Medieval Rapeye (Harleian MS. 279) — Apple, Date & Almond Pudding Recipe

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) — .Liiij. Rapeye — Date & Apple Pudding

Rapeye (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430) — Apple, Date & Almond “Pudding”

Originally published 3/26/2017 / Updated 10/1/2025

What is “Rapeye”?

The name can sound jarring to modern ears, but in Middle English it had an entirely different meaning. You’ll find it spelled rapeye, rapy, rape, or rapé across manuscripts like Harleian MS. 279, Forme of Cury, Liber cure cocorum, and A Noble Boke off Cookry. The most likely origin is the Old French rapé (“grated” or “rasped”), from the verb raper (“to grate, scrape”). This makes sense: most recipes called for grated or pounded dried fruit, thickened with rice flour or bread.

In practice, Rapeye could mean either a sauce or a fruit paste/pudding. Some versions are clearly sauces for meat or fish; others, like this one, stand as thick fruit dishes in their own right. The Forme of Cury has a “Rape” made of figs and raisins strained with wine; the Liber cure cocorum “Rape” is a raisin sauce sharpened with vinegar. Our apple–date Rapeye is more of a spoon dish or pudding, but the common thread is fruit grated or mashed, spiced, sweetened, and thickened until “chargeaunt” (stout or substantial).

Parallels exist in other European traditions: Latin glossaries sometimes link rapa (turnip) to grated preparations; Italian rappigliare means “to curdle or thicken.” While etymologies vary, the consensus is that Rapeye signified a grated fruit preparation that could flex between sauce, sweetmeat, or pudding depending on context.

Rapeye shows up multiple times in fifteenth-century English cookbooks and seems to be a flexible category—sometimes a sauce, sometimes a fruit paste, sometimes (like this one) a spoonable “pudding.” In Harleian MS. 279 the fourth Rapeye (.Liiij.) combines almond milk with minced dates and raw apples, thickened with rice flour and perfumed with ginger, cinnamon, maces, cloves, sugar, and a touch of saffron or sanders (sandalwood) for color. It’s comforting, gently spiced, and—per my taste testers—popular even with folks who “don’t like dates.”

Original Recipe & Translation

Middle English (Austin, UMich)

.Liiij. Rapeye.—Take almaundys, an draw a gode mylke þer-of, and take Datys an mynce hem smal, an put þer-on y-now; take Raw Appelys, an pare hem and stampe hem, an drawe hem vppe with wyne, or with draf of Almaundys, or boþe; þan caste pouder of Gyngere, Canel, Maces, Clowes, & caste þer-on Sugre y-now; þan take a quantyte of flowre of Rys, an þrowe þer-on, & make it chargeaunt, an coloure it wyth Safroun, an with Saunderys, an serue forth; an strawe Canel a-boue.

Modern-English 

Make a good almond milk. Mince dates finely and add plenty to the milk. Peel raw apples, pound them, and strain with wine or with the almond “draff” (the pressed solids), or both. Add ginger, cinnamon, mace, cloves, and enough sugar. Sprinkle in rice flour to thicken (make it chargeant), and color with saffron and sandalwood. Serve, strewing cinnamon on top.

Seasonal Note: With apples at their peak in autumn and the warming spices of ginger, cinnamon, mace, and cloves, this Rapeye fits naturally into a fall table. In the medieval calendar, it would have been equally at home during cooler seasons and fasting days when almond milk stood in for dairy. Today, it makes a wonderful harvest-time pudding.

Menu Placement

• Fish/fasting days (Lent-friendly): Made with almond milk (no dairy), fruit, rice flour, and spices—ideal as a pottage or spoon course.
• Entremet / Subtle “pudding”: Served warm and “standing thick,” dusted with cinnamon—works between savory courses or as a gentle sweet near the end.
• Breakfast tavern / camping: Holds well and reheats; can be made ahead and served warm or room temperature.

Humoral Notes

Medieval diners balanced dishes by qualities (hot/cold, dry/moist). Almonds were often classed as warming & drying; dates generally warming & moistening; apples tending cooling & drying. The spicing (ginger, cinnamon, mace, cloves) nudges the dish warmer; almond milk and gentle cooking temper dryness; rice flour adds drying/“binding.” Likely seen as moderately warm and tending moist—comfortable fare for cooler seasons.

See also: Rapeye of Fleysshe and Rapeye (.Liij.).

Compost – Medieval Pickled Vegetables (The Forme of Cury, c. 1390)

A beautiful dish of Compost—a sweet-sour, mustard-kissed medley of pickled vegetables.
Original adaptation courtesy of Daniel Myers at Medieval Cookery.

Originally published 10/21/2017. Updated 9/19/2025.

Compost is a vibrant “composition” of roots, cabbage, and pear, dressed with vinegar, wine, honey, and spices. Although the modern ear hears “garden compost,” in medieval cookery compost meant a mixture (from Latin componere—“to put together”). The recipe appears in The Forme of Cury (c. 1390), a royal English cookbook compiled by the cooks of King Richard II.

Historical & Cookbook Context

The Forme of Cury is among the earliest English culinary collections, written in Middle English for a professional court kitchen. Richard II’s table favored spice, color, and spectacle—dishes like Compost fit that world perfectly: bright, sweet-tart, and meant to awaken the appetite at the start of a course.

• Etymology: Compost = “mixture/compote,” not soil. Cognates appear across Europe (composte in Italian/French) for sweet-sour preserves.
• Preservation: Vinegar + honey + wine weren’t just flavors; they extended shelf life before refrigeration—ideal for travel, fasting days, and feasts.

