To make Marble Paste, called the Italian Chippe

PERIOD: England, 17th century | SOURCE: A Daily Exercise for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1617 | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: Sugar paste made with flowers and made to resemble marble

To make Marble Paste, called the Italian Chippe.

Take Violets, Cowslips, and Cloue-gilliflowers, dry them and beate them to fine powder, mingle them with double refined Sugar, cearsed through a tiffanie or a lawne Sieue, make it vp into Sugar plate, with a little gum dragon steept in Rosewater and milke, when you haue made your plate, then rowle euery piece thinne and lay each vpon other, and so rowle them vp in round rowles, as you would rowle vp a leafe of paper, then cut it endwaies, and rowle it as thinne as a paper, and so it will looke finely sheckled like a piece of Marble. In like manner you may make Purslane dishes or trenchers of that stuffe.