Give it Forth: Adventures in Medieval Cookery: English

Showing posts with label English. Show all posts

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - Cxi. Tannye

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 "seven worldly virtues" identified by Jean Courtois (Le Blason de toutes armes et escutz-The Blazon of all Arms and Escutcheons, 1420) which identified armorial tinctures thus:

Gold (or) - wealth (richesse)
Silver (argent) - purity (purete)
Red (gules) - eminence (haultesse)
Blue (azure) - loyalty (loyaulte)
Green (vert) - happiness (lyesse)
Black (sable) - modesty (simplesse)
purple (purpure) - abundance of goods (habondance de biens)

The Church identified the colors as faith (or), hope (argent), charity (gules), justice (azure), fortitude (vert) prudence (sable) and temperance (purpure). The seasons also were represented through color, spring as vert, summer as gules, autumn as azure and winter as sable. The planets also had representative colors:

Sun (or)
Mars (gules)
Moon (argent)
Jupiter (azure)
Mercury (purpure)
Venus (vert)
Saturn (sable)

Color symbolism was applied to humoral theory and the seven ages of man. For more information on medieval dietary theory, which includes a very brief synopsis on humoral theory, and the application of it in creating modern feast menu's, please see my research paper located here.

Sanguine (gules)
Choleric (azure)
Phlegmatic (argent)
Melancholic (sable)

Argent (infancy, up to seven years)
Azure (childhood, up to fifteen years)
Or (adolescence, up to twenty-five years)
Vert (youth, up to thirty-five years)
Gules (maturity up to fifty years)
Purpure (elderliness up to seventy years)
Sable (decreptitude to death)

Knowing how significant color was in this time period, I wanted to know if the final product had a significance attached to it. I was excited to find that it did. The color tawny which leans towards white or yellow displays contrition, innocence and feigned joy, while the regular color, represented by the "Tannye" found in the manuscript should be reddish represents great courage or false valor. Geoffrey Whitney's "Choice of Emblemes (1585), has a poem "In Colores" talking about the color associations common with the dyer's craft. In this poem we can see the name of the recipe, is actually a description of it's color.

For mourners, blacke, for the religious, white,
Which is a sign of conscience pure and free.
The greene agrees with them in hpe that live,
And eeke [also] to youth this colour wee doe give.
The yelowe next, unto the covetous wighte [person],
And unto those whom jelousie doth fret.
The man refus'd, in tannye [tawny] doth delite [delight].

.Cxj. Tannye.—Take almaunde Mylke, & Sugre, an powdere Gyngere, & of Galyngale, & of Canelle, and Rede Wyne, & boyle y-fere: & þat is gode tannye.

111. Tannye - Take almond milk, and sugar, and powder ginger, and of galingale, and of cinnamon, and red wine, and boil fair; and that is good tannye.

Interpreted Recipe

3/4 cup almond milk (I used quick almond milk)
2 tsp. or more sugar (to taste)
1/4 tsp. ginger (or half tsp. ginger if no galingale)
1/4 tsp. galingale
Pinch of Cinnamon
1/4 cup red wine

Note: there is the possibility that your almond milk may curdle when red wine is added and the drink is brought to a boil. Wine is acidic and adding acid to almond milk is how you make Fride Creme of Almaundys - Cold Cream of Almonds, a lenten alternative to butter or creamy cheese. The trick is to heat all the ingredients together to just below a simmer, and then serve. It's that easy. If it curdles, and they bother you, strain through a strainer before serving. I am ok with it, so you can see that my tannye got a little curdled. I let it get too warm. This is delicious, slightly reminiscent of mulled wine with the ginger being the main spice, the cinnamon warmly following, and the almond milk making it creamy. A must serve for a winter's revel.

More Information:

Renaissance Colour Symbolism - By Roy Osborne

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - Cxlj. Noteye - Nutty (Incomplete)

When I first came across the instructions for creating Noteye, 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 I was intrigued. The instructions call for using hazel leaves, most likely the eaves of the European Hazel or Filbert (Corylus avellana) in addition to nuts (notys) that have been fried in grease. From previous research Cxlij. Vyande Ryalle. - A Royal Dish (incomplete recipe), I had learned that hazel leaves are considered a forage food. It appears that you are using them to not only color the dish, but also to impart a specific flavor. I do not have access to the leaves, so unfortunately am unable to adequately recreate the recipe 😞. My first thoughts on interpretation are below. I do hope that someone who does have access does try it and remarks upon it.

