To Pickle Mushrooms
Lady Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book, 16th century.
Take your Buttons, clean ym with a sponge & put ym in cold water as you clean ym, then put ym dry in a stewpan & shake a handful of salt over ym, yn stew ym in their own liquor till they are a little tender; then strain ym from ye liquor & put ym upon a cloath to dry till they are quite cold. Make your Pickle before you do your mushrooms, yt may be quite cold before you put ym in. The Pickle must be made with White-Wine, White-Pepper, quarter's Nutmeg, a Blade of Mace & a Race of ginger.
16 oz
 Mushrooms
1 T
 Kosher Salt
1 1/4 C
 White Wine
1 t
 White Pepper
1/4
Nutmeg
1 t
 Mace
2
 thumbnail sized pieces
of Fresh Ginger
Wash and dry mushrooms, place in large bowl and toss with salt. Place into large saucepan and add just enough water to avoid scorching. Cook covered until tender, stirring occasionally. When done strain out of juices and allow to cool completely. Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a low boil. Allow to simmer awhile, then remove from heat. Allow to cool completely. Place cool mushrooms into jar and pour cool pickle over them. Keep in refrigerator; it will take at least a week to meld the flavors. After a week, fish out the ginger or it will become overpowering.