JUMBALLS

Jumballs were early versions of sugar cookies that became popular from the 17th century onwards. They were made with flour, eggs, sugar, perhaps a little milk, and the strangest combination of flavors. The oldest recipes used caraway seeds -as well as rosewater for binding.

The cookies were also recorded as jumbles, jumbolds and, in The Queen-like Closet or Rich Cabinet by Hannah Woolley, as 'diet bread'. Whether the daily intake of saturated fat mattered in 1672, which is the date of the book's publication, I cannot say. Perhaps the name indicated that jumbles stayed fresh longer than butter-rich cookies. Anyway, The Queen-like Closet was not just a collection of recipes. Much of the book was dedicated to homemade remedies because the Woolley sisters were educated in medicine. Concoctions for every possible illness were featured among recipes for preserving, cooking, and baking the edible stuff. The book was particularly addressed to gentlewomen, who maybe also read it for pleasure and this explains to some degree why the recipes are jumbled and not grouped by ingredient, method or purpose. The content and layout of The Queen-like Closet also conveyed the message that health & diet were inexticably linked.

 

The Mayflower sailed to the New World in 1620, possibly also carrying jumballs

Hannah's recipe for 'diet bread or jumbolds' is actually very healthy: like the Italian 'biscotti della salute', it contains little sugar, yielding a biscuit of very crisp texture. The dough was stiff and, once rolled, it was tied into more or less elaborate knots. Other recipes around Woolley's time or later used flour, butter, milk, eggs, spices & almonds while 19th century versions featured exotic ingredients, like shredded coconut. Jumbles were also brought to the Colonies since very early, as they kept well during long voyages.

"184._To make Diet Bread or Jumbolds._

Take a Quart of fine Flower, half a Pound of fine Sugar, Caraway seeds, Coriander seeds and Aniseeds bruised, of each one Ounce, mingle all these together, then take the Yolks of eight Eggs, and the Whites of three, beat them well with four spoonfuls of Rosewater, and so knead these all together and no other Liquor, when it is well wrought, lay it for one hour in a linnen cloth before the Fire, then rowl it out thin, tie them in Knots and prick them with a Needle, lay them upon Butter'd Plates, and bake them in an Oven not too hot."

 

Hannah Woolley, The Queen-like Closet or Rich Cabinet, 1672

 

 

 

 

JUMBALLS

This is Hannah Woolley's recipe, divided by 3 and slightly adapted. While binding the dough, I increased the rosewater by one half. Perhaps you won't need to, as the liquid often depends on the flour or the sugar. I also increased the sugar by one quarter in case the spices tasted unusual (which they do anyway).

 

I n g r e d i e n t s

300g plain flour

2tsp caraway seeds, ground

2tsp aniseeds, ground

2tsp coriander seeds, ground

100g refined sugar

3 small yolks + 1 egg white

2tbsp rosewater

 

M e t h o d

1. Beat the sugar and eggs until very light. Add the ground spices and, gradually, the flour. Knead well, shape into a ball, and chill the dough for 1 hour. 2. Preheat the oven to 160C. Cut the dough into 12 pieces of equal size. Roll each piece into a stripe as thick as your little finger (it will be 25-30cm long) and tie each stripe into a knot. 3. Arrange the knots on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake them until lightly colored. 4. Leave to cool on wire racks, then store in a biscuit tin.