscuits to the
battlefield. These were even thought to be his speciality and the favourite of
the king. After the battle when survivers were stealing valuables from the dead
as was the custom, a recipe for these biscuits was found – because you should
never go to war without at least one good biscuit recipe! The biscuits were
promptly named Bosworth Jumbles.” (Ysewijn)
"In
16th century England gimmell rings (from the Latin gemellus for twin) were
popular symbols of love and friendship and often exchanged as wedding
rings." ("All Jumbled Up") Then, there is Robert Herrick’s 1648 poem
‘The Jimmall Ring Or True-Love Knot’:
“Thou sent’st to me a true love-knot, but I
Returned a ring of jimmals to imply
Thy love had one knot, mine a triple tie.” (Herrick)
"Jumbles
then are biscuits made in the shape of these rings, and their twisted and
entwined shapes are easily recognizable in many 16th and 17th century
paintings, only recently has their shape changed to a flat or mounded
biscuit." ("All Jumbled Up") A favorite “Italianate banqueting
cake was jumbles, from the Italian gemello, or twin. As made in the banquet’s
first iteration, jumbles were formed by tying ropes of sugary, anise-flecked
dough into elaborate knots, making cakes that resembled pretzels (hence the
name) but tasted much like soft German springerle (which may well derive from
the same Italian source).” (Schmidt) Jumbles were a hybrid of pretzels and
bagels. The first visual example of a pretzel was in the 12th
century in the Hortus Deliciarum.
“Food
historians trace the history of these cookies and cakes to Medieval Arab
cuisine… This sweet culinary tradition was imported by the
Moors to Spain.” (Olver)
Dinner
in the 1590’s was eaten around 12pm. White linen cloths would have been placed
on the tables. For the upper class, a linen napkin was to be placed on the left
shoulder. According to The Compleat Housewife’s menu suggestions,
jumbals were recommended to be eaten at the end of the meal with other sweet
treats. In this book, examples are provided of what to serve during the first
and second courses for each month of the year. Boiled meats and meat pies
frequented the first courses, while other meat dishes (roasted or baked) and
sweet treats appear in the recommended second courses. “Following the two main
courses was a third, consisting of spiced wine, known as hippocras; sweetmeats,
comfits of all kinds, and wafers…This course, eaten standing, was known as the
‘void’, variously taken as meaning that the table had been cleared, or
‘voided’, or that the course was eaten in a smaller room, thus ‘voiding’ the
hall.” (Thomas)
The
Source Recipe
The original text of the recipe from 1597 is as
follows:
Take
twenty Egges and put them into a pot both the yolkes & the white, beat them
wel, then take a pound of beaten suger and put to them, and stirre them wel
together, then put to it a quarter of a peck of flower, and make a hard paste
thereof, and then with Anniseede moulde it well, and make it in little rowles beeing
long, and tye them in knots, and wet the ends in Rosewater, then put them into
a pan of seething water, but euen in one waum, then take them out with a
Skimmer and lay them in a cloth to drie, this being doon lay them in a tart
panne, the bottome beeing oyled, then put them into a temperat Ouen for one
howre, turning them often in the Ouen.
(Dawson,
1597)
Related
Recipes
While
interpreting this recipe, I also considered the following recipes that appear
to be related:
(May)
(Smith)
Materials
The original recipe calls for the following
ingredients:
20
eggs
1
pound sugar
¼
peck of flour
Aniseed
Rosewater
Oil
for the pan
Looking
at other historical recipes for jumbles, the seasoning for jumbles can include
almonds, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, aniseeds, and/or rosewater. Based on
my research, anise seeds appear to have been the most popular of the above
seasonings. Markham, Dawson, Woolley, and Washington’s recipes all called for
aniseeds. Based on a taste test that was done at Kingdom Twelfth Night 2020, using
only 1 teaspoon of anise seed for this recipe was quite subtle and preferred by
those who do not typically like anise. However, using 1 Tbsp of anise resembles
the recipes of other baked goods of from this time period. Anise originated
from Greece and Egypt, but was cultivated in England. It was believed to be a
digestive aid, as well as good for freshening breath. (Sannieb) Anise was one
of many herbs grown in any herb garden across Elizabethan England. In late
summer, the white flowers will start to grow little seeds. These seeds are then
picked and ripened indoors.
“White
bread was so highly valued…English wheat is naturally ‘soft’, that is to say,
it has a low gluten content.” (Sim) Only the wealthy could afford this off-white
flour. “The best flour produced in this period was an ‘off-white’ flour, rather
than the pure white flour produced today by industrial roller milling. The best
‘extraction’ rates that could be achieved is thought to be around 80%.” (“Medieval
Flour & Pastry”) “Medieval wheat was a winter crop, and was bred from
ancestral wheats such as einkorn, emmer, and spelt.” (Piebakere) Einkorn wheat
“is known in taxonomy as either Triticum boeoticum (wild wheat)” and “is the
oldest wheat known to scientists…the first domestication of wild einkorn was
recorded approximately around 7500 BC.”. (“The History of Einkorn”)
Sugar
first became domesticated around 8,000 B.C. in New Guinea. By 1550, there were
over 3,000 sugar mills in the New World. (Dickson) Sugar was made and shipped
in conical molds called sugarloaves. “The highest grade of these sugars were
the fine, white sugars.” (“Elizabeth's sweet tooth”) Scissors were used to cut
the mold. The cut pieces were then grated down with similitude to the sugar we
know today. This is why I chose to use cane sugar for this recipe. The rosewater
was made out of rose petals boiled in water. For the eggs, according to the
University of Reading and Historic Royal Palaces, “twenty eggs in 1596 equates
to 10 medium modern eggs.” (Sannieb)
The
original recipe states to oil the bottom of the tart pan. Butter can be used
for this purpose (Matterer). Medieval butter was salted for preservation.
