Honey Preserves.

I cannot resist one more little foray into yesterday’s source - The Feminine Monarchie, Or the Historie of Bees: Shewing Their Admirable Nature, and Properties, Their Generation, and Colonies, Their Government, Loyaltie, Art, Industrie, Enemies, Warres, Magnamimitie, &c. Together with the Right Ordering of Them from Time to Time: and the Sweet Profit Arising Thereof, (1623) by Iohn Haviland.

Instead of bottling fruit with sugar, perhaps honey would give an even more delicious result? (Be sure when bottling to check that the method you are using is in line with modern food safety precautions!)

Preserve Fruits after this manner,

The Damascens, or other Fruit, being gathered fresh from the tree, faire,and in their prime, neither greene or sower, nor ouer-ripe or sweet, with their stalks,but cut short;  weigh them, and take their weight in raw fine Honie: and putting to the Honie the like quantitie of faire water, boile it some halfe quarter of an houre, or till it will yeeld no skum:then hauing slit the amascens in the dented side for feare of breaking, boile them in this liquor with a soft fire, continually skimming and turning them till the meat commeth cleane from the stone, and then take them vp. If the liquor be then too thinne, boile it more: if in the boiling it be too thick,put in more faire water,or Rose-water if you like it. The liquor being of a fit consistence, lay vp and preserue therein your Fruits.

If they be greater Fruits, as Quinces, Pipins, or the like; then shall it bee expedient, when you haue bored them through the middle, or haue otherwise coared them, to put them in as soone as the liquor is first skimmed: and then to let them boile till they be as tender as Quodlings.

I cannot imagine every having enough heavily perfumed red roses to sacrifice to provide an ounce of fresh rose juice, but if I had, I would surely make the following conserve.

Conserves of Roses is thus to be made. Take of the juice of fresh Red Roses one ounce, of fine Honie clarified tenne ounces, boile this together; then it beginneth to boile, adde of the leaves of fresh Red Roses clipt with Scisoors in little pieces four ounces, boile them up to the consumption of the juice, and presently put up the Conserves into some earthen vessell. Keepe it long therein, for in time it waxeth better and better.