Image result for hazelnuts and leaves botanical illustration

.Cxlj. Noteye.—Take a gret porcyoun of Haselle leuys, & grynd in a morter as smal as þou may, whyl þat þey ben ȝonge; take þan, & draw vppe a þrift Mylke of Almaundys y-blaunchyd, & temper it with Freysshe broþe; wryng out clene þe Ius of þe leuys; take Fleysshe of Porke or of Capoun, & grynd it smal, & temper it vppe with þe mylke, & caste it in a potte, & þe Ius þer-to, do it ouer þe fyre & late it boyle; take flour of Rys, & a-lye it; take & caste Sugre y-now þer-to, & Vynegre a quantyte, & pouder Gyngere, & Safroun it wel, & Salt; take smal notys, & breke hem; take þe kyrnellys, & make hem whyte, & frye hem vppe in grece; plante þer-with þin mete & serue forth.

141. Noteye - Take a great portion of hazel leaves, and grind in a mortar as small as you may, while that they be young; take then and draw up a thrift milk of almonds blanched and temper it with fresh broth; wring out clean the juice of the leaves; take flesh of pork or of capon, and grind it small, and temper it up with the milk, and cast it into a pot, and the juice there-to, do it over the fire and let it boil; take flour of rice, and mix it; take and cast sugar enough thereto, and vinegar a quantity and powder ginger, and saffron it well, and salt. Take small nuts and break them; take the kernels, and make them white, and fry them up in grease; plant there-with your meat, and serve forth.

Interpreted Recipe

Handful of young hazel leaves
1 c. almond milk made with broth of pork or chicken
1/4 pd. pork or chicken, minced
1-2 tbsp. Rice Flour
2 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Vinegar
1/4 tsp. Ginger
Pinch Saffron
Salt to taste
2-3 Hazel Nuts
Oil

Grind your hazel leaves in a mortar, you may want to add a bit of salt to them so that they grind well. As an alternative, place your leaves in a blender with a little bit of water and blend well. Strain well. Place your almond milk, saffron, and ground pork or chicken in a pot along with the strained juice of the hazel leaves and bring to a boil. Add rice flour and sugar and cook till it begins to thicken. Add vinegar, ginger and salt and cook for a few minutes more. Meanwhile, lightly toast your nuts in grease after removing the skins. Prior to serving, garnish with the nuts.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .lxxxxiiij. Tenche in bruette & lxxxxv. Tenche in cyueye - Tench in Civey

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .lxxxxiiij. Tenche in bruette

After some debate, I placed both interpretations 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 Thomas Austin for tench in sauce or broth on the same blog post. My reasoning for this is that there is more similarities than differences between the two. The Tenche in Cyueye includes onions which the Tenche in Bruette does not.

The Glossary of Medieval & Renaissance Culinary Terms defines cyueye in the following way:

cive, civey(e), ciuey, cyuey, ceue, cyueye = Ragout or stew (possibly derived from a word meaning 'onion' (Plouvier). (Viandier) - Among other modern usages, this is probably a derivative of civey, which was at one time named for, and characterized by, the possibility of thickening a sauce with finely chopped onion, cooked till very soft. Some medieval recipes for civeys (for example, hare in civey) also call for blood as an additional thickener; nowadays the dish, which is now sometimes called civet, is mostly characterized by thickening and enriching the broth with the reserved blood of the critter you're cooking. It will coagulate if boiled, and turn very dark, but if heated properly it will assume a velvety texture similar to a stirred custard, and acquire a deep russet shade almost like a mole-poblano-type sauce. (Troy)

I was intrigued by the instructions to scald or boil the fish before roasting it. Scalding is a method of cleaning and killing any microorganisms that might be harmful. It involves heating a liquid (in this case water) or milk to just below boiling. If you have a thermometer 180 degrees is best. If you don't you want to keep an eye on the side of the pan. When you see small bubbles forming around the side and steam starting to whisp off of the pan, then you can remove your liquid.

