Balloke Brothe – Medieval Eel Broth (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430)

Balloke Brothe – Medieval Eel Broth (Harleian MS. 279, ab. 1430)

                                 Eel from the 13th-century  Ashmole Bestiary

Source: Harleian MS. 279, ab. 1430, recipe xxv.

📜 Original Recipe

xxv - Balloke Brothe. Take Elys and fle hem, an kytte hem in gobouns, an caste hem in-to a fayre potte with fayre water; than take Percely and Oynonys, an schrede hem to-gederys nowt to smal; take Clowes, Maces, an powder Pepyr, an caste ther-to a gode porcyon of wyne; then take 3est of New ale an caste ther-to, an let boyle: an when the Elys byn wyl y-boylid, take fayre stokfysshe, an do a-way the skyn, an caste ther-to, an let boyle a whyle; then take Safroun and Salt, an a lytil Venegre, an caste ther-to, an serue forth.

🍲 Modern Recipe – Balloke Brothe

• Serves: 4
• Time: ~1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) eel, skinned and cut into 2-inch pieces (see substitution list below)
• 6 cups water
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• ½ bunch parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 whole cloves
• ½ tsp ground mace
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 cup white wine
• ¼ cup fresh ale yeast or 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (modern sub)
• ½ lb (225 g) salt cod, soaked overnight and skinned
• Pinch saffron, steeped in warm water
• 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• Salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Place eel (or fish substitute) in a pot with water. Add onion and parsley.
2. Season with cloves, mace, and pepper. Pour in the wine and bring to a gentle simmer.
3. Add the ale yeast (or modern alternative). Let simmer 20–25 minutes until the eel is tender.
4. Add soaked salt cod (skinned) and continue simmering 10 minutes more.
5. Stir in saffron water, vinegar, and adjust with salt to taste.
6. Serve hot with bread.

💡 Notes & Context

🐍 Eels in Medieval England

The “elys” in this recipe refer to the European eel (Anguilla anguilla), common in rivers and wetlands across England. Eels were:

• Farmed & fished: Caught with weirs and baskets; raised in manorial eel ponds.
• Economic assets: Listed as taxable in the Domesday Book. Monasteries sometimes collected rents of tens of thousands of eels annually.
• Dietary staples: Rich, fatty, and filling — perfect for fast days when meat was forbidden.
• Preserved: Smoked or salted for trade. London was famous for eel consumption well into later centuries (“jellied eels”).

🍺 Ale, Barm, and Lees

The recipe calls for “3est of new ale” — barm, or the frothy yeast skimmed from fermenting ale. In medieval kitchens:

• Ale vs beer: Ale was unhopped, cloudy, and drunk fresh. Beer with hops was just arriving from the Low Countries.
• Barm’s role: A natural by-product of brewing, used for baking, thickening, and flavoring broths like this one.
• Modern recreation: Dissolve malted barley grains (Etsy) in hot water, cool, and ferment with yeast. Skim the froth for “barm.”

• Yeast options:
  • SafAle S-04 – fruity, malty, classic English style.
  • Nottingham Ale Yeast – clean, versatile, forgiving.
  • Wyeast London Ale – rich, fruity, closest to historic flavor.
  • Etsy EC-1118 wine yeast – easy to source, reliable for froth, though less ale-like in flavor.

🌿 Herbal Additions (Gruit)

Before hops, ale was flavored with a mix of herbs called gruit. Common examples include:

• Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea, alehoof) – minty, clarifying.
• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) – bitter, aromatic, medicinal.
• Nettle (Urtica dioica) – earthy, nutty.
• Wood sorrel (Oxalis spp.) – lemony tang, use sparingly.
• Plantain (Plantago major/lanceolata) – grassy, mild.
• Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) – bitter, resinous; common pre-hop brewing herb.

Other historic additions: bog myrtle, heather flowers, juniper, and mugwort.

⚠️ Foraging safety: Only harvest if you are 100% certain in your plant identification. Never forage from roadsides, chemically treated lawns, or restricted lands. Avoid areas with possible contamination. When in doubt, use safe kitchen herbs like rosemary, parsley, or sage instead.

🐍 Modern Eel Substitutions

Fresh eel is difficult to source in most of the United States, but here are practical and creative options:

• Closest texture: Monkfish – firm, meaty, closest to eel in bite.
• Widely available:
  • Catfish – fatty, firm, mild.
  • Trout – delicate, good stand-in for simmering.
  • Salmon steaks – rich, fatty, excellent in broth.
• Vegan option 🥕: Eggplant – cut into chunky cubes; absorbs broth flavor and mimics texture.
• Frozen eel: Often at Asian groceries; closest to medieval eel if available.
• Canned roasted eel: Roasted Eel in Oil – pre-cooked, sometimes smoky or seasoned. Rinse before use. Will shift flavor, but usable in a pinch.

🥕 Dietary Notes: This dish is gluten-free. Use eggplant for a vegan version. Contains fish allergens.

📚 Sources

• Harleian MS. 279, c. 1430 (ed. Austin, Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books, EETS, 1888)
• Scully, Terence, The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages. Boydell, 1995.
• Hagen, Ann. A Second Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Food & Drink. Anglo-Saxon Books, 1995.