Give it Forth: Adventures in Medieval Cookery

Prepositas his practise a vvorke very necessary to be vsed for the better preseruation of the health of man. Wherein are not onely most excellent and approued medicines, receiptes, and ointmentes of great vertue, but also most pretious waters, against many infirmities of the body. The way how to make euery the said seuerall medicines, receiptes, and ointmentes. With a table for the ready finding out of euery the diseases, and the remedies for the same. Translated out of Latin into English by L.M.Prévost, Nicole, 15th cent., Mascall, Leonard, d. 1589,, Myrepsus, Nicolaus, 13th cent.
London: Imprinted by Iohn Wolfe for Edward White, dwelling at the little north doore of Paules, at the signe of the Gunne, 1588.
A declaration of certaine qualities of seedes, hearbes, floures, rootes, and waters.

The foure greater hotte seedes, annisséede, fennell séede, comin séede, and carrowaies.

The foure lesser hotte séedes, ammi, amomum, smallage, yelow carrots.

The foure greater cold séedes, goordes, cuc…

"Violets are God's apology for February..." 
-Barbara Johnson 

Family:Violaceae  Names:  Violet, Sweete Violet, Viola nigra, Viola purpure, Virgil Vaccinium, Viola, Marche violet, Viola porporea,Viola mammola,Violetas,Violette de Mars, Blauw veiel, Mertzen violen, Violetten, Violaria, and Ma∣ter violarum. Usage: Culinary, Medical 
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Of Marche Violets. Chap. i. (A Nievve Herball, 1554)

❀ The Kyndes.

THere be two sortes of Violets: the garden and the wilde Violet. The Garden violets are of a fayre darke or shining deepe blewe colour, and a very pleasant and amiable smell. The wilde Violets are without sa∣uour, and of a fainte blewe or pale colour.
❀ The Description.

[ 1] The sweete Garden or Marche violet, creepeth alongst ye ground like the Strawberie plante, fa∣stening it selfe and taking roote in diuers places: his leaues be rounde and blackish like to Iuye…

I am not sure about you, but for myself, I worry about my budget when I am cooking and -any- place I can cut corners I do.  I am constantly looking for what I like to call 'found foods'.  Items that make something from what would otherwise be nothing.  Stocks are one of those items.  They add flavor to your dishes and can be quite costly, or salty or may contain items that were not found in period if you choose to purchase them.  In order to shave the cost off my budget, and to ensure that I know what I am serving, I make a lot of my own stocks, powders and bouillon cubes which make use of items I have already purchased, but would otherwise throw away--it's a win-win. 

Outlined below will be the instructions for homemade vegetable stock powder which can travel with you and can be used to add additional flavor to any dish.  It does not require refridgeration so it is a perfect "camp food". You will also find instructions for making vegetable stock, meat stock and …

I have become fascinated by the array of colors that could be found in the food of this particular time period.  Here is one such example that I 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, which uses the simplest of ingredients to create a drink whose name is also it's color.

While doing research for this dish I ran across a very interesting book, Renaissance Colour Symbolism - By Roy Osborne.  I confess I have only begun to read it, but I have developed a much greater respect for this recipe because of it.  I did not realize how symbolic colors were in our late period and the early Renaissance.  One of the more interesting things I discovered was the fact that it was believed that God infused all of his creations with symbolism, and nowhere was this more present then in color.

Colors represented virtues.  For example,  the "sev…

Family: Portulacaceae
Names: Purslane, Pusley, Pursley, Pigweed, Little Hogweed, Hogweed, Purslain, Garden Purslain, Red Root, Verdolaga, Wild Portulaca, Khorfeh, Duckweed, Purcelaine, Procelayne (Grete Herballe, 1516), PourpierUsage: Culinary, Medical
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De portulace. Porcelayne / Ca. CCC.xl. (Grete Herballe, 1526)
POrtulax is a vertuous herbe. It coldeth in ye thyrde degre and moy∣steth in the secōde / and hath vertu to softē and to kele. It is good meate for coleryke folkes that be dyseased with feuers caused of coler. And also for them that be hole / yf it be eaten rawe it is profytable. The wa¦ter of the decoccyon is good to conserue the heate of the inwarde membres. It coleth the heet of feuers / it prouoketh vryne and vnbyndeth ye bely. It prouffyteth agaynst clyftes of the lyppes and fleyenges of the mou…

The signes of the waightes, which the Pothecaries vse now a daies.A graine.is thus written.Gra.A scruple.is thus written.℈.A dramme.is thus written.ʒ.An ounce.is thus written.℥.A pounde.is thus written.lib.A quarter.is thus written.qr.Halfe a quarter.is thus written.s.A handfull.is thus written.m.Aureus.is thus written.aur.Aureus doeth containe a dramme and a halfe.Ana, signifieth altogither, and thus is written, An̄.A pound.doth con∣teine.twelue. ℥. (Ounces) A quarter of a pound.doth con∣teine.thrée ℥. (Ounces)Halfe a quarter.doth con∣teine.℥. s. (Ounces)An ounce.doth con∣teine.eight ʒ. (Drams)A dramme.doth con∣teine.thrée ℈. (Scruples)A scruple.doth con∣teine.two ob. (1 obolus is approximately 10 grains or 0.65 grams) A halfe peny.doth con∣teine.thrée siliques. (1 Siliques =4 grains 3 Siliques = 12 grains or .78 grams)According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, Apothecaries' weight is a "traditional system of  weight in the British Isles used for the measuring and dispensing …