🍽️ Menu Placement 

Compost works beautifully in the first course with other cold dishes: sallets, pottages, and small bites. It’s a make-ahead dish that holds safely, scales easily, and offers welcome acidity between richer foods. Serve in shallow bowls with a draining spoon so guests can take vegetables without over-brine.

Humoral Theory (Balance & Digestion)

Medieval diners aimed to balance foods’ hot/cold and dry/moist qualities. Sharp pickling and mustard were considered “warming” and digestive; honey and currants added moist sweetness, while pear cooled and softened the heat of spice.

Ingredient	Humoral Tendency (period belief)	Balancing Note
Vinegar	Hot & dry	Stimulates appetite/digestion
Mustard	Hot & dry	Warming; use sparingly for choleric temperaments
Honey & currants	Warm & moist	Round out sharpness; “comforting”
Pear	Cool & moist	Tempers heat of spices and vinegar

Ingredient Notes & Modern Substitutions

• Parsley root: Traditional but scarce in U.S. markets—sub parsnip or celery root.
• Greek wine: The text specifies “wyne greke,” likely sweet. Good subs: Muscat, Marsala, or a sweet white. Dry white works in a pinch.
• Powder douce: A mild sweet spice blend (often sugar + cinnamon + ginger). Use your house blend to match other Curia dishes.
• Lombard (Lumbarde) mustard: Strong, sweetened mustard with spice—modern “sweet–hot” or honey mustard is close; add a pinch of ginger for warmth.
• Currants: Zante currants (dried Corinth grapes), not fresh currants. Small raisins are a last-resort sub.
• Saffron: Optional but period-correct for color and aroma. For budget or camping: a tiny pinch of turmeric for color only.

🥕 Dietary Notes

• Vegetarian ✅
• Vegan ✅ (swap honey for date syrup or agave)
• Gluten-free ✅
• Allergens: Mustard is common; omit or reduce, or sub a small pinch of prepared horseradish.
• Camping/Feast friendly: Make 1–2 days ahead; keeps well chilled. Transport brine separately and dress on site for best texture.

Original Text — The Forme of Cury (c. 1390)

Take rote of parsel. pasternak of rasenns. scrape hem waisthe hem clene. take rapes & caboches ypared and icorne. take an erthen panne with clene water & set it on the fire. cast all þise þerinne. whan þey buth boiled cast þerto peeres & parboile hem wel. take þise thynges up & lat it kele on a fair cloth, do þerto salt whan it is colde in a vessel take vineger & powdour & safroun & do þerto. & lat alle þise thinges lye þerin al nyzt oþer al day, take wyne greke and hony clarified togider lumbarde mustard & raisouns corance al hool. & grynde powdour of canel powdour douce. & aneys hole. & fenell seed. take alle þise thynges & cast togyder in a pot of erthe. and take þerof whan þou wilt & serue forth.

Chawatteys – Medieval Pork & Veal Pie with Fruit and Spice (Harleian MS. 279, c. 1430)

Chawatteys (Harleian MS. 279, c. 1430)

Originally published: 2017 — Updated: 2025

Chawatteys is a late medieval pie blending pork or veal with dried fruit, saffron, eggs, and warm spices. The mix of sweet and savory, baked in a pastry shell, reflects the luxury tastes of fifteenth-century England. It comes to us from Harleian MS. 279, one of the great English cookbooks of the early 1400s.

Did You Know?

The name Chawatteys (also spelled Chawettys or Chywettes) comes from the Middle English word chewet, meaning a small pie. The word is thought to derive from Old French chouette (“owl”), since early chewets were sometimes shaped to resemble little birds. Over time, chewet came to mean any small meat pie, often filled with minced pork, dried fruit, and spices.

Modern notes: Can’t find verjus? Substitute with a splash of wine vinegar. Veal may be replaced with pork, or even chicken. If you want a vegetarian option, mushrooms or eggplant can stand in for the meat (though this moves away from the medieval version). Zante currants and saffron are both available online if your local shop doesn’t stock them.

The Original Recipe

Chawatteys (Harlieian MS 279, c. 1430) Take buttys of Vele, and mynce hem smal, or Porke, and put on a potte; take Wyne, and caste þer-to pouder of Gyngere, Pepir, and Safroun, and Salt, and a lytel verjus, and do hem in a cofyn with yolks of Eyroun, and kutte Datys and Roysonys of Coraunce, Clowys, Maces, and þen ceuere þin cofyn, and lat it bake tyl it be y-now.

Funges – Mushroom & Leek Pottage from The Forme of Cury (c. 1390)

Funges – Medieval Mushroom & Leek Pottage (The Forme of Cury, c. 1390)

Originally published 2017 — updated September 2025

🥕 Dietary Notes: Vegan • Vegetarian • Gluten-Free     

Funges – a saffron-tinted pottage of mushrooms and leeks from The Forme of Cury, c. 1390.

Humoral Theory: Mushrooms and leeks were considered cold and moist. Saffron, pepper, ginger, and clove were hot and dry correctives, making the dish balanced and easy to digest in the morning.

Menu Placement: Funges works as an early pottage course, served with bread or trenchers, to prepare the stomach before heavier meats and roasts.

Funges is a warming dish of mushrooms and leeks simmered in broth, brightened with saffron and finished with Powder Fort. It’s fast, fragrant, and feast-friendly—perfect for Curia brunch as a gentle starter. If you love leek dishes, see also Canabenys with Lekys.

