The accomplisht cook, or The art and mystery of cookery.: Wherein the whole art is revealed in a more easie and perfect method, then hath been publisht in any language. Expert and ready wayes for the dressing of all sorts of flesh, fowl, and fish; the raising of pastes; the best directions for all manner of kickshaws, and the most poinant sauces; with the tearms of carving and sewing. An exact account of all dishes for the season; with other a la mode curiosities. Together with the lively illustrations of such necessary figures as are referred to practice. / Approved by the fifty years experience and industry of Robert May, in his attendance on several persons of honour.

The best way to Stew a Carp.

DRess the carp and take out the milt, put it in a dish with the carp, and take out the gall, save the blood,

and scotch the carp on the back with your knife; if the carp be eighteen inches, take a quart of claret or white wine, four or five blades of large mace, ten cloves, two good races of ginger slic't, two slic't nutmegs, and a few sweet herbs, as the tops of sweet marjoram, time, savory, and parsley chopped very small, four great onions whole, three or four bay leaves, and some salt; stew them all together in a stew pan or clean scowred kettle with the wine, when the pan boils put in the carp with a quarter of a pound of good sweet butter, boil it on a quick fire of charcoal, and being well stewed down, dish it in a clean large dish, pour on the sauce on it with the spices, lay on slic't lemon and lemon-peel, or barberries, grapes, or gooseberries, and run it over with beaten butter, garnish the dish with dryed manchet grated and searsed, and carved sippets laid round the dish.

In feasts the carp being scaled, garnish the body with stewed oysters, some fryed white batter, some in green made with the juyce of spinage; sometimes in place of sippets use fritters of armes, sometimes horse-raddish, and rub the dish with a clove or two of garlick.

For more variety, in the order abovesaid, sometimes dis∣solve an anchove or two, with some of the broth it was stewed in and the yolks of two eggs dissolved with some verjuyce, wine, or juyce of orange; sometimes adde some capers and hard eggs chopped, as also sweet herbs, &c.