Soops and Mashed Potatoes – How a Tudor Luxury Became a Holiday Staple

Soops and Mashed Potatoes – How a Tudor Luxury Became a Holiday Staple

A Dutch still-life evoking the abundance of a 17th-century banquet — a perfect match for the spirit of Thanksgiving.

Editor’s Note: As autumn turns to feast season, the next several posts on Give It Forth explore a different kind of Thanksgiving table — one inspired not by Pilgrims and pumpkins, but by the kitchens of Tudor and Stuart England. These 16th- and 17th-century dishes, drawn from sources like Robert May’s The Accomplisht Cook (1660), showcase the foods and flavors that would have graced a festive English winter board. Presented here in modern form, each recipe offers a way to bring history to an American Thanksgiving — blending Old World elegance with New World abundance.

Historical Note: Today, mashed potatoes feel indispensable on a Thanksgiving table. But in the 17th century, potatoes were still exotic — treated more like a luxurious root or even a dessert component than a plain side. This post traces that transformation through three recipes: Robert May’s Tudor-style “soops,” an early Georgian dish of potatoes “beat up with cream,” and the first printed recipe to use the phrase “mashed potatoes.”

Potatoes reached England in the late sixteenth century, but for a hundred years they remained rare and refined. The following three recipes trace how they evolved from May’s sweet-spiced “soops” to the creamy, savory mashed potatoes we know today.

From Soops to Mash – A Brief History

In less than a century, English cooks took potatoes from rare, sweet-spiced delicacies to the simple, buttery mash we know today. For a Tudor-&-Stuart-inspired Thanksgiving, you can choose which stage of the story you want on your table: a rich stewed dish on sippets, an elegant cream-beaten side, or the straightforward mashed potatoes of Hannah Glasse.

Date	Author	Dish	Potato Style
1660	Robert May	Soops of Artichocks, Potatoes, Skirrets, or Parsnips	Sweet-savory stewed roots on sippets
1737	The Whole Duty of a Woman	Potatoes beat up with Cream	Beaten smooth with cream and butter
1747	Hannah Glasse	To make mashed Potatoes	Boiled, mashed, with milk and butter

1. Robert May (1660) – Soops of Artichocks, Potatoes, Skirrets, or Parsnips

Soops of Artichocks, Potatoes, Skirrets, or Parsnips.
Being boil’d and cleansed, put to them yolks of hard eggs, dates, mace, cinamon, butter, sugar, white-wine, salt, and slic’t lemon…

Source: Robert May, The Accomplisht Cook, or the Art and Mystery of Cookery (London, 1660).

May’s “soops” are not soups in the modern sense, but tender roots gently stewed with egg yolks, wine, sugar, spice, and fruit, then served on carved sippets of bread and finished with “beaten butter” and a little sugar. Potatoes (alongside parsnips, skirrets, and artichokes) are treated as a luxurious ingredient — rich, mildly sweet, and worthy of careful seasoning.

Try it for a Tudor Thanksgiving: Boil a mix of potatoes and parsnips until tender. Stew them gently with butter, a splash of white wine, a pinch of sugar, mace, and cinnamon, then serve over toasted bread with a little lemon zest. The texture is soft and spoonable — a distant, elegant cousin of mashed potatoes.

2. Potatoes Beat Up with Cream – The Whole Duty of a Woman (1737)

Potatoes beat up with Cream.
Boil your Potatoes tender, then peel and beat them fine in a Pan with a little Cream and a Lump of Butter…

Source: The Whole Duty of a Woman (London, 1737).

By the early 18th century, potatoes were common enough to appear in household manuals aimed at gentlewomen. This recipe has us boil the potatoes, peel them, and beat them smooth with cream and butter, seasoning lightly with salt. It is, in all but name, mashed potatoes — just a bit richer and more refined than the later, plainer versions.

Try it for a Georgian-style side: Prepare your potatoes as usual, but use heavy cream instead of milk, and be generous with the butter. Beat until very smooth. This version pairs especially well with roast turkey and rich gravies on a holiday table.

3. Hannah Glasse (1747) – To Make Mashed Potatoes

To make mashed Potatoes.
Boil your Potatoes, peel them, and mash them till they are fine and smooth; then put to them Milk, Butter, and a little Salt…

Source: Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (London, 1747).

With Hannah Glasse we finally meet the dish by its now-familiar name. Her method would be instantly recognizable in a modern kitchen: boil, peel, mash until smooth, then enrich with milk, butter, and a little salt before serving them hot. The recipe is deliberately “plain and easy,” reflecting Glasse’s goal of making good cookery accessible and unfussy.

Try it for a classic Thanksgiving: Follow Glasse’s instructions almost exactly: boil and mash your potatoes, then stir in warm milk, melted butter, and salt. For a slightly more “Old World” touch, you can keep them just a bit firmer and less creamy than modern restaurant-style mash.

