Kitchen Adventures – Apples (Quince) stewed with pine nuts, rosewater and sugar - Chiquart / Domenico ((Italian) Mele cotogne, stufate pignoli con acqua rosa, & zuccaro)

 

Per fare la pizza di molti strati, comunemente freddi pasta secca a strati- To make pizza of many layers, commonly called a cold dry layered pastry. - Scappi & Mele cotogne, stufate pignoli con acqua rosa, & zuccaro - Apples (Quince) stewed with pine nuts, rosewater and sugar - Chiquart / Domenico prepared to be served.



Researching medieval cuisine is like stepping into a time machine. By reviving these historic recipes, we unearth culinary traditions that continue to surprise and inspire us today. One dish that stands out is Mele Cotogne, Stufate Pignoli con Acqua Rosa e Zuccaro—a unique blend of stewed Quince with pine nuts, rosewater, and sugar. This dish is mentioned in many of the menus provided by M. Domenico, yet it seems to have slipped through the cracks without specific written instructions.

Naturally, I had to take on the challenge to recreate this intriguing sounding dish which was prepared for our Baronial 12th Night Celebration in 2024. As mentioned in previous posts, the menu for the event was drawn from M. Domenico's "Singular Doctrine", and more specifically his "Banquet of the Month of January. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed researching and then recreating dishes that woul dhave been enjoyed during this time.

The Singular Doctrine of M. Domenico is a 16th-century Italian culinary text that presents elaborate monthly menus, daily meal plans for morning and evening, a listing of common foods of the time, and instructions on the best ways to prepare them. However, while the text includes detailed menu listings, many of the actual recipes are absent. One such example is Mele Cotogne, Stufate Pignoli con Acqua Rosa, & Zuccaro, which appears in numerous menus but is never explicitly written out. The omission of these instructions suggests that certain preparations were considered basic knowledge among cooks of the period. This absence hints that stewed quince was a well-established culinary staple, so familiar that formal documentation of its preparation was deemed unnecessary.

To bring this dish back to life, I turned to a similar medieval recipe—Chiquart's Spiced Apples and Pears from On Cookery (1420). Chiquart was a 15th-century master cook who served at the court of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy. He is best known for his work Du fait de cuisine (On Cookery), written in 1420, which provides one of the most detailed accounts of medieval European culinary practices. His text includes elaborate feast preparations, ingredient lists, and cooking techniques, offering insight into the refined and sometimes extravagant cuisine of noble households. His emphasis on spice blends, slow-cooked fruits, and carefully balanced flavors makes his work a valuable resource for understanding medieval gastronomy. His approach is an exemplary foundation for reviving Mele Cotogne, Stufate Pignoli con Acqua Rosa e Zuccaro. 

Recipe: Mele Cotogne, Stufate Pignoli con Acqua Rosa e Zuccaro Serves 4 to 8 

Ingredients

2 tbsp. butter

4 tart green apples / or quinces

4 tsp. sugar 

2 tsp. pine nuts

2 tsp. raisins

1/4 cup quince preserves 

1 tsp. Duke's Powder, or Apple or Pumpking Pie spices

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a baking dish that is large enough to hold your apples (or quinces). Cut your quinces or apples in half, and remove the core.  The opening should be approximately 1 inch wide. 

2. Mix pine nuts with the spices.  Spoon sugar, pine nuts and raisins into each hole filling the apple or quince, and top with a bit more butter.  Pour water or wine into the bottom of the baking dish.  Sprinkle around any additional sugar, spices around the fruit.  If using apples, supplement with a generous helping of the quince preserves. 

3. Bake the fruit until the fruit is easily pierced by a knife approximately 45 minutes.  Sprinkle with rosewater. 

Please Note: This dish can be served warm or room temperature. If made ahead, it will need to be heated enough to melt the butter. Also note, pine nuts can be toasted before being mixed with the spices, but I chose not to do this. 

Results: 

I made this dish using apples because I was unable to locate quinces at the time.  You could also substitute pears, or a mix of apples and pears.  This dish is magical!  Fragrant of roses, apples, quince, the warm spices, sweet from the sugar, and crunchy from the pine nuts.  Using quince jelly when no quince are available enhances the apples natural tartness, while incorporating the period flavor that the original recipe calls for.  If you wish to, use a sweet Italian dessert wine instead of water to further enhance the dish.  

