To Make Jumbals

This recipe comes from the late 18th century, recorded by Elizabeth Smith, who lived and cooked during a period when refined baking was becoming more popular in British kitchens. Jumbals, or ‘jumbles,’ are an enduring form of early biscuit or cookie, known for their twist or ring shapes and lightly sweet flavor. The recipe reflects a time when household cooks were becoming more experimental, incorporating ingredients such as sack (a type of fortified wine) and cream, evidencing the blending of old-fashioned and more stylish tastes of the Georgian era. The use of yeast instead of solely relying on eggs or baking powder points to transitional techniques in leavening sweets at a time when commercial baking powder did not yet exist. Elizabeth Smith’s recipes showcase the intersection of home-based, manuscript culinary culture and the increasing codification of British baking in the period between 1749 and 1800.

In Elizabeth Smith’s time, cooks would have used large earthenware or wooden bowls for mixing the dough, a sturdy knife for lifting the jumbals from their paper after baking, and a rolling pin or their hands to shape each biscuit. Baking tins (likely shallow metal sheets) would have been lined with sheets of well-buttered paper, an early form of non-stick in the pastry kitchen. Ovens were wood- or coal-fired, so temperature was judged by feel rather than by thermometer. Gentle heat and close attention were essential, as the recipe warns against too hot an oven. The cook would store the finished jumbals in tin or ceramic containers to keep them fresh.