.lxxxxiiij. Tenche in bruette.—Take þe Tenche, an sethe hem & roste hem, an grynde Pepir an Safroun, Bred and Ale, & tempere wyth þe brothe, an boyle it; þen take þe Tenche y-rostyd, an ley hym on a chargeoure; þan ley on þe sewe a-boue

94. Tench in Broth- Take the tench, and boil him and roast him, and grind pepper and saffron, bread and ale, and temper with the broth, and boil it, then take the tench roasted, and lay him on a charger; then lay on the sauce above.

1/4 pound fatty firm textured fish such as carp, perch, tench, bluefish or bass
1/4 tsp. pepper
pinch of saffron
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
3/4 cup ale
3 tbsp. fish broth

In keeping with the instructions, I scalded the fish by placing it in a pot with just enough water to cover it. I then heated the pan until I saw small bubbles forming around the edge of it and steam starting to form. Due to modern methods of cleaning and butchering fish, I imagine you could have skipped this step without difficulty.

I removed the fish from the pan and placed it on a lightly oiled baking sheet and roasted it in the oven until it was done. While the fish was cooking in the oven I took a few tablespoons of the broth and added the saffron to it. Once the saffron had strongly colored the water, I added it to the ale (ok confession time--I used Sam Adams Summer Shandy made with lemon peel and grains of paradise) and then soaked the bread crumbs in it. Once the bread was soggy I put it in the pot and brought it to a boil until it formed a thick sauce.

After the fish had finished cooking I plated it and served.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - lxxxxv. Tenche in cyueye - Tench in Civey

.lxxxxv. Tenche in cyueye.—Take a tenche, an skalde hym, roste hym, grynde Pepir an Safroun, Brede an Ale, & melle it to-gederys; take Oynonys, hakke hem, an frye hem in Oyle, & do hem þer-to, and messe hem forth.

95. Tench in Civey - Take a tench, and scald him, roast him, grind pepper and saffron, bread and ale, and mix it together; take onions, hack them, and fry them in oil, and do them there-to, and mess him forth.

1/4 pound fatty firm textured fish such as carp, perch, tench, bluefish or bass
1/4 tsp. pepper
pinch of saffron
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
3/4 cup ale
3 tbsp. fish broth
3 tbsp. onions
1 tbsp. oil

To make this dish, follow the instructions above. The additional step is to lightly brown the finely chopped onion in oil, and after plating, garnish the plate with it.

Both of these dishes were enjoyed by the taste testers, but they were not the day's winner--the best dish of the day was lxxxxvj. Tench in Sawce - Tenche in Sauce. However, this dish would be something I would be happy to serve at any feast, a vigil, lunch and if fresh fish were available at camp. It was simple to make, came together with very little fuss and delicious.

I feel like I need to start placing a caveat at the bottom of each post--I am a hobbyist and I am still very much learning my craft. This is something I do for fun, and with a hope to introduce individuals to food history and entice them to do research on their own. I hope that they find my posts fun and informative and intriguing enough to strike out on their own. I am - not - an authority, nor do I masquerade as one. The sad reality is that no matter how much we learn about this kind of cooking, we will never be authorities, at best, we are guessing at the author's and the cook's intent. I welcome *constructive* criticism and I will own up to mistakes.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - Cxlvj - Ry3th so Caboges.- The Right Way to Cook Cabbages

This set of instructions is located after Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .Cxlv. Blaunche Perreye. - White Pea Soup 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. The instructions are a bit vague, but seem to indicate that you can use the method found in the previous recipe to also cook cabbage. There also appears to be a second set of instructions that indicate, you can cook your cabbage simply in boiling water and then salt it as you would the blaunche perreye prior to serving. Prepared either way, this would be a dish that would be appropriate to serve for lent.

.Cxlvj. Ryȝth so Caboges*. [ i.e. Cabbages in just the same way. ] Ben seruyd, saue men sayn it is gode Also to ley hem in a bagge ouernyȝth in rennyng streme of watere, & a-morwe sette vppe watere, & when þe water is skaldyng hot, þrow hem þer on, & hoole hem in þere wyse be-forsayd, & serue fortℏ.