Sources: 

Friedman, David D., translator. Du fait de cuisine. 15th century. The David D. Friedman Medieval and Renaissance Cookbook Collection, www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Du_Fait_de_Cuisine/Du_fait_de_Cuisine.html. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

Romo, Domenico. La Singolare Dottrina Di M. Domenico Romano: Trattato di cucina del '500. 1st ed., 2002. Google Books, books.google.com/books/about/La_Singolare_Dottrina_Di_M_Domenico_Romo.html?hl=it&id=FGFWAAAAcAAJ. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

🦚 Curious about the full feast?
Explore the complete menu from the Flaming Gryphon 12th Night Feast 2024 to see all the dishes and historical inspirations behind this event.

Kitchen Adventures – 17th Century Dessert (Spanish Wedges)

Spanish Candy Wedges from A Book of Fruits and Flowers, 1653

Originally published:  Jul 2, 2022

https://giveitforth.wixsite.com/giveitforth/post/medieval-desserts-spanish-wedges

To Preserve all kinde of Flowers in the Spanish Candy in Wedges.

Take Violets, Cowslips, or any other kinde of Flowers, pick them, and temper them with the pap of two roasted Apples, and a drop or two of Verjuice, and a graine of Muske, then take halfe a pound of fine hard Sugar, boyle it to the height of Manus Christi, then mix them together, and pour it on a wet Pye plate, then cut it it in Wedges before it be through cold, gild it, and so you may box it, and keep it all the year. It is a fine sort of Banquetting stuffe, and newly used, your Manus Christi must boyle a good while and be kept with good stirring.

Download Recipe Here

Ingredients

2 apples (I used granny smith)
1-2 drops white wine vinegar (to replace verjuice)
1 grain of musk *opt.
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
Pinch of dried edible flowers

Directions

1. Peel and core your apples, cut into wedges, and roast in a 400-degree oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until apples have started to brown.

2. While apples are roasting bring your sugar and water and boil it until it reaches 245 degrees.

3. Add sugar syrup, roasted apples, white wine vinegar, or verjuice to a blender and blend until smooth. Opt. Add a drop or two of food-grade musk flavoring at this point.

4. Prepare a mold by spraying it with a little bit of oil and lining it with parchment paper.

5. Sprinkle flowers on the bottom of the tin, add the apple mixture. Be sure to sprinkle more flowers on top.

6. Allow drying until no longer sticky to the touch, cut as desired.When completely dry this candy has the texture of maple sugar candy, otherwise, it is very similar to fruit leather. Store in air tight container

NOTES:

There are two different ways this recipe can be read. The first is the method that I used where the pureed apple is added to the boiled sugar syrup and allowed to dry. The second is that the pureed apple is added to the sugar and water and that mixture is then brought to a boil before being poured into your mold.

It took several days for this beauty to dry completely. When it had dried became a crystalized sugar candy. I did allow it to dry overnight in the oven before removing it from the mold. I veered from the recipe by using a 6" tart pan instead of an 8" pie pan, and I believe this made the candy thicker than originally intended.

I also believe that this very thick candy should have been allowed to dry two or three days before I removed it from the mold and cut it into wedges. The thing that I would do differently in the future would be to make a thinner candy by using a larger plate.

I believe this is a very luxurious treat, that would enhance any dessert course at an event. The taste is a very sweet apple, with just a touch of floral note at the end of the bite. I cut this 6" tart-shaped treat into 12 wedges and I would not want to make it any bigger. At this size, it creates a two to three-bite candy.

TOA Documentation

Source

"The Project Gutenberg Ebook Of A Book Of Fruits And Flowers". Gutenberg.Org, 2022, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13265/13265-h/13265-h.htm?fbclid=IwAR1UD2bx6I7bO97kplgubSC10fQE05PsXq0GMT8gFpH9C-xvmtRwouCh_x8.

Kitchen Adventures – A Trio of Tarts - Apple, Peach & Grape & Raisin (Medieval Dessert)

Precedella surrounded by Roasted Apple Tarts

"I know the look of an apple that is roasting and sizzling on the hearth on a winter's evening, and I know the comfort that comes of eating it hot, along with some sugar and a drench of cream."

--Mark Twain

What is a tart?

A tart is a pastry that is filled with a savory or sweet filling that has an open top, unlike a pie that can be enclosed.

