A Franciscan apothecary from 1679 even gives us a recipe for human blood jam. He would first recover the fresh blood from recently dead people who exhibited a ‘warm, moist temperament’ and were preferably of ‘plump build’. The blood was left to congeal into a ‘dry, sticky mass’ before being placed on a soft-wood table and cut into thin slices, allowing any liquids to drip away. It was then stirred into a batter on the stove and dried. While still warm, it was ground in a bronze mortar to a powder, which would be forced through fine silk. Once sealed in a jar, it could be reconstituted every
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