Cxlvj - Ry3th so Caboges. Ben seruyd, saue men sayn it is gode Also to ley hem in a bagge ouerny3th in rennyng streme of watere, and a-morwe sette vppe watere, and when the water is skaldyng hot, throw hem ther on, and hoole hem in there wyse be-forsayd, and serue forth.

146. Right so Caboges -- Being served, save men saying it is good. Also to lay them in a bag overnight in running stream of water, and a-morrow (the next day) set up water, and when the water is scalding hot, throw them there-on, and hull them in there wise be aforesaid, and serve forth.

Interpretation I

1/8 cabbage, cleaned, cored and cut into ribbons
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup water
Salt and black pepper to taste

Bring water and wine to boil, add cabbage and cook until cabbage is tender. Salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Interpretation II

1/8 cabbage, cleaned, cored and cut into ribbons
1 cup water
Salt and black pepper to taste

Bring water to boil and cook cabbage until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve

Of the two interpretations, the one with the addition of the wine was the personal favorite. The addition of wine elevated the dish to something quite spectacular. Cabbage is one of those dishes that is inexpensive to make and goes a loooooooong way at an event. The first interpretation has gone onto my list of things to serve in the future. I can also see this as being a very easy "camp dish" as well.

I feel like I need to start placing a caveat at the bottom of each post--I am a hobbyist and I am still very much learning my craft. This is something I do for fun, and with a hope to introduce individuals to food history and entice them to do research on their own. I hope that they find my posts fun and informative and intriguing enough to strike out on their own. I am - not - an authority, nor do I masquerade as one. The sad reality is that no matter how much we learn about this kind of cooking, we will never be authorities, at best, we are guessing at the author's and the cook's intent. I welcome *constructive* criticism and I will own up to mistakes.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .xxvj. Coleys - Chicken Cullis

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 Thomas Austin gives us an opportunity to explore techniques for cooking that were popular in the 15th century. I am always surprised by the ingenuity of the medieval cook. Here is an example of a dish that utilizes a cooking technique which is making a comeback. I believe that this set of instructions gives us an opportunity to create a timeline for the use of a kind of bone broth in the medieval period. At the very least, we can trace the use of bones and the earliest forms of bone broth to broth to the Forme of Cury (1390) and documented usage to the mid 1400's.

Coleys calls for not only the broth that was made from boiling the capon, but "the liquor of the bones", which I assume means something similar to a bone broth. This leads me to believe that Coleys may have been considered appropriate for the elderly, sick or very young.

Rhoda Boone in her article "Stock, Broth and Bone Broth—What's the Difference?" explains the differences between broth, stock and bone broth. I urge you to read this informative article. Very briefly, broth is water, vegetables, meat and aromatics which may or may not include bones that are cooked for a very short period of time (up to two hours) and then strained. The goal of making a broth is to create something that can be enjoyed on its own, for example as a base for soup. Stock on the other hand, includes the same ingredients but is cooked for a much longer period of time (approximately 4-6 hours) with the goal of extracting collagen. Stock is used to create rich sauces or gravies and should not be used on its own.

Bone broth is a combination of broth and stock. It is usually made from bones which have been roasted and which may or may not contain some meat still attached. It is cooked for a very long period of time, sometimes up to 24 hours. When you make a bone broth you are not only extracting the collagen and the gelatin from the bones, you are also releasing the minerals within the bones. Like broth, bone broth can be strained, seasoned and enjoyed on its own.

.xxvj. Coleys.—Take a gode Capoun an boyle hem tendere, an pyke a-way clene þe bonys an þe Skyn, an bray hym in a morter, an tempere hym wyth þe same brothe, an strayne hym þorw a straynoure; þenne take þe brawn an þe fleysshe, an a lytil whyte brede, an bray hem alle to-gederys in a morter; þen take þe lycowr of þe bonys, an þe skyn, an þe brothe þat þe Capoun was sothyn ynne, an with al tempere it, but nowt to þicke; þen put it in a potte, an let it be al hote, but let it boyle for no þing; an caste þer-to a litil powder of Gyngere, Sugre an Salt. An ȝif it be on a fyssheday, take Haddok, Pyke, Tenche, Reȝge, Codlynd, an pyke a-way þe bonys [leaf 10.] an tempere wyth almaunde mylke; an make it hot, an caste þer-to Sugre an Salt, an serue forth.