When does the term "tart" first make an appearance?

According to the food history timeline tarts and tartlets are first mentioned in the "Forme of Cury" and refer to both sweet and savory items.

What about pies?

According to the food history timeline, the first recorded use of the word "pie" was in 1303.

Why call it a tart?

The Online Etymological dictionary believes that the word tart referencing a "small pie," can be traced to the late 14c., from Old French tarte "flat, open-topped pastry" (13c.), possibly an alteration of torte, from Late Latin torta "round loaf of bread"

Where do you find inspiration?

Sometimes I find something I want to do, for example, a menu, or a recipe that would be interesting to recreate. At other times, I might find disparate recipes that "fit the pattern" of a period menu. There is also my research into Harl MS 279.

In this case, it was a couple of snippets from Le Menagier de Paris (Platter: Grapes and peaches in little pies.) that sparked the imagination. That snippet led me to research further into his menus and I found this:

For dessert: compete, with red and white sugared almonds placed on top: rissoles, flans, figs, dates, grapes, nuts

The Grape and Peach tarts were served as part of the vigil for Fiadnata, and the roasted apple tarts were served at Appolonia's vigil.

I also like to look for unusual recipes when I am researching a menu, and these three stood out to me for different reasons. The method of roasting the apples for the apple tart. The similarity between how to make the peach and the grape and raisin tarts, and lastly, the unusual ingredients in the grape and raisin tart.

Do you make your own pie/tart shells?

I have to put the caveat here that no, I do not. I purchase the store brand double crust pie dough, bring it to room temperature, flour it, and roll it out with a rolling pin so that it is slightly larger and thinner. I also use the top of a wide-mouth mason jar (4 or 16 ounces, I'm not picky) as my template. Done correctly, I can get between 12 and 14 tart shells from one pie crust, and 24 to 28 for a double, which saves me the bother of making my own! Knowing this, when I plan for a feast, I know that I can fill three tables with one double-crust store-brand pie shell. Which I believe makes me a cleverly lazy cook ;-)

Original Recipe - Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin (1553)

Ain gúten dorten von braten epffel zú machen

Schellen die epffel vnnd schneiden die jn 4 stúck, schneiden

den bútzen heraús vnnd thents darnach jn ain haffen,

der oben woll zúdeckt sey, vnd lands jn ainem haffen demfen,

doch das man offt darzúlúog, das sý nit verbrinnen, darnach

so streichs aúff den boden, der aús schenem mell gemacht

seý, vnnd thent ain halb pfúnd zúcker, ain lot zimerrerlach

daran, klaingestossen.

Translation

125 To make a good tart with roasted apples. Peel the apples and cut them into four pieces, cut out the cores, and put them in pot, which should be well covered, and let them stew in the pot. One should watch them frequently, so that they do not scorch. Afterwards spread them on the pastry shell, which should be made of good flour, and put a half pound of sugar and a half ounce of finely ground cinnamon therein.
Glossary

• Epffel: Apples
• Schneiden: Cut
• Bútzen: Cores
• Haffen: Pot
• Demfen: Stew
• Zúcker: Sugar
• Zimerrerlach: Cinnamon

Ingredients

1 9" pie crust of your choice

2-3 apples, peeled, cut in quarters, and cored

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

** Couple of tablespoons of water

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Add your apples to your pot. I like to use a combination of apples in my pies. For example, this pie was made with opal and a green apple. I did add a little bit of water to the pot, covered it with a lid, and cooked the apples until they were soft enough to mush.
3. The apples will release liquid as they cook. Add the sugar and the cinnamon to the apples once they are cooked enough and stir through.
4. Allow the apple mixture to cool. While the apples are cooling, ready your tart shells. I prefer a rustic look so I fold the dough over the filling instead of putting the tarts into a pan.
5. Add the apple filling to the tart shells a teaspoon at a time. Bake your tarts at 400 degrees until they start to turn golden.

Original Recipe - Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin (1553)

Wiltú ain weinpertorten machen

Nim die weinber vnnd die ziwiben aúch darúnder/ nims

also gantz, thúo zúcker daran vnnd zimerrerlach vnnd

schwings woll vmb vnnd thúo es aúf ain bedellin/ laß ain

klain weil bachen/ darnach thúo ain wenig ain malúasier

daran vnnd lasß noch ain weil bachen, so ist es gemacht, wan

dú die weinber jn torten thon wilt, so thús for jn ain pfannenn

vnnd thúo nichts daran, weder wein noch wasser, vnnd

rest sý woll darin herúmber, so geschwelens fein aúff, darnach

thús erst jn torten, wie dú sý haben wilt.