This dish highlights the medieval love of mushrooms, leeks, and saffron. It is meatless, making it suitable for fast days and Lenten feasts, while still rich and satisfying. Its bright saffron hue and spicy warmth balance the humoral system—warming and drying against damp, cool mornings. Served with bread, it offers both nourishment and elegance, reminding us how medieval cooks turned humble ingredients into royal fare.

Original Recipe

Funges (The Forme of Cury, c. 1390)
Take Funges and pare hem clere and dyce hem. take leke and shred him smal and do him to seeþ in gode broth color yt wȝt safron and do þer inne pouder fort and serve hit forth.

Egges yn Brewte (Poached Eggs in Spiced Milk with Cheese) — Gentyll Manly Cokere, MS Pepys 1047 (c. 1490)

Delicate poached eggs in a ginger–saffron milk broth with melting cheese, served on toasted sops.

Originally published 10/20/2017 - updated 9/17/2025

In Middle English, brewte/brewet means a seasoned liquid—broth or thin sauce—used to cradle simple foods. This version from the Pepys manuscript gently poaches eggs and “tempers” the pan with sweet milk, ginger, pepper, and saffron, finishing with shaved cheese. Serve over sops (toasted bread) to catch every drop. It’s fast, elegant, and right at home in our Curia Regis brunch set.

🍳 Did you know? Manuscripts vary. Pepys 1047 specifies milk and cheese; related “brewte” dishes elsewhere take a light meat or almond stock brightened with verjuice or vinegar. Both approaches are period—choose what fits your table.

Source: Gentyll Manly Cokere, MS Pepys 1047 (c. 1490).

Original Text (c. 1490)

Egges yn Brewte. Take water and seethe it. In the same water breke thy egges and cast there-in gynger, peper, and saffron; then temper it up with swete mylke and boyle it. And then carve chese and caste thereto smale cut; and when it is ynogh, serve it forth.

Gloss: Temper with sweet milk = enrich the cooking liquid with dairy; sops = toast laid in the dish to soak the sauce.

Modern Recipe — Poached Eggs in Saffron Milk with Cheese (serves 6–8)

Apple & Curd Pancakes (1682) — A Fryed Meate in Haste for the Second Course

A Fryed Meate (Pancakes) in Haste for the Second Course (The Whole Body of Cookery Dissected, 1682)

A Fryed Meate in Haste for the Second Course — apple & curd pancakes finished with sugar.

Originally published 10/29/2017 - updated 9/17/2025

 In late 17th-century English cookery, “meat” can simply mean food/dish, not specifically animal flesh. This recipe from The Whole Body of Cookery Dissected (1682) makes quick, delicate apple-and-curd pancakes scented with rosewater, sack (fortified wine), cinnamon, and nutmeg. It’s a natural fit for a brunch or as a sweet course between heavier roasts. I originally made these for our Curia Regis Brunch set—now updated to my modern format.

Source: The Whole Body of Cookery Dissected (1682) — “A Fryed Meate (Pancakes) in Haste for the Second Course.”

Original Text (1682)

Take a pint of curds made tender of morning milk, pressed clean from the Whey, put to them one handful of flour, six eggs, casting away three whites, a little rosewater, sack, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, salt, and two pippins minced small, beat this all together into a thick batter, so that it may not run abroad; if you want wherewith to temper it add cream; when they are fried, scrape on sugar and send them up; if this curd be made with sack, as it may as well as with rennet, you may make a pudding with the whey thereof.

Notes: “Pippins” = firm cooking apples. “Sack” ≈ fortified white wine (e.g., dry sherry). “Curds” today map neatly to drained cottage cheese or farmer’s cheese.

Modern Recipe — Apple & Curd Pancakes (makes ~12 small)

Canabeys with Lekys — A Medieval Bean and Leek Pottage (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430)

Canabeys with Lekys — Harleian MS. 279 (c. 1430)

Originally published 3/30/2015, Updated 9/17/2025

What is “Canabeys (Canabens) with Lekys”?

Canabeys/Canabens in Harleian MS. 279 refers to cooked beans, most often the broad/fava beans familiar to medieval cooks, prepared plainly in broth or enriched with dairy and sometimes served with bacon. Combined with lekys (leeks), you get a humble, comforting pottage that fits beautifully on a fifteenth-century table—and on ours.

🥕 Dietary badge: Vegetarian as written; easily vegan. Gluten-free.

Blawnche Perrye – Creamed Leeks with Rice and Fish (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430)

Harleian MS. 279 (c.1430) – For to make Blawnche Perrye – Creamed Leeks with Rice

Originally published 3/30/2017 Updated 9/10/2025

In Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430), we are told to serve fish — especially eel — with Blawnche Perrye, much as venison was paired with furmenty. Eel was common in medieval England, but difficult to find (and costly) today. For this version, I substituted perch, though monkfish or mullet would be closer to the fatty, firm texture of eel.

This dish sits at the intersection of pottage cookery and fish service. It’s a reminder of the wide variety of fish eaten in the Middle Ages: herring, salmon, eel, cod, pike, turbot, perch, carp, trout, even porpoise and whale. Shellfish such as oysters, cockles, shrimps, crabs, and mussels were also common.

The Original Recipe

.xlv.—For to make Blawnche Perrye.
Take þe Whyte of the lekys, an seþe hem in a potte, an presse hem vp, & hacke hem smal on a bord. An nym gode Almaunde Mylke, an a lytil of Rys, an do alle þes to-gederys, an seþe an stere it wyl, an do þer-to Sugre or hony, an dresse it yn; þanne take powderd Elys, an seþe hem in fayre Water, and broyle hem, an kytte hem in long pecys. And ley .ij. or .iij. in a dysshe, and putte þin perrey in a-noþer dysshe, an serue þe to dysshys to-gederys as Venysoun with Furmenty.