xxvj - Coleys. Take a gode Capoun an boyle hem tendere, an pyke a-way clene the bonys an the Skyn, an bray hym in a morter, an tempere hym wyth the same brothe, an strayne hym thorw a straynoure; thenne take the brawn an the fleysshe, an a lytil whyte brede, an bray hem alle to-gederys in a morter; then take the lycowr of the bonys, an the skyn, an the brothe that the Capoun was sothyn ynne, an with al tempere it, but nowt to thicke; then put it in a potte, an let it be al hote, but let it boyle for no thing; an caste ther-to a litil powder of Gyngere, Sugre an Salt. An 3if it be on a fyssheday, take Haddok, Pyke, Tenche, Re3ge, Codlynd, an pyke a-way the bonys an tempere wyth almaunde mylke; an make it hot, an caste ther-to Sugre an Salt, an serue forth.

26. - Coleys - Take a good capon and boil him tender, and pick away clean the bones and the skin, and pound him in a mortar, and temper him with the same broth, and strain him through a strainer; then take the meat and the flesh, and a little white bread, and pound them all together in a mortar; then take the liquor of the bones, and the skin, and the broth that the capon was boiled in, and with all temper it, but not too thick; then put it in a pot, and let it be all hot, but let it boil for nothing; and caste there-to a little powder of ginger, sugar and salt. And if it be on a fish day, take haddock, pike, tench, Re3ge (skate or ray, possibly shark), codlyng (an inferior form of cod), and pick away the bones and temper with almond milk; and make it hot, and caste thereto sugar and salt, and serve forth.

Interpreted Recipe Serves 1 as Main, 2 as Side

1/4 pound of bone in, skin on chicken
Water to cover
1/4 cup (or more) bread
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste

Cut your chicken into pieces, and place them into a pan. Cover with cold water until it is about an inch over the top of the chicken, bring to boil and cook till tender. Allow to cool overnight, pick the chicken from the skin and the bones. Crack the bones, and then place the bones and the skin back into the broth and heat. Strain the broth, and reserve a little to mix with your chicken, spices and bread until a thick paste is formed. Place the paste in the broth and allow it to heat through.

I had originally thought the meat, broth and bread mixture would form a kind of meat ball in the broth. However, as it began to heat it fell apart for me and created a thick chicken porridge for lack of a better term. This does not look good, but it tastes delicious! I added salt for additional flavoring and I must confess to adding a teaspoon of vinegar to the chicken to sharpen the taste a bit.

A little bit more research indicates that Coley's may be a predecessor to "Cullis" or "Coulis" which is defined as "A strong broth made of meat or fowl with other ingredients used as a base for various sauces or as a restorative for the sick." I would serve this on sops of toasted bread at an event, or use it as a base for thickening another dish made with poultry to make a kind of gravy. I have no idea if this is the intent of the dish, as "Du Fait de Cuisine" indicates--this is a dish for the ill.

I feel like I need to start placing a caveat at the bottom of each post--I am a hobbyist and I am still very much learning my craft. This is something I do for fun, and with a hope to introduce individuals to food history and entice them to do research on their own. I hope that they find my posts fun and informative and intriguing enough to strike out on their own. I am - not - an authority, nor do I masquerade as one. The sad reality is that no matter how much we learn about this kind of cooking, we will never be authorities, at best, we are guessing at the author's and the cook's intent. I welcome *constructive* criticism and I will own up to mistakes.

Be kind to each other, please.

Forme of Cury (England, 1390)

XI - FOR TO MAKE A COLYS. Nym hennys and schald hem wel. and seth hem after and nym the lyre and hak yt smal and bray it with otyn grotys in a morter and with wyte bred and temper it up wyth the broth Nym the grete bonys and grynd hem al to dust and kest hem al in the brothand mak it thorw a clothe and boyle it and serve it forthe.

Du fait de cuisine (France, 1420 - Elizabeth Cook, trans.)

