Balls Against the Pestilence or Plague

Here is a recipe for scented balls that contains Gum Arabic. It is from The Secrets of Alexis of Piedmont, 1558 (as reprinted in The Perfume Handbook, Nigel Groom, 1992).




Balles against the pestilence or plague, whiche also give an odour unto all things

'Take storax, one part, labdanum one parte, cloves halfe a parte, camphor at your discretion, but less than any of the other substances, of spikenard a good quantity, and of nutmegs also, of all this make paste with Rose water, in the which you shall temper gomme dragant and gomme Arabic, stirring and brusyng them well. Of this paste, you shall make balles to hold in your handes, and smell to.'











See also William Ward (1534-1604) author of The Secretes of the Reverende Maister Alexis Piemont. (Containyng excellent remedies against divers diseases and other accidents, with the manner to make distillations, parfumes, confitures, diynges, colours, fusions, and meltynges. …) (Translated out of French into English by William Warde)
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ward,_William_(1534-1604%3F)_(DNB00)

Pomander Balls

Last week I experimented with pomander balls. I have made them from sixteenth century recipes in the past, but only have small stores of gum dragon (gum tragacanth) and orris root powder at the moment. I decided to experiment with a recipe of my own based on period sources.

I couldn't find a local source of gum arabic, and didn't want to wait, so I used powdered arrowroot. I mixed this with equal parts of powdered cloves, cassia and nutmeg because I love this combination of scents.

The spices about to be mixed with rosewater and arrowroot

I then added rosewater and mixed, then rolled them into small balls about the size of a walnut. The resulting balls were quite robust and have not cracked in the week since I made them. My hands smelt delicious after rolling them up!

The completed pomander balls

These balls will not be used for SCA use; they smell so lovely that I will be using them in my fabric and clothes cupboards. I will make more in future to go inside my pomanders. I hope to source some gum arabic in the mean time and so make a more accurate mix. I would also like to try rose and spice beads in the future. Here is a helpful site:  http://www.gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/scents.html

although there are many interesting reproduction source books around, including Sir Hugh Plat's 'Delightes For Ladies".