Daniel Myers offers a modernized Middle English transcription on Medieval Cookery, and the recipe is also rendered in Austin’s edition of Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books.

Modern Recipe

Chykonys in Bruette — Medieval Chicken in Ale-Broth with Saffron (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430)

Chykonys in Bruette — Chicken in Ale-Broth with Saffron (Harleian MS. 279)

Chykonys in Bruette — Chicken in Ale-Broth with Saffron (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430)

Originally published 12/21/2016 - Updated 9/10/2025

Bruet/bruette in Middle English generally signals a sauce or broth thickened with bread and seasoned with warm spices. In Harleian MS. 279, this dish is a straightforward, feast-friendly pottage: gently boiled chicken, chopped, then simmered in its own broth with ale, pepper, ginger, and saffron, thickened with ground bread. A related stream of recipes (Forme of Cury, Liber cure cocorum, Noble Boke) adds pork and cumin; this post presents the Harleian-only version first and notes the pork-and-cumin variant below.

Original Recipe

.lxxxxvij. Chykonys in bruette.
Take an Sethe Chykonys, & smyte hem to gobettys; þan take Pepir, Gyngere, an Brede y-grounde, & temper it vppe wyth þe self brothe, an with Ale; an coloure it with Safroun, an sethe an serue forth.

Gloss: Boil chickens; chop to gobbets. Grind pepper, ginger, and bread; temper (mix) with the same broth and ale; color with saffron; boil and serve.

Modern Recipe (tested)

Yield: 4 servings (pottage course) • Time: ~45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) bone-in chicken (thighs or split breasts)
• Water to cover (or light chicken broth)
• 1 cup (240 ml) mild ale (low-bitterness)
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ¾–1 tsp ground black pepper
• Generous pinch saffron, crumbled
• ¾–1 cup (45–60 g) fresh breadcrumbs (or 35–45 g dried, finely ground)
• Salt, to taste

Method

1. Parboil: Cover chicken with water; bring to a gentle boil. Skim, then simmer until just cooked (20–25 min). Remove chicken; reserve broth. When cool enough, strip meat and cut into bite-size pieces.
2. Make the bruette: Measure 4 cups (950 ml) of the chicken broth back into the pot. Add ale, ginger, pepper, and saffron. Bring to a gentle simmer 3–5 minutes to bloom spices.
3. Thicken: Whisk in ground bread gradually until the broth lightly coats a spoon; simmer 3–5 minutes. Adjust thickness with more bread or broth.
4. Finish: Return chicken to the pot; simmer 2–3 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Serve hot.

Cook’s Notes: Aim for a spoonable, saucy pottage—not a paste. If your ale is bitter, cut with more broth. For a silkier texture, sieve the sauce before adding the chicken.

Fylettys en Galentyne - Pork in Spiced Onion Sauce (Stew & Sauce Interpretations, Harleian MS. 279, c.1430)

Fylettys en Galentyne – Pork in Spiced Onion Sauce (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430)

Kitchen test photo from the original 2016 post, showing the stew interpretation of Fyletes in Galentyne.

Fyletes in Galentyne appears in Harleian MS. 279 (c.1430) and exemplifies a common medieval pairing: roasted or half-roasted meat finished in a rich, spiced sauce. The “galentyne” is thickened with bread and given depth either by blood (for savory richness) or by sanders (red sandalwood) to tint and flavor. Both are legitimate medieval options, so we present them side by side.

Note on interpretation: When this recipe was first published here on February 11, 2016, I presented it as a stew — simmered pork and onions in a spiced broth. On closer reading, however, the text more clearly aligns with the medieval understanding of galentyne as a sauce for meat: roast pork finished with a thickened, spiced, colored sauce. 

Both versions are plausible, so I’ve left my original interpretation here (Version A) and added the sauce-based version (Version B). The original post has been updated and republished on September 10, 2025 to reflect this correction.

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Original Recipe (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430)

Englishe:
“Take fayre porke of the fore quarter, and rost hit tyl hit be almost ynogh; then take and smyte hit in fayre pecys, and caste hit in a fayre potte; then take oynons and shredde hem small, and frie hem in fayre grece, and caste hem to the porke, and stew hit togydre; then take gode broth of beef or motton, and caste thereto; then take powder of peper and of gynger, and caste thereto; and take bred ystepid in vinegre, and strayne hit thorow a straynoure, and caste thereto; and colour hit with blode, or elles with sandres, and then lat hit boyle up wel, and serve it forth.”

Modern Translation:
Take good pork from the forequarter and roast it until nearly done; cut into pieces and place in a pot. Chop onions, fry them in fat, and add to the pork. Stew together with good beef or mutton broth. Add pepper and ginger. Take bread soaked in vinegar, strain it, and add. Color with blood—or else with red sandalwood—and let it boil well. Serve forth.

Kitchen Adventures – Cxxij. A rede morreye (Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430))

In the realm of medieval cookery, there's a curious coincidence found within the Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books: Harleian MS. 279 (circa 1430) and Harl. MS. 4016 (circa 1450), featuring extracts from Ashmole MS. 1439, Laud MS. 553, and Douce MS. 55 by Thomas Austin. It's the duplication of a recipe, each time bearing a different name but offering similar instructions on preparing the dish. Fortunately, I find myself in possession of mulberries, which seem to flourish abundantly in my locale, and are often treated as anuisances in my area.