71. Again, a coulleys: to give understanding to him who will make it let him arrange that he has capons or chickens or partridges, whichever is ordered from him by the doctors, and let him take the said poultry and pluck, clean, and wash it very well and cleanly and put to cook in a clear and very clean pot and a little mutton and a very little salt; and cook it well and properly on a clear fire. And while it is cooking let him arrange that he has a great quantity of very good almonds as are needed, and let him clean, blanch, and wash them very well and put them to be brayed in a mortar which does not smell at all of garlic, and bray them well and strongly and moisten them with the said broth of the aforesaid poultry or partridge; and, being sufficiently brayed, draw out the said poultry onto fair dishes and from the said poultry take all of the white meat and chop it very fine and then put it in the mortar with these said almonds and bray it all together very well and strongly, and in braying moisten it with the aforesaid broth; and, being brayed enough, take it from the said broth and strain through a fair and clean strainer and make milk of it - and put in no spices except by the command of the doctor. And then put it to boil and, this being boiled, put it in fair silver or gold bowls and let it be carried to the sick person.

Liber cure cocorum [Sloane MS 1986] (England, 1430)

For a kolys. Þe brawne take of sothun henne or chekyne, And hew hit smalle and bray þen with wyne, With ote grotis, and whyte brede eke. With þe brothe of henne þou tempur hit meke. Take oute þe bonys and grynd hit smalle, In to þe brothe þou kast hit alle, And sye hit thurgh a clothe clene. Dose hit, and serve hit forthe bydene.

A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)

To mak a colles tak the braun of capon or henne and hew it small and bray it with otemele and whit bred cast ther to good pouders and saffron then tak out the bones and grind the flesshe small and cast it unto the brothe and sie it throughe a clothe and salt it boile it and serue it

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .xxxxix. Sardeyneȝ - Almond Pottage

Sometime ago I posted a happy mistake for a sugared and spiced nut dish based on this set of instructions called xxxxix. Sardeyneȝ. I had planned on correcting the mistake immediately and posting the more period correct version but then the sun room construction started, life got in the way and I am late in publishing --Sardeyneȝ "the right way".

Because this recipe is found in the pottages section of 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, the consistency that we should be finding from a correctly interpreted recipe is that of a soft pudding, cereal or gruel. Here then is the more appropriate interpretation of this dish, which is simply delicious and highly recommended. It would make an excellent camp breakfast dish, and I would recommend it for a pottage at any feast or luncheon you choose to make.

Bring all ingredients to a boil and then simmer until thickened. Garnish with a sprinkling of sugar, or butter (in lieu of oil) or both, and then serve.

This is a very comforting dish that is slightly reminiscent of cream of wheat or malt-o-meal. If you enjoy eating these cereals you will enjoy this dish. I hope you enjoy.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .Clj. Creme Bastarde - Cream Bastarde

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 Thomas Austin contains instructions for a custard made exclusively with egg whites. This dish appears to have been very popular and instructions for it can also be found in the later tudor period. As previously discussed, custards enjoy a long history. The Romans enjoyed many sweet and savory egg based dishes, but it wasn't until the middle ages that "custards", as we understand them, hit their prime. Some of these dishes, like the hardened custards known as let lardes or milke rosty's have fallen out of favor.

I recently served this at our local Baronial 12th Night alongside stewed apples or pears (pictured above.) I discovered that my own interpretation was nearly identical to that of Peter Breverton's found in his Tudor Cookbook. It is his interpretation I have included here which includes nutmeg and cinnamon and the addition of the orangeflower water. This created a very light custard sauce that was amazing with the apples and the pears. It also would be excellent on its own or with strawberries, or cherries.

.Clj. Creme Bastarde.—Take þe whyte of Eyroun a grete hepe, & putte it on a panne ful of Mylke, & let yt boyle; [leaf 26.] þen sesyn it so with Salt an hony a lytel, þen lat hit kele, & draw it þorw a straynoure, an take fayre Cowe mylke an draw yt with-all, & seson it with Sugre, & loke þat it be poynant & doucet: & serue it forth for a potage, or for a gode Bakyn mete, wheder þat þou wolt.

