A very exquisyte sope, made of diuers thinges.
TAke Aluminis catini thre vnces, quicke lyme one part stronge lye that will beare an egge swimminge be|twene two waters, thre pottels, a pot of commun oyle: mengle all well together, puttinge to it the white of an Egge well beaten, and a dysshefull of the meale or floure of Amylum, and an vnce of Romayne Vitrioll, 55 or redde leade well beaten into poulder, and mixe it continuallye for the space of three houres, then lette it stande, by the space of a daye, and it will bee righte and perfite. Finallye, take it oute, and cutte it in pieces: af|ter sette it to drie twoo daies, in the wynde, but not in the sunne. Occupie alwaies of this sope, when you will washe youre head, for it is verie holsome, and maketh faier heare.
From the same writer comes another mention for a slightly different strength of lye in the The seconde part of the Secretes of Master Alexis of Piemont by hym collected out of diuers excellent authours, and newly translated out of Frenche into Englishe, with a generall table, of all the matters conteined in the saied boke dated 1560.
To make black Sope for clothes, with all the signes and tokens that it giueth and maketh in beiling. [...] and bicause you maie the better knowe the firste, the seconde and the third, take an Egge newe laide, and binde it rounde about with a threede and as the ma|gistrale lie commeth out, put the Egge into it, and whiles the egge remaineth aboue, put it al into a ves|sell, for it is the first whiche you ought to make muche of. And whan the egge sinketh in the lie [suspended], put that se|cond by it selfe: and if you can gette of the first fourty pounde, you shall get of the seconde thirtie, and of the thirde twentie [touching the bottom], and of the fourth asmuch as you will: [pretty much the density of plain water] [...]
The cookbook The second part of the good hus-wiues iewell Where is to be found most apt and readiest wayes to distill many wholsome and sweet waters. In which likewise is shewed the best maner in preseruing of diuers sorts of fruits, & making of sirrops. With diuers conceits in cookerie with the booke of caruing by Thomas Dawson (1597) also mentions using this technique but now to test for a saturated salt solution. A saturated salt solution is similar in density as lye of the strength for soap making, or a sugar solution suitable for wine fermentation.
To keepe lard in season.
CUt your lard in faire peeces, and salt it well with white salte, euery péece with your hand, and lay it in a close vessel then take faire running water, and much white salt in it, to make it brine, the~ boile it vntill it beare an Egge, then put it into your Lard and keepe it close.
The cookbook and brewing manual The Closet of Sir Kenelme Digbie Opened (1669) also mentions using an egg as a density test, in this case to test the amount of sugar in solution.
White Metheglin of my Lady Hungerford: which is exceedingly praised.
Take your Honey, and mix it with fair water, until the Honey be quite dissolved. If it will bear an Egge to be above the liquor, the breadth of a groat, it is strong enough; if not, put more Honey to it, till it be so strong; Then boil it, till it be clearly and well skimmed; Then put in one good handful of Strawberry-leaves, and half a handful of Violet leaves; and half as much Sorrel: a Douzen tops of Rosemary; four or five tops of Baulme-leaves: a handful of Harts-tongue, and a handful of Liver-worth; a little Thyme, and a little Red-sage; Let it boil about an hour; then put it into a Woodden Vessel, where let it stand, till it be quite cold; Then put it into the Barrel; Then take half an Ounce of Cloves, as much Nutmeg; four or five Races of Ginger; bruise it, and put it into a fine bag, with a stone to make it sink, that it may hang below the middle: Then stop it very close.
And also
Mr. Corsellises Antwerp Meath
To make good Meath, good white and thick Marsilian or Provence-honey is best; and of that, to four Holland Pints (the Holland Pint is very little bigger then the English Wine-pint:) of Water, you must put two pound of Honey; The Honey must be stirred in Water, till it be all melted; If it be stirred about in warm water, it will melt so much the sooner.
When all is dissolved, it must be so strong that an Egge may swim in it with the end upwards. And if it be too sweet or too strong, because there is too much Honey; then you must put more water to it; yet so, that, as above, an Hens Egge may swim with the point upwards: And then that newly added water must be likewise well stirred about, so that it may be mingled all alike. If the Eggs sink (which is a token that there is not honey enough) then you must put more Honey to it, and stir about, till it be all dissolved, and the Eggs swim, as abovesaid. This being done, it must be hanged over the fire, and as it beginneth to seeth, the scum, that doth arise upon it, both before and after, must be clean skimed off. When it is first set upon the fire, you must measure it first with a stick, how deep the Kettel is, or how much Liquor there be in it; and then it must boil so long, till one third part of it be boiled away. When it is thus boiled, it must be poured out into a Cooler, or open vessel, before it be tunned in the Barrel; but the Bung-hole must be left open, that it may have vent. A vessel, which hath served for Sack is best.
As by this time the method is in general use, I am sure there are more recipes in Digbie - you can check for yourself through the Gutenberg eBook library.
A more modern mention, in the Encyclopedia Brittanica of the late 18th or early 19th century. It is out of period for medieval use, but as this is the recipe that first put me on track of this technique to European side of the Atlantic (as it is a well known American Colonial soap making technique) I am happy to include it here:
The technique is even mentioned in the chapter Brine Curing in my modern Stocking Up, How to Preserve the Foods You Grow, Naturally (1973): "There are several methods for testing the strength of the brine. The old way was to add salt to water until there was enough salt in the water to float an egg or a potato. The modern method is to use a salimeter, which will measure the strength of the brine very accurately and allow you to make a brine as strong or as weak as you like".
I'll be on the lookout for more medieval mentions. I might have some earlier mentions in a partially translated Italian cosmetics text... Know of any mentions yourself? Please share!
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