Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .Cxlix. A Potage. - A Pottage

A Potage – Harleian MS. 279 (c. 1430)

Sometimes a recipe resists easy interpretation, and this one has long puzzled cooks. “A Potage” from Harleian MS. 279 begins with an unusual step: cooking eggs in red wine before straining them with almond milk. At first glance, it might resemble wine clarification, but comparisons to similar recipes in Le Ménagier de Paris and other sections of Harleian MS. 279 suggest the intent was closer to a custard technique — lightly curdled eggs beaten into wine, strained, and then enriched with almond milk. The result is a sweet-savory almond custard-pottage, thickened with rice flour, colored red with sandalwood, and optionally garnished with chopped veal on flesh days. This dish sits somewhere between rice pudding, mincemeat, and almond custard, showcasing the medieval love of spice, fruit, and color in festive pottages.

Modern redaction of a 15th-century almond milk pottage, enriched with dried fruits, pine nuts, honey, and sweet spices.

The Original Recipe

Cxlix. A Potage.
Take an sethe a fewe eyron̛ in red Wyne; þan take & draw hem þorw a straynoure with a gode mylke of Almaundys; þen caste þer-to Roysonys of Coraunce, Dates y-taylid, grete Roysonys, Pynes, pouder Pepir, Sawndrys, Clouys, Maces, Hony y-now, a lytil doucete, & Salt; þan bynde hym vppe flat with a lytyl flowre of Rys, & let hem ben Red with Saunderys, & serue hym in flatte; & ȝif þou wolt, in fleyssℏ tyme caste vele y-choppid þer-on, not to smale.

Cxlix. A Potage.
Take and seethe a few eggs in red wine; then take and draw them through a strainer with a good almond milk. Then cast thereto currants, chopped dates, large raisins, pine nuts, powdered pepper, sandalwood, cloves, mace, honey enough, a little doucete, and salt. Then bind it up flat with a little rice flour, and let it be red with sandalwood, and serve it in flat. And if you will, in flesh time cast veal chopped thereon, not too small.

Modern Redaction (Serves 6–8)

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup red wine (see notes below)
• 4 cups almond milk (unsweetened)
• ½ cup currants
• ½ cup chopped dates
• ½ cup large raisins
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground mace
• 3–4 Tbsp honey (to taste)
• 1 tsp mixed sweet spices (“doucete”: sugar, cinnamon, ginger)
• 2 Tbsp rice flour
• Pinch salt
• 1–2 tsp sandalwood powder (or substitute saffron, hibiscus, beet powder, or a drop of red food coloring)
• (Optional) ½ lb veal, chopped small but not minced

Method

1. Cook the eggs in wine: Beat the eggs well, then whisk them into the red wine. Place in a saucepan and gently heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture lightly curdles and thickens. Do not let it scramble.
2. Strain with almond milk: Press the egg-wine mixture through a sieve into a pot with the almond milk to form a smooth base.
3. Add fruits, nuts, and spices: Stir in currants, dates, raisins, pine nuts, pepper, cloves, mace, honey, doucete, and salt.
4. Thicken: Blend rice flour with a little cold almond milk to make a slurry, then whisk into the potage. Simmer gently until it thickens to a custard-like consistency.
5. Color with sandalwood: For an authentic method, steep the sandalwood powder in ¼ cup hot wine or water for 5–10 minutes, then strain and stir the red liquid into the dish. Alternatively, stir the powder directly in (it will be speckled), or use saffron, hibiscus, beet powder, or food coloring for a smooth red hue.
6. Serve: Spread the pottage flat in a shallow dish.
7. Optional (flesh days): Sauté the chopped veal until just browned and scatter over the top before serving.

Authentic Color & Pantry Picks

Period-friendly items for making your Egredouce shine.

• 🌹 Red Sandalwood (Sander(s)) Used in period kitchens as a natural coloring agent. Steep in warm liquid and strain for a red tint.
• 🍇 Zante Currants (Corinthian Raisins) Medieval “currants” are dried grapes imported from Corinth/Zakynthos. Not the same as modern black currants, which were rare and mostly medicinal in period.

⚠️ Always choose culinary-grade sandalwood. Many products sold as incense are not edible.

Affiliate note: Some links may be sponsored; this helps support the blog at no extra cost to you.

🌱 Dietary Notes

🥕 Vegetarian: Yes (without optional veal).
🥕 Vegan: Omit eggs; thicken with almond milk and rice flour only (a common Lenten adaptation).
🥕 Gluten-free: Yes.
🥕 Allergens: Tree nuts (almonds, pine nuts); eggs (optional).

