Strawberry Flummery

One of my all-time favorite cookbooks is The Virginia Housewife, written in 1825 by Mary Randolph, a cousin of Thomas Jefferson's. It's considered to be the very first American cookbook, and despite a few idiosyncrasies of the time (like instructions on what to do with a leftover calf's head?), it's amazing how much of the information in the book is still useful today. One of the recipes that I come back to again and again is for flummery, a dish first brought to the New World by English colonists. First Lady Dolley Madison famously served this "delicate fruit stew" at dinner parties in the White House.

Yesterday I looked at the half-gallon of berries left over from our strawberry picking adventure last weekend, and decided that some strawberry flummery was in order. (Doesn't that just sound like a delicious dish? Flummery even rhymes with yummy...sort of).

Mary Randolph's original flummery recipe reads as follows:

One measure of jelly, one of cream, and half a one of wine; boil it fifteen minutes over a slow fire, stirring all the time; sweeten it, and add a spoonful of orange flower or rose water; cool it in a mould, turn it in a dish, and pour around it cream, seasoned in any way you like.

My modern adaptation is just a little different:

2 pints berries
1/2 cup sugar (we use honey)
2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
3 tbsp cold water
juice from 1/2 lemon
Heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk

Combine the berries, sugar, and 1/2 cup hot water in a saucepan and set over low heat. Stir constantly, until the mixture is liquid and comes to a boil.

While this is happening, blend the cornstarch or arrowroot with the cold water. Stir this into the boiling berries. Add the lemon juice, reduce heat, and simmer for a minute or two. Remove the pan from heat and spoon the berry mixture into individual bowls. When mixture has cooled and thickened, pour a dollop of cream or coconut milk over the top of each bowl before serving.

Most flummery recipes call for it to be chilled until set and to be served cold, but we like to eat it still warmish -- that way there's a nice interplay of cold milk and warm berries. We haven't had problems with the arrowroot thickening up if left at room temperature for a little while. On a truly hot day, it would probably be more refreshing served cold. But honestly, there is no wrong way to eat flummery. It's berries, sugar, and cream. You could eat it right from the pan and be perfectly happy -- I know this from experience.