No Dora's, but:
Cowslip-Wine. To every Gallon of Water put two Pounds of sugar; boil it an Hour, and set it to cool: Then spread a good brown Toast on both sides with Yeast: But before you make use of it, beat some syrup of Citron with it, an Ounce and half of syrup to each Gallon of Liquor: Then put in the Toast whilst hot, to assist its Fermentation, which will cease in two Days; during which time cast in the Cowslip-Flowers (a little bruised, but not much stamp'd) to the Quantity of half a Bushel to ten Gallons (or rather three Pecks) four Limons slic'd, with the Rinds and all. Lastly, one Pottle of White or Rhenish Wine; and then after two Days, tun it up in a sweet Cask. some leave out all the syrup. [
source]
Although I think it needs to be converted to more convenient units, like Fathoms or my favourite non-Si unit:
Bulgarian Airbags.
oooh, a more modern one:
Cowslip Wine
- 2-4 qts cowslip flowers
- 11-1/2 oz can of Welch's 100% white grape frozen concentrate
- 1-3/4 lbs sugar
- 7 pts water
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- 2 tsp acid blend
- 1/4 tsp tannin
- 1 crushed Campden tablet
- Champagne wine yeast
Put water on to boil and concentrate out to thaw. Meanwhile, wash flowers and put in nylon straining bag in primary. When water boils, add sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and slowly pour over bag of flowers. Add acid blend, yeast nutrient and tannin. Cover with sterile cloth and allow to cool. Add concentrate and stir well to mix. Squeeze bag of flowers several times to extract colour and flavor, then remove bag and drip drain, adding drainings back into primary. Add crushed Campden and stir. Recover primary and set aside 24 hours. Add activated yeast and recover. Stir twice daily until s.g. drops below 1.020 (7-10 days), then transfer to secondary and fit airlock. When s/g/ drops to 1.000, rack, top up and refit airlock. After additional 60 days rack again, adding another crushed Campden tablet well dissolved in warm water. Wait 30 days. If clear, rack, stabilize and sweeten if desired. Wait 10 days and bottle. If not clear, fine with gelatin, allow to clear and rack, stabilize and sweeten if desired. Wait 10 days and bottle. Can drink immediately, but improves with 6 months bottle aging. [Author's own recipe] [
source]
So it's more cowslip (the flower, not the verb) flavoured wine-based drink.
That book has a recipe for "British Champagne" - To every five pounds of rhubarb, when sliced and bruised, put one gallon of cold spring water. Let it stand three days, stir ring two or three times every day; then press and strain it through a sieve, and to every gallon of liquor, put three and one-half pounds of loaf sugar. Stir it well, and when melted, barrel it. When it has done working, bung it up close, first suspending a muslin bag with isinglass from the bung into the barrel. To eight gallons of liquor, put two ounces of isinglass. In six months bottle it and wire the bottles; let them stand up for the first month, then lay four or five down lengthways for a week, and if none burst, all may be laid down. Should a large quantity be made, it must remain longer in cask. It may be coloured pink by putting in a quart of raspberry juice. It will keep for many years.
My garden doesn't produce much, but it does have 17 bulgarian airbags worth of rhubarb.