Murrey, is similar to Rapeye, seems to denote a type of sauce, characterized by its red or reddish hue and its thick consistency. For instance, the recipe from the Forme of Curye, circa 1390, presents an early rendition of this recipe: 

MORREE [1]. XXXVIII.

Take Almandes blaunched, waisshe hem. grynde hem. and temper hem up with rede wyne, and alye hem with flour of Rys. do þerto Pynes yfryed. and colour it with saundres. do þerto powdour fort and powdour douce

and salt, messe it forth and flour it [2] with aneys confyt whyte.

[1] Morree. Ms. Ed. 37. murrey. Ibid. II. 26. morrey; probably from the mulberries used therein. [2] flour it. Flourish it.

Similarly, a recipe from MS Royal 12 (1340) offers diverse ingredients to accomplish the sauce:

32. Moree. rice flour or amidon, whichever can be found; that the color of sandalwood will be had, grind well in a mortar; and then it must be tempered in almond milk and well strained. And then put powdered cinnamon and of galingale. If it is a fish day, put in pears or chestnuts or salmon, or luce or perch; if a meat day, put in veal or goat, if you would have a good and royal meat.

The Online Etymological Dictionary gives the following information on the derivation of the word:

c. 1300, "tree of the genus Morus;" mid-14c. in reference to a berry from the tree; an alteration of morberie (13c.) from or cognate with Middle High German mul-beri (alteration by dissimilation of Old High German mur-beri, Modern German Maulbeere); both from Latin morum "mulberry, blackberry" + Old English berie, Old High German beri "berry." As mentioned earlier, I am lucky to have a mulberry tree growing in my yard. Each year I wait for the fruit to ripen so that I can make mulberry jam, or eat it on shortcakes either by itself or mixed with other berries.

Both of these recipes refer to a dish that is colored with mullberries. As has been discussed previously, color played a major roles in this time period. The color "red" held major significance; life force, love, lust and anger being only a few.  It also held religious significance, being the color of Christ's blood and the fires of Hell. I wonder what the significance held for this dish, if any?

Original Recipe

.Cxxij. A rede Morreye.—Take Molberys, and wrynge a gode hepe of hem þorw a cloþe; nym Vele, hew it & grynd it smal, & caste þer-to; nym gode Spycery an [supplied by ed.] Sugre, & caste þer- [leaf 22 bk.] to; take Wastilbrede & grate it, & ȝolkys of Eyroun, & lye it vppe þer-with, & caste gode pouder of Spycery þer-an a-bouen; & þan serue it forth.

Interpreted Recipe

122. A Red Morreye - Take mulberries, and wring a good heap of them through a cloth; take veal, cut it and grind it small, and cast thereto; take good spices and sugar, and caste thereto; take Wastel Bread (bread made from flour) and grate it, and yolks of eggs, and lay it up there-with and caste good powder of spices there-on, above; and then serve it forth.

Original Recipe

.Cxviij. Murreye.—Take Molberys, & wryng hem þorwe a cloþe; nym Vele, hew it, sethe it, grynd it smal, & caste þer-to; nym gode Spycery, Sugre, & caste þer-to; take Wastylbrede y-gratyd, [leaf 22.] and ȝolkys of Eyroun, & lye it vppe þer-with, & caste gode pouder a-boue y-now, & þan serue forth.

Interpreted Recipe

218. Murreye - Take mulberries, and wring them through a cloth, take veal, cut it, cook it, grind it smal and cast there-to; take good spicery, sugar and caste there-to; take wastel bread grated, and yolks of eggs and lay it up there-with, and cast good powder above enough now and then serve forth.


Ingredients 
To Serve 8

2 pounds cooked veal, pork or chicken, either sliced, or cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups mulberries

1 tsp. mixed spices (powder forte)

~ 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 egg yolk
*Opt*  1 tsp. lemon juice, vinegar, or wine

Instructions

1. We are instructed to "take mulberries and wring them through a cloth", to create mulberry juice.  To do this, add mulberries, spices, sugar, lemon juice (wine, vinegar) , and water (if needed) to a blender, and blend until smooth.

2. Strain your juice using a cloth lined sieve, to remove solids,  into a pan. 
3. Add bread and egg  yolk, and simmer, stirring constantly, until the bread has dissolved in the sauce. 
4. Add meat, and continue to cook until the mixture has reached your desired consistency. 

Thoughts

This recipe is found in the pottage section of the Harl. MS 279, meaning it is a dish that is cooked in a pot.  The instructions as written above, advise us to mix the meat with the sauce, and to cook it. We are left to our imagination to determine if this is a saucier dish that could serve as a "soup/stew" or if it could be served as a sauce along side, sliced meat, which would be a more modern interpretation.  Or a meat cooked in sauce, similar to a meaty pasta sauce, or a good braised meat. 

For the presentation, I chose to serve this dish as a braised dish, using slices of pork braised in the mulberry sauce over sops of bread (to catch all of the sauce!), and a side of boiled & buttered vegetables. This would be a delicious appetizer or a perfect first course dish.  I hope you enjoy. 

Kitchen Adventures – Cix.Gelye de chare &Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - Cx. Gelye de Fysshe (Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430))

These two particular recipes from "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" by  Thomas Austin could be mistaken for modern dishes known as "aspics".  An aspic is gelatine made from meat stock that is molded and include pieces of meat, fish or eggs. All aspics are gelatine, but not all gelatines are aspics.  The primary difference being the sweetness of the dish; aspics are savory, and gelatines are sweet, with medieval and rennaissance aspics falling somewhere in the middle of the two making them the precursor's to the fancy modern day dishes we know today. 

