Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - Revised -Mortrewes - Sweetened Pate of Fish, Pork or Chicken -xliij - Mortrewes of Fysshe. , .xliiij. Mortrewys de Fleyssh, .lxix. Whyte Mortrewes, .Cxx. Whyte Mortrewys of Porke,
.xliiij. Mortrewys de Fleyssh and xliij. Mortrewes of Fysshe Baronial 12th Night Variations can be found here. Includes instructions on how to brine and smoke fish. Today's blog post will feature both the Mortrews of Flesh and the Mortrews of Fish. Mortrews is best described as a meat paste which has been fortified with eggs, breadcrumbs and spices and then cooked to the consistency of thick custard. The word "Mortrews" comes from Latin "mortarium" referring to a mortar or bowl where things were pounded or ground. This is one of the more unusual dishes that can be found in Two fifteenth-century cookery-books : Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430), & Harl. MS. 4016 (ab. 1450), with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1439, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS. 55 Thomas Austin , and it was one of the more popular dishes. In an era where dentistry was primitive at best and bad teeth was common, this soft mixture of foods would have been a perfect dish. Nowadays we may want to