Marmalade and Martha Washington

'Tis the season for marmalade: I have two Florida grapefruits bobbing up and down in boiling water on the stove, and much more to say . . . .this post is mostly of historical interest, but I will be talking about making marmalade, too, in future posts.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Martha Washington had her own orange marmalade recipe which she used at Mount Vernon, the home she shared with George (and more than a few children, grandchildren and servants), in Virginia. Actually, she probably used more than one recipe. Thanks to research historian Mary V. Thompson at Mount Vernon, I can now share some of them with you.

One cookbook that belonged to Mrs. Washington was a manuscript cookbook (as opposed to a published one), which she inherited from the family of her first husband, Daniel Parke Custis. The recipes were probably compiled in the 17th century, and at least some of them date back to the 16th century, indicating that the little book was probably thought of as an heirloom and was not used by her, because the recipes would have been considered old fashioned or out of date. It contains not one but 13 recipes for “marmalet”—most of which were made from quinces, as most marmalade then was made with that ancient fruit. But one shows how “To Make Marmalet of Orringes:

Lay yr orringes in water 9 dayes, yn boyle them whole in 3 or 4 waters till ye bitterness be gon. yn pare them & take onely ye pills & beat them in a mortar, yn take halfe a pound of it & halfe a pound of ye pap of scalded pippins. mix ym together & dry them in a dish over a chafing dish of coles a quarter of an houre, & stir ym well. then take a pownd & halfe of sugar & as much rose water as will wet it, then boyle it in a dish on coles till it is allmoste sugar agayne. then mingle ye orringes, ye pippin pap, & sugar alltogether & dry it in ye dish againe over a chafing dish of coles, till it is stiff enough.

(Karen Hess, ed., Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats, 1996, page 246.)

The recipes Martha most likely used came from The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse—the most popular cookbook in America in the 18th century. Published in England, it contains three recipes for marmalade: one for orange, and the other two for quince. This is the orange marmalade Mrs. Washington most likely used:

Take the best Seville Oranges, cut them in Quarters, grate them to take out the Bitterness, put them in Water, which you must shift twice or thrice a Day for three Days; then boil them, shifting the Water till they are tender, then shred them very small, then pick out the Skins and Seeds from the Meat which you pulled out, and put it to the Peel that is shred; and to a Pound of that Pulp take a Pound of double-refined Sugar. Wet your Sugar with Water, and boil it up to a candy Height, (with a very quick Fire) which you may know by the dropping of it; for it hangs like a Hair; then take off the Fire, put in your Pulp, stir it well together, then set it on the Embers, and stir it till it is thick, but let it not boil. If you would have it cut like Marmalade, add some Jelly of Pippins, and allow Sugar for it.

(Glasse, Hannah. Gale ECCO, Print Edition. 2010 reproduction of 1923 edition. The art of cookery, made plain and easy. To which are added, one hundred and fifty new receipts, a copious index, and, a modern bill of fare . . . .)