Wine Suggestions

Period English cooks used red wines imported from France and the Mediterranean. These were often sweetened and spiced, closer to today’s dessert or mulled wines than dry table reds. For modern substitution:

• Malvasia or Madeira – rich, sweet, fortified wines that echo medieval “malmsey.”
• Claret-style blends (Merlot/Cabernet with some fruitiness) – similar to Bordeaux imported into England in the 15th century.
• Sweet red Lambrusco – a lively, fruit-forward option that gives both color and sweetness.
• If you prefer dry, choose a Grenache or Côtes du Rhône, then balance with extra honey.

Historical Context

Eggs in Wine

At first glance, the instruction to “seethe eggs in red wine” is puzzling. Yet, when compared with other recipes of the period, the technique is more familiar. In Harleian MS. 279 (no. 92), “Eyroun in Bruet,” eggs are poached in broth or wine, while Le Ménagier de Paris (c. 1393) includes “Oeufs en couillettes,” in which beaten eggs are cooked in wine until lightly curdled and then strained. Almond custards, such as “Creme of Almaundys” in the same manuscript, also rely on eggs strained into almond milk. Together, these parallels suggest that our potage used wine to curdle the eggs before pressing them smooth with almond milk, creating a rich, custard-like base.

Honey vs. Sugar 

In late medieval England, honey remained the everyday sweetener, while sugar was still considered a luxury import, reserved for the wealthy and often sold through apothecaries. It appears in recipes not just for sweetness, but also as a marker of refinement. Dishes like this are fascinating because they use both together: honey in the cooking liquid and sugar folded into the “doucete” spice mix. This layering reflects the social prestige of sugar without abandoning honey’s practical sweetness — a culinary bridge between two worlds.

Humoral Qualities

In humoral theory, foods were judged by their qualities of hot, cold, moist, and dry. This dish balances multiple elements:

• Eggs: moist, nourishing, but moderated by cooking in wine.
• Red wine: hot and dry, strengthening digestion.
• Almonds: warm and moist, gentle on the stomach.
• Rice: cold and dry, binding and calming.
• Dried fruits and honey: warm and moist, fortifying the spirits.
• Spices (pepper, mace, cloves, sandalwood): hot and dry, aiding digestion and preventing imbalance.

Overall, the dish tends toward warm and moist — restorative, fortifying, and well-suited for balancing a dry or melancholic temperament. Such qualities made it an appealing winter or feast-day dish.

When Would It Be Served?

The recipe itself gives a clue: “in flesh time” one may add veal, but in Lent or on fish days the dish stands alone. This adaptability made it a practical luxury — rich with almonds, dried fruits, and spices even without meat. On flesh days, the addition of veal elevated it into a hearty main pottage. Its sweetness and heavy spice profile also suggest placement in the second course, where custards, frumenty, and spiced pottages often accompanied roasts and sweets.

Seasonal Associations

Though the ingredients are pantry imports rather than seasonal produce, the dish is strongly marked as winter fare. Almonds, rice, raisins, and spices were luxury imports most often used in cold-weather feast menus, when warming, moistening foods were deemed healthful. The red coloring from sandalwood added festive appeal for high occasions.

Why It Matters

This “potage” captures the flexibility and richness of late medieval cooking. It demonstrates how cooks navigated the Church calendar (with or without meat), how humoral theory shaped choices of wine and spice, and how luxury imports lent prestige at the table. Part custard, part fruit-and-nut pudding, and part feast pottage, it stands as a reminder that medieval cookery delighted in blending the sweet and the savory, the practical and the symbolic.

Menu at a Glance

Course: Second Course (Wet and Light)

Companions: Custards, almond milk pottages, frumenty, roast fowl or meats served with sauces, bread at table

Flavors: Sweet-salty blends, rich with dried fruit, nuts, and spice

Pairings: Spiced red wine (claret, malmsey), trenchers of bread for sopping, winter greens with sharp dressings

🍯 More Medieval Fruit Pottages

If this reminds you of other sweet pottages, you’re not wrong! Medieval cooks loved blending almond milk, dried fruits, and spice into comforting dishes. You can explore more variations here:

Pottage of Raisins

Taylours

Rapeye

Sources

• Thomas Austin, ed. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (London: EETS, 1888).
• Hieatt & Butler, Curye on Inglysch (EETS, 1985).
• Redon, Sabban, and Serventi, The Medieval Kitchen (Chicago: 1998).

Labels

Browse by Dish Type: Pottage, Custards & Creams
Browse by Ingredient: Eggs, Almonds, Dried Fruit, Nuts, Wine
Browse by Use: SCA Feast Planning, Period Techniques, Medieval Fast Day Dishes
Browse by Era: Medieval