"A typical modern salted butter contains 1-2 percent salt, whereas
medieval butter contained 5-10 times as much: according to a record of 1305, 1
pound of salt was needed for 10 pounds of butter, i.e., the butter was 10
percent salt." (Wilson) Per May’s 1665 jumble recipe, the recipe states to
wash the salt out. Since the salt most likely would have been washed out in
1597, I chose to use unsalted butter for oiling the pan.
Method
“Cooking
utensils were typically made of clay, iron, copper, or brass…A well-appointed
kitchen would also have a wooden kneading-trough.” (Forgeng) The water would
have most likely been carried in from the local watering source (like a river)
by wooden buckets. The water would have then been boiled in a large copper pot
over a fire. Water boils at 212º F, regardless if over a fire or an electric
stove.
Bread
and other pastries were baked in ovens. Ovens could have been made out of
brick, tile, or clay. “The first written historical record of an oven being
built refers to an oven built in 1490 in Alsace, France. This oven was made
entirely of brick and tile, including the flue.” (Bellis) Cob or cloam ovens
were widely used. Cloam ovens were made of clay and built into the brick near
the hearth of the fireplace. (Mytton-Davies) Cob ovens were typically made of
mud and other binding materials. First, the oven would be heated with a fire
made from burning twigs or brushwood for approximately 2 hours. Then, the fire
is removed, and the oven floor swiftly cleaned. Finally, the baked goods are
placed in the oven and the wooden door is closed. The wooden door could have
been soaked in water to swell it shut or dough placed around the edges to seal
it shut to keep the heat in. Depending on the item being baked will determine
the amount of time the baked goods should stay in the oven. (Pursglove) “Those
who could not afford a proper oven might bake under a crock turned upside down
and covered with coals.” (Forgeng)
One
way to test the temperature of the oven is to “throw a small handful of flour
at the roof of the oven...If it sparks on contact you have reached the very
highest cooking temperature.” (Goodman) This is too hot for many baked goods.
Based on an analysis, this is approximately 400º F (Polka). The optimal
temperature would be where the oven’s door is between “fairly warm and ‘ouch’”
(Goodman). When the oven was freshly hot, the larger items like bread loaves
was baked. As the oven cooled, then the smaller items were baked, like pies. This
temperature could be approximately 325-350º F. Then the oven “will have cooled
to the ideal heat for setting custards and giving biscuits their second
baking”. (Goodman) My husband built me a cloam oven made from brick and clay,
which I used to bake for this project. I also baked some in our electric oven
for a comparison. The temperature was set at 350º F on our electric oven, which
was approximately the same temperature it was inside the clay oven. However,
since the original recipe instructions state to turn the jumbles often in the
oven, I turned the oven down to 325º F after 10 minutes, since the cloam oven
gradually lost its heat every time the wooden door was opened to turn the
jumbils.
Procedure
First,
I did my math conversions, as well as lowering the recipe down to ¼ the
original recipe. “In Great Britain the peck may be used for either liquid or
dry measure and is equal to 8 imperial quarts (2 imperial gallons) …The peck
has been in use since the early 14th century, when it was introduced as a
measure for flour.” (“Peck”) “In other recipes a peck of flour means a volume
measurement of 2 gallons, which would weigh only 8 to 10 pounds, depending on
how settled the flour is in the measure.” (“Peck of Flour”) Per the original
recipe, a quarter of a peck of flour is needed, making it ¼ of 8 pounds which
equals 2 pounds. Two pounds of flour equals 7.25 cups, divided by ¼ equals 1.81
cups or approximately 1 ¾ cups (to make measuring with measuring cups easier).
One pound of sugar equals 2.26 cups, divided by ¼ equals 0.56 cups or
approximately 1/2 cup. According to the University of Reading and Historic
Royal Palaces, “twenty eggs in 1596 equates to 10 medium modern eggs.”
(Sannieb) One quarter of 10 medium modern eggs equals 2.5 eggs. It’s difficult
to cut an egg in half, I chose to decrease this to 2 eggs.
My interpretation of Dawson's recipe:
1 3/4 cup Einkorn wheat flour
1/2 cup cane sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp aniseed (Pimpinella anisum)
1 tsp rosewater for the ends
1 Tbsp butter for oiling the pan
Preheat
the oven to 350º F. Combine the eggs and sugar. Mix in the flour,
saving the aniseed for last. Roll dough into 1-inch diameter balls. Then, roll
and shape the dough like a pretzel on a floured board. Secure the ends with
rosewater. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Poach the knots for about 30
seconds. They will instantly sink to the bottom of the pot. Then, use a utensil
to free them from the bottom and they will float. After another moment, remove
the knots from the water. Then, lay the knots on a towel to dry for about 5
minutes. Butter the baking pan. Once dry, bake the knots for about 20 minutes, turning
them over after every 5 minutes. Turn the oven down to 325º F after the first
10 minutes.
Yield: approximately 25 pretzels
Results
Previously,
I had made variations of May’s 1665 recipe for the Tri-Baronial Twelfth Night
2020 and Kingdom Twelfth Night 2020. I found these 1597 jumbles to taste like a
black licorice flavored soft pretzel. The 1665 recipe (existed during the reign
of Charles II) was more flavorful with butter, sack, and cream added to it, but
less authentic to pre-16th century English culture when compared to
the 1597 Elizabethan recipe.
While
testing out this recipe, I discovered the hard way that the water should be
boiled and not simmered. I learned that this is also how modern soft pretzels
are made. I also played around with shapes, as well as testing out how many
times to rotate the jumbles and how long to bake them for while in the oven.
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