Translation

93 If you would make a grapetart. Take the grapes, with raisins mixed among them. Take them whole, put sugar thereon and cinnamon and shake it well together and put it on a pastry shell. Let it bake a little while. Then put some Malavosia (white wine) thereon and let it bake a while longer, then it is ready. When you put the grapes on the tart, then put them beforehand in a pan and put nothing in it, neither wine nor water, and fry them, stirring them all around well therein, then they will swell up nicely. Only after that put them in the tart, as you would have it.
Glossary

• Weinber: Grapes
• Ziwiben: Raisins
• Zúcker: Sugar
• Zimerrerlach: Cinnamon
• Malúasier: Malavosia (white wine)
• Bedellin: Pastry shell
• Pfannenn: Pan

Ingredients

2 cups grapes, washed, cleaned, and picked from the stem (I used the gum drop grapes)

1 cup raisins

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup red wine

1 tsp. cinnamon

**a couple of finely chopped orange peels per cook's prerogative

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Place grapes in a pot and heat, keeping an eye on them so that they do not burn, or burst. Cook them for approximately 5 -7 minutes. They will swell up and become *very* fragrant.
3. Add the raisins to the grapes along with the wine and cinnamon. Cook until most of the wine has been absorbed by the raisins. As an alternative, you could soak the raisins in the wine overnight, and then cook off the alcohol after adding the raisins to the grapes.
4. Proceed as above.

Original Recipe - The Good Housewife's Jewell, (England, 1596)

To make all maner of fruit Tarte. You must boyle your fruite, whether it be apple, cherrie, peach, damson, peare, Mulberie, or codling, in faire water, and when they be boyled inough, put them into a bowle, and bruse them with a Ladle, and when they be colde, straine them, and put in red wine or Claret wine, and so season it with suger, sinamon and ginger. Translation

To make all manner of fruit tart:

Boil your choice of fruit, such as apple, cherry, peach, damson, pear, mulberry, or codling, in fair water. When they are boiled enough, transfer them to a bowl and crush them with a ladle. Once they have cooled down, strain the fruit mixture. Add red wine or Claret wine to the strained fruit mixture, and season it with sugar, cinnamon, and ginger.

Glossary:

Fruite: Fruit
Boyle: Boil
Cherrie: Cherry
Damson: Damson plum
Peare: Pear
Mulberie: Mulberry
Codling: Type of apple
Faire water: Clean water
Bowle: Bowl
Bruse: Crush
Ladle: Spoon with a long handle for serving or stirring
Colde: Cold
Straine: Strain
Red wine: Red wine
Claret wine: Dry red wine
Suger: Sugar
Sinamon: Cinnamon
Ginger: Ginger

Ingredients

5-6 peaches

1/4 cup red wine

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel, core, and quarter your peaches and place them in a pot with the red wine and cook until your peaches have softened and are starting to fall apart.
3. Add the sugar, and the spices and cook a few minutes more until the sugar has melted and the mixture begins to thicken.
4. Proceed as above, filling your pie or tart shells and cooking until the shells begin to turn lightly brown.

Thoughts

The tart fillings can be made in advance and frozen. This allowed me to have these fillings readily available when I needed them, and to make them when the fruit was at its peak and least expensive. They make excellent offerings for day-boards, and vigils and to serve at the end of a meal. Additionally, they are modern enough in taste that many diners are surprised to discover the origins are from the mid to late 1500s. I have brought them to pot lucks at work and there have been no leftovers!

Sources

"Das Kochbuch Der Sabina Welserin (C. 1553)". Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, 2022, https://www.uni-giessen.de/fbz/fb05/germanistik/absprache/sprachverwendung/gloning/tx/sawe.htm. Accessed 18 Oct 2022.

Medievalcookery.Com, 2022, https://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/ghj1596.txt. Accessed 18 Oct 2022.

"Tart | Search Online Etymology Dictionary". Etymonline.Com, 2022, https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=tart. Accessed 18 Oct 2022.

Food Timeline FAQs: pie & pastry. 2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpies.html#tarts> [Accessed 18 October 2022].