Strawberries in Snow

 This recipe was listed in SCA cookbooks and described as being very popular

Ingredients

• 8 egg whites
• 1 pint whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. rose water
• 2 pints strawberries
• 1 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ginger

Method:

• Whip cream and set asside. Then beat egg whites until they form soft peaks.
• Add egg whites to whipped cream and whisk together.
• Add rose water and sugar - adding a little sugar at a time.
• Clean strawberries and place into bowl. Mix red wine, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger.
• Pour mixture over strawberries and alow to marinate for an hour or so.
• Serve "snow" with strawberries on top and with a couple shortbread cookies on the side.

Source [Gloning, 16th cent. A Proper Neue Book of Cokery]: To make dyschefull of Snowe: Take a pottel of swete thycke creame and the whytes of eyghte egges, and beate them altogether wyth a spone, then putte them in youre creame and a saucerful of Rosewater, and a dyshe full of Suger wyth all, then take a stick and make it cleane, and than cutte it in the ende foure squsre, and therwith beate all the aforesayde thynges together, and as ever it ryseth takeit of and put it into a Collaunder, this done take one apple and set it in the myddes of it, and a thick bushe of Rosemary, and set it in the myddes of the platter, then cast your Snowe uppon the Rosemary and fyll your platter therwith. And yf you have wafers cast some in wyth all and thus serve them forthe.

Source [Dawson, 1596. The Good Huswife's Jewel]: To Make a tarte of Strawberries. Wash your strawberries, and put them into your Tarte, and season them with suger, cynamon and Ginger, and put in a littl red wine into them.