1. Robert May (1660) – Soops of Artichocks, Potatoes, Skirrets, or Parsnips

Soops of Artichocks, Potatoes, Skirrets, or Parsnips.
Being boil’d and cleansed, put to them yolks of hard eggs, dates, mace, cinamon, butter, sugar, white-wine, salt, slic’t lemon, grapes, gooseberries, or barberries; stew them together whole, and being finely stewed, serve them on carved sippets in a clean scowred dish, and run it over with beaten butter and scraped sugar.

— Robert May, The Accomplisht Cook (London, 1660)

Modern Redaction – Tudor “Soops” of Potatoes and Parsnips

• 1 lb mixed potatoes and parsnips, peeled and sliced
• 3 hard-cooked egg yolks, crumbled
• 2 Tbsp butter + extra for finishing
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• ¼ cup white wine
• ⅛ tsp each mace and cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 2 Tbsp seedless grapes or sliced dried dates
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• Toasted bread or croutons (sippets)

1. Boil potatoes and parsnips until tender; drain.
2. In a skillet, melt butter with wine, sugar, and spices. Add the vegetables and egg yolks, stirring gently to coat.
3. Stir in grapes or dates and lemon zest; season with salt.
4. Spoon over toasted bread, drizzle with melted butter, and sprinkle with a little sugar if desired.

Period Technique: “Run it over with beaten butter” meant to pour freshly whipped or frothed butter on top — a rich glossy finish.

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2. The Whole Duty of a Woman (1737) – Potatoes Beat Up with Cream

Potatoes beat up with Cream.
Boil your Potatoes tender, then peel and beat them fine in a Pan with a little Cream, and a Lump of Butter, till they are very smooth; then add a little Salt, and serve them up hot.

— The Whole Duty of a Woman (London, 1737)

Modern Redaction – Early Georgian Potatoes with Cream

• 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp butter
• ½ tsp salt

1. Boil potatoes until soft. Drain well and return to the pan.
2. Add butter and cream; mash or beat with a whisk until smooth and silky.
3. Season with salt and serve hot. For extra richness, add a dash more cream before serving.

Period Technique: “Beat up” refers to vigorous whisking or pounding with a wooden spoon — an early version of whipping for smooth texture.

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3. Hannah Glasse (1747) – To Make Mashed Potatoes

To make mashed Potatoes.
Boil your Potatoes, peel them, and mash them in a Mortar till they are fine and smooth; then put to them Milk, Butter, and a little Salt, and mash them all together again; put them into your Dish, make them smooth on the Top, and serve them up hot.

— Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (London, 1747)

Modern Redaction – Classic 18th-Century Mashed Potatoes

• 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
• ½ cup warm milk
• 3 Tbsp butter
• Salt to taste

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until soft. Drain well.
2. Mash until smooth; stir in warm milk and butter.
3. Beat again until creamy. Smooth the top and serve immediately.

Period Technique: Glasse’s “plain and easy” method reflects the 18th-century shift toward simplicity — the point where mashed potatoes became a true staple.

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Three Ways to Serve Potatoes for Thanksgiving

• Tudor (1660): May’s “soops” — buttery, spiced roots on toasted sippets.
• Early Georgian (1737): Cream-rich, velvety potatoes beaten smooth with butter.
• Late Georgian (1747): The first modern mashed potatoes — plain, savory, and comforting.

Choosing Your Era – Three Ways to Serve Potatoes

• Tudor & Stuart (1660): Serve May’s “soops” of potatoes and parsnips on toasted sippets as a luxurious, sweet-savory side at the same remove as your turkey.
• Early Georgian (1737): Offer “potatoes beat up with cream” for an elegant, buttery bowl of proto-mashed potatoes.
• Mid-18th Century (1747): Keep to Glasse’s “mashed potatoes” for a dish that feels almost identical to what we expect on a modern Thanksgiving table.

Any of these versions will sit happily beside roast turkey, gravy, and green vegetables, while quietly telling the story of how a once-exotic root found its way into the heart of our holiday meals.

🥕 Dietary note: All three historical versions are naturally gluten-free if served without sippets or with gluten-free bread. For dairy-free adaptations, substitute almond or oat milk and olive oil for the cream and butter.

Part of the Tudor & Stuart Thanksgiving Series
Exploring how early modern English recipes—roasts, puddings, sauces, and “made dishes” from Robert May and his contemporaries—might inspire today’s holiday table.

Continue the series:
🦃 Robert May’s Roast Turkey (1660) | 🥚 Green Pudding of Sweet Herbs | 🥗 A Grand Sallet of Minced Capon and Pickled Things | 🍇 Tudor Appetizers: Entrées de Table from The Accomplisht Cook

Sources & Further Reading

• Robert May, The Accomplisht Cook, or the Art and Mystery of Cookery (London, 1660).
• The Whole Duty of a Woman (London, 1737), for “Potatoes beat up with Cream.”
• Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (London, 1747), for “To make mashed Potatoes.”
• Discussion of the introduction of the potato into English kitchens and its gradual shift from luxury root to staple side dish.

AI Assistance

This post was developed with the assistance of an AI tool to help with organizing primary-source excerpts, drafting modern-language explanations, and shaping the first-pass modern redaction. Final recipe testing, historical interpretation, and edits are my own.