The oldest evidence of the making of gelatine can be found in the Nahal Hemar Cave near Mt. Sedom in Israel.  During the excavation it was discovered that numerous cave paintings,  baskets and utinsels contained collagen that was derived from animal skins. It was used as a glue to bind pigments found in cave paintings and to provide a waterproof barrier for baskets, cloth and other containers. It is theorized that the glue was obtained through boiling of animal hides. 

Hide glue and gelatin we eat are "the same thing".  If you are interested in trying to make a similar glue you can find instructions on the Practical Primitive website here (I would not advise eating it).  If you would like to learn more about the scientific/technical aspects of hide glue click here. 

Important Disclaimer: Knox Gelatine, which is what I used to prepare the gelye de chare in the past is -not- derived from the animal hide but is made from bones and therefore is not vegetarian.  

The Roman historian Pliny writes about "fish-glue", a process that produced a thin, honey like substance that when mixed with other items could be used to remove wrinkles and plump the skin.  The instructions he gives bear a closer resemblence to the instructions to make Gelye of Fleysshe. 

Fish-glue effaces wrinkles and plumps out the skin; being boiled for the purpose in water some four hours, and then pounded and kneaded up till it attains a thin consistency, like that of honey.  -- The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 6 of 6, by Pliny the Elder

The earliest recipes I was able to locate for making gelye dishes come from the 1300's.  The first being for fish from Enseignements qui enseingnent a apareillier toutes manieres de viandes (1300's).

If you want to make fish jelly, break the back of the fish and cut it into pieces, that is to say: carp and tench, bream and turbot, and put to cook in good, strong wine; Then take cinnamon, ginger, long pepper, galingale, lavender and a little saffron; Then grind and put all together; And when you strain it of the fire, then in take out the fish in a bowl and pour thereon; and if you see that it is too thick, then sieve it and let it cool until the morning, and by then take it likewise like jelly.

The second from 1381 for a meat jelly from MS Douce 257

For to make mete gelee þat it be wel chariaunt, tak wyte wyn & a perty of water & safroun & gode spicis & flesch of piggys or of hennys, or fresch fisch, & boyle þam togedere; & after, wan yt ys boylyd & cold, | dres yt in dischis & serue yt forþe. 

.Cix. Gelye de chare.—Take caluys fete, & skalde hem in fayre water, an make hem alle þe whyte. Also take howhys of [leaf 20.] Vele, & ley hem on water to soke out þe blode; þen take hem vppe, an lay hem on a fayre lynen cloþe, & lat þe water rennyn out of hem [supplied by ed.] ; þan Skore*. [Scour. ] a potte, & putte þe Fete & þe Howhys þer-on; þan take Whyte Wyne þat wolle hold coloure, & cast þer-to a porcyon, an non oþer lycoure, þat þe Fleysshe be ouer-wewyd*. [See other Cookery, No. 174, wese. ] withalle, & sette it on þe fyre, & boyle it, & Skeme it clene; an whan it is tendyr & boylid y-now, take vppe þe Fleyshe in-to a fayre bolle, & saue þe lycoure wyl; & loke þat þow haue fayre sydys of Pyggys, & fayre smal Chykenys wyl & clene skladdyd & drawe, & lat þe leggys an þe fete on, an waysshe hem in fayre water, & caste hem in þe fyrste brothe, an sethe it a-ȝen ouer þe fyre, & skeme it clene; lat a man euermore kepe it, an blow of þe grauy. An in cas þe lycoure wast*. [Waste. ] a-way, caste more of þe same wyne þer-to, & put þin honde þer-on; & ȝif þin hond waxe clammy, it is a syne of godenesse, an let not þe Fleyshe be moche sothe,*. [boiled. ] þat it may bere kyttyng; þan take it vppe, & ley it on a fayre cloþe, & sette owt þe lycoure fro þe fyre, & put a few colys vnder-nethe þe vesselle þat þe lycoure is yn; þan take pouder of Pepir, a gode quantyte, & Safron, þat it haue a fayre Laumbere coloure, & a gode quantyte of Vynegre, & loke þat it be sauery of [supplied by ed.] Salt & of Vynegre, fayre of coloure of Safroun, & putte it on fayre lynen cloþe, & sette it vndernethe a fayre pewter dysshe, & lat it renne þorw þe cloþe so ofte tylle it renne clere: kytte fayre Rybbys of þe syde of þe Pygge, & lay ham on a dysshe, an pulle of þe lemys of þe Chykenys, eche fro oþer, & do a-way þe Skynne, & ley sum in a dysshe fayre y-chowchyd,*. [Y-couched; laid. ] & pore þin*. [Thine. ] gelye þer-on, & lay Almaundys þer-on, an Clowys, & paryd Gyngere, & serue forth.

