54 A GARDEN OF HERBS 



syrup, and one of the most famous complexion washes was 

 made of cowslips and cucumbers. 



COWSLIP CREAM. Take the Cowslips when they are 

 green and in Blossom, and bruise them in a mortar, and to 

 a good handful or two so done put a quart of Cream and boil 

 it up gently with them. Put in a blade of Mace, season 

 with fine sugar and Orange-Flower water. Strain it and 

 draw it up with the Yolks of two or three Eggs, and clip off 

 the tops of a handful of the Flowers and draw up with it 

 and dish as you please. From The Receipt Book of Joseph 

 Cooper, Cook to Charles I, 1654. 



ANOTHER WAY. Take two ounces of Syrup of Cowslips 

 and boil up in your Cream and season it as before. Thicken 

 it with the Yolks of three or four Eggs, and put in two ounces 

 of candy'd Cowslips when you draw it up. Dish it in 

 Basons and Glasses, and strew over some candy'd cowslips. 

 Ibid. 



To KEEP COWSLIPS FOR SALATES. Take a quart of White 

 Wine Vinegar, and halfe a quarter of a pound of fine beaten 

 Sugar, and mix them together, then take your Cowslips, 

 pull them out of the podds, and cut off the green Knobs at 

 the lower end, put them into the pot or glasse wherein you 

 mind to keep them, and well shaking the Vinegar and Sugar 

 together in the glasse wherein they were before, powre it 

 upon the Cowslips, and so stirring them morning and evening 

 to make them settle for three weeks, keep them for your 

 use. A Book of Fruits and Flowers, 1653. 



To CONSERVE COWSLIPS. Gather your flowers in the 

 midst of the day when all the dew is off, then cut off all the 

 white, leaving none but the yellow blossome so picked and 

 cut, before they wither, weigh out ten ounces, taking to 

 every ten ounces of them, or greater proportion, if you 

 please, eight ounces of the best refined Sugar, in fine powder, 

 put the Sugar into a pan, and candy it, with as little water 

 as you can, then taking it off the fire, put in your Flowers by 