109. Gely of Flesh - Take calves feet, and scald them in fair water, and make them all the white.  Also take hooves of veal, and lay them on water to soak out the blood; then take them up and lay them on a fair linen cloth, and let the water running out of them; then scour a pot and put the feet and hooves there-on; then take white wine that would hold color, and caste there-to a portion and none other liquor, that the flesh be over-washed withal, and set it on the fire and boil it and skim it clean; and when it is tender and boiled enough, take up the flesh into a fair bowl, and save the liquor well; and look that you have fair sides of pigs, and fair small chickens well and clean scalded and draw, and let the legs and the feet on, and wash them in fair water, and caste them in the first broth, and boil it again over the fire, and skim it clean; let a man evermore keep it, and blow off the gravy. And in case the liquor waist away, caste more of the same wine thereto, and put your hand there-on and if your hand wax clammy, it is a sign of goodness, and let no the flesh be much boiled that it may bear cutting; then take it up and lay it on a fair cloth and set out the liquor from the fire, and put a few cloths underneath the vessel that the liquor is in; then take good powder of pepper, a good quantity of saffron, that it have a fair amber color, and a good quantity of vinegar, and look that it be savory of salt and of vinegar, fair of color of saffron, & put it on fair linen cloth, & set it underneath a fair pewter dish, and let it run through the cloth so oft till it run clear: cut fair ribs of the side of the pig, and lay them on a dish, and pull of the limbs (?) of the chickens, each from the other, and do away the skin, and lay some in a dish fair y-couched (laid) and pour your gely thereon, and lay almonds, thereon and cloves and paired ginger, and serve forth.

.Cx. Gelye de Fysshe.—Take newe Pykys, an draw hem, and smyte hem to pecys, & sethe in þe same lycoure þat þou doste Gelye of Fleysshe; an whan þey ben y-now, take Perchys and Tenchys, & seþe; & Elys, an kutte hem in fayre pecys, and waysshe hem, & putte hem in þe same lycoure, & loke þine lycoure be styf y-now; & ȝif it wolle notte cacche,*. [stick; see other Cookery, No. 174. ] take Soundys of watteryd Stokkefysshe, or ellys Skynnys, or Plays, an caste þer-to, & sethe ouer þe fyre, & skeme it wyl; & when it ys y-now, let nowt þe Fysshe breke; þenne take þe lycoure fro þe fyre, & do as þou dedyst be*. [By, with. ] þat oþer Gelye, saue, pylle þe Fysshe, & ley þer-off in dysshis, þat is, perche & suche; and Flowre hem, & serue forthe.

110. Gely of Fish --Take new pike, and draw them, and smite them into pieces, and boil in the same liquor that you do gely of flesh; and when they been enough, take perch and tench, and cook, and eels, and cut them in fair pieces and wash them, and put them in the same liquor, and look your liquor be stiff enough, and if it would not catch (stick?), take sounds (swim bladder) of watery stockfish, or eel skins or plaice, and caste thereto, and cook, and cook over the fire and skim it well; and when it is enough, let not the flesh break; then take the liquor from the fire, and do as you did with the other gely, save pile the fish, and lay there-of in dishes that is, perch and such; and flower them and serve forth.

Trype de Motoun ix. & lx. Trype of Turbut or of Codlyng (Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430))

Tripe of Mutton and Tripe of Turbot or of Codling

Caveat: I have not tested this recipe because I do not have access to the ingredients. If someone does move forward to test it, I would welcome feedback on tweaks that may be needed to improve the recipe.

Mutton Tripe

Offal is not something we eat a lot of in the states. Of the various kinds of organ meats that are offered tripe is one of the more commonly eaten ones. The 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 by Thomas Austin contains recipes for two kinds of tripe, tripe of mutton, and tripe of fish. I present them below.

What is tripe? Tripe is the edible lining of an animal's stomach and comes from cows, pigs, goats or sheep. When I think of tripe, I think of the "honeycomb" tripe that comes from a cow's stomach. In fact, the honeycomb is only one of four different kinds of tripe found.

Plain tripe is the lining of the first stomach (rumen) of a cow and it appears flat and smooth. The second kind of tripe is the honeycomb tripe that is found in the lower part of a cow's second stomach (the reticulum). The third kind of tripe is book tripe, which contains many folds giving it the appearance of a book. It is found in the third stomach of a cow, the omasum, and is also known as bible tripe. The fourth kind is known as reed tripe and it is found in the cow's fourth stomach, the abomasum.

Lamb tripe is the lining of a lamb's stomach. It is smaller and thinner than the more familiar beef tripe. Straight from the stomach it is olive green in color and requires meticulous cleaning and some bleaching to become the pale color we are familiar with.

The tripe itself has a very mild almost neutral flavor, likened to a taste between liver and heart because it adopts the flavor of the surrounding organs. It is the texture that makes it special. When properly cooked it should be chewy, soft enough to bite through, and unctuous.

Fortunately, most tripe that is purchased today has already been cleaned and bleached. However, it still requires a few hours of preparation before it can be used. The process starts with washing the tripe and cleaning it to remove any remaining fat or fiber found in the folds. It must then be scrubbed with vinegar (or lemon) and salt, soaked in water, cut into small pieces, and then poached until tender. Once it is tender, it can then be cooked in whatever recipe you choose to use it in. Can you imagine how difficult this process would have been starting with the green tripe fresh from the slaughter?

Are there substitutes for tripe? Unfortunately, there is no direct substitute for tripe. However, I did discover recipes for Menudo which substituted pork chops, chicken, or beef, for the tripe component. I also found several recipes where oyster mushrooms were used in place of tripe. I personally am unable to purchase tripe in a small enough quantity to make a test recipe, so I have chosen to substitute lamb for the tripe component when I test the recipe below.

What is the difference between lamb and mutton?

Wikipedia offers a direct answer to this question.

Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, Ovis aries. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton.

Original Recipe

.ix. Trype de Motoun.—Take þe pownche of a chepe, and make it clene, an caste it on a pot of boylyng water, an skyme it clene, an gader þe grece al a-way, an lat it boyle tyl it be tender; þan ley it on a fayre bord, an kyt it in smale pecys of the peny brede, an caste it on an erþen pot with strong brothe of bef or of moton; þanne take leuys of þe percely an hew hem þer-to, an let hem boyle to-gederys tyl þey byn tender, þan take powder of gyngere, and verious, þan take Safroun [supplied by ed.] *. [Added from A. ] an salt, and caste þer-to, an let boyle to-gederys, an serue in.

My Interpretation

9. Tripe of Mutton - Take the paunch (belly) of a sheep, and make it clean, and cast it on a pot of boiling water, and skim it clean, and gather the grease all away, and let it boil till it be tender; then lay it on a fair board, and cut it in small pieces of penny bread, and cast it on an earthen pot with strong broth of beef or of mutton; than take leaves of the parsley and hew there-to, and let them boil together till they be tender, than take powder of ginger, and verjuice, than take saffron, and salt, and caste there-to, and let boil together, and serve in.

Ingredients

1 pound tripe, prepared as above (sub pork, chicken, beef, or mushrooms)

4 cups beef broth

1 tbsp. chopped parsley

1/4 tsp. ginger (I used powdered)

1/2 cup verjuice (see below to make your own)

Pinch of saffron

Salt to taste

Opt: Pepper to taste

Instructions

Note: This recipe could be interpreted two ways, the first is to cut the tripe into pieces the size of "a penny loaf of bread", which is how I have read it. However, you could thicken the broth with bread crumbs if you prefer to have more body to the broth. I would suggest about half a cup of bread crumbs once the broth is brought to boiling.

1. Bring beef broth to boil with verjuice and seasonings.

2. Add tripe and cook until beef broth has slightly reduced.

3. Serve.

My suggestion for serving if you have not thickened the broth is to add a slice of bread to the bottom of the bowl and the tripe on top.

Original Recipe

.lx. Trype of Turbut or of Codelynge.—Take þe Mawes of Turbut, Haddok, or Codelyng, & pyke hem clene, & skrape hem, & Wasshem clene, and parboyle hem in gode Freysshe broþe of Turbut or Samoun, or Pyke; þan kytte Percely smalle, & caste þer-to, & kytte þe Mawys of a peny brede, & caste alle togederys in-to a potte, & let it boyle to-gederys; & whan þey bin soþin tendyr, caste þer-to Safroun, & Salt, & Veryous, & pouder Gyngere, & serue forth.

My Interpretation

60. Tripe of Turbot or of Codling - Take the stomach of turbot, haddock, or codling and pick them clean and scrape and wash clean, and parboil them in good fresh broth of turbot or salmon or pike; then cut parsley small and caste there-to, and cut the stomach of a penny bread, and cast all together into a pot, and let it boil together, and when they be boiled tender, cast there-to saffron, and salt, and verjuice, and powder ginger and serve forth.

Ingredients

1 pound fish maw (sub turbot, haddock, or cod)

4 cups fish broth

1 tbsp. chopped parsley

1/4 tsp. ginger (I used powdered)

1/2 cup verjuice (see below to make your own)

Pinch of saffron

Salt to taste

Opt: Pepper to taste

Instructions

Prepare as above.

The word maw actually means stomach or gullet, and, as such, the term for this product is a bit of a misnomer as it is really the ‘Swim bladder’ of certain bony (non-cartilaginous) species of fish. The swim bladder is a gas-filled sac that lies in the belly and allows the fish that possess them to maintain and control buoyancy at different depths (Sybaritica, Sybaritica & Sybaritica, 2021).

The fish maw is an ingredient that is still used in Asian cooking and is considered one of the four delicacies of the sea. Those who have eaten fish maw say that it has no taste on its own, but takes on the taste of the ingredients it is cooked with. Unfortunately, fish maw is not an item that I have easy access to. I would have to purchase it through Amazon, and it is available only in dried form. If you are interested in attempting this recipe fish maw can be purchased here: Palamaki Dried Fish Maw

Bonus Recipe - Verjuice

Ingredients

6 pounds of unripe grapes

Instructions

1. Rinse grapes very well

2. Place grapes (stems and all) into a large bowl

3. Using gloved hands, crush the grapes. You want to use gloves because unripe grapes are very acidic and may irritate your skin. Alternatively, you can crush it with a potato masher, or the bottom of a jar.

4. Strain juice through a fine mesh sieve, coffee filter, or cheesecloth.

5. Pour the juice into a mason jar and use it as needed.

Notes:

The juice can be stored for up to three months in yorefrigeratorter. It will separate and change color from green to yellow to brown. This is normal and does not affect the flavor.

Sources

Lamb And Mutton - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_and_mutton. Accessed 18 Aug 2022.

Panch - Yorkshire Historical Dictionary ". Yorkshiredictionary.York.Ac.Uk, 1312, https://yorkshiredictionary.york.ac.uk/words/panch. Accessed 18 Aug 2022.

Sybaritica, D., Sybaritica, F., & Sybaritica, F. (2021). Fish Maw or 魚肚 - An Introduction. Retrieved 8 October 2021, from https://sybaritica.me/fish-maw-or%E9%AD%9A%E8%82%9A-an-introduction/

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 / Edited By Thomas Austin". Quod.Lib.Umich.Edu, 2022, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/CookBk. Accessed 18 Aug 2022.

Yusuf, Zerrin. "What Is Verjuice (Verjus) And How Do You Make It? - Give Recipe". Give Recipe, 2011, https://www.giverecipe.com/homemade-fresh-verjuice/#tasty-recipes-11467-jump-target. Accessed 18 Aug 2022.