Clj - Creme Bastarde. Take the whyte of Eyroun a grete hepe, and putte it on a panne ful of Mylke, and let yt boyle; then sesyn it so with Salt an hony a lytel, then lat hit kele, and draw it thorw a straynoure, an take fayre Cowe mylke an draw yt with-all, and seson it with Sugre, and loke that it be poynant and doucet: and serue it forth for a potage, or for a gode Bakyn mete, wheder that thou wolt.

151. Cream Bastarde - Take the white of eggs, a great heap and put it on a pan full of milk, and let it boil, then season it so with salt and honey a little, then let it cool, and draw it through a strainer, and take fair cow milk, and draw it with-all, and season it with sugar, and look that it be poignant and sweet: and serve it forth for a pottage, or for a good baked meat, whether that you will.

Cream Bastarde

4 egg whites
1 pint milk (I used a mixture of half and half and whipping cream)
2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
Opt: 1 stick cinnamon, ½ tsp. nutmeg, 1 tsp. orangeflower water

You will need to use a double boiler to make this to keep the custard from scorching. If you are unfamiliar with a double boiler or how to use one, here are the instructions. You will need two pots, one that fits easily inside the other. In the larger pot you will want to put a couple inches of water (I always use enough to cover about an inch of the side of the smaller pot). Always, always, always, always use a double boiler if you do not want heat directly on the food you are cooking; custards, melting chocolate and making fruit curds are examples of appropriate times to use a double boiler. Many will say that I am incorrect in making sure that water comes up the sides of the smaller pan, but, it was good enough for mom and grandma, that makes it good enough for me ;-)

Add your milk, egg whites, honey, sugar and salt to the pan. If you are going to use the spices add those as well. Turn the heat up under the bottom pot and stir--stir--stir until your custard has thickened. I know --I think I broke all of the rules for this. Ideally, you would heat the milk, temper the eggs and add them back to the pot and cook until it thickens to custard.

Once the custard is thickened to your likeness, remove from the heat, strain if you need to in order to remove the cinnamon sticks and any curds that may have formed, and set aside to cool. When cool, add your orangeflower water and serve. - Courtesy Peter Breverton, The Tudor Cookbook

Harleian MS. 279 (ab. 1430) - Bryndons - Crispy Fried Dough with a Sweet and Fruity Sauce

xlix. Bryndons

One of the very first recipes that I wanted to try after receiving 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 as a gift was this one. I am uncertain why I have not tried to interpret this sooner. The instructions are very straightforward and creates an absolutely divine fruit sauce that when paired with the fried noodles is surprisingly modern.

.xlix. Bryndons.—Take Wyn, & putte in a potte, an clarifiyd hony, an Saunderys, pepir, Safroun, Clowes, Maces, & Quybibys, & mynced Datys, Pynys and Roysonys of Corauns, & a lytil Vynegre, [leaf 13.] & sethe it on þe fyre; an sethe fygys in Wyne, & grynde hem, & draw hem þorw a straynoure, & caste þer-to, an lete hem boyle alle to-gederys; þan take fayre flowre, Safroun, Sugre, & Fayre Water, ande make þer-of cakys, and let hem be þinne Inow; þan kytte hem y lyke lechyngys,*. [long thin strips. ] an caste hem in fayre Oyle, and fry hem a lytil whyle; þanne take hem owt of þe panne, an caste in-to a vesselle with þe Syrippe, & so serue hem forth, þe bryndonys an þe Sirippe, in a dysshe; & let þe Sirippe be rennyng, & not to styf.

xlix - Bryndons. Take Wyn, and putte in a potte, an clarifiyd hony, an Saunderys, pepir, Safroun, Clowes, Maces, and Quybibys, and mynced Datys, Pynys and Roysonys of Corauns, and a lytil Vynegre, and sethe it on the fyre; an sethe fygys in Wyne, and grynde hem, and draw hem thorw a straynoure, and caste ther-to, an lete hem boyle alle to-gederys; than take fayre flowre, Safroun, Sugre, and Fayre Water, ande make ther-of cakys, and let hem be thinne Inow; than kytte hem y lyke, (Note: long thin strips) an caste hem in fayre Oyle, and fry hem a lytil whyle; thanne take hem owt of the panne, an caste in-to a vesselle with the Syrippe, and so serue hem forth, the bryndonys an the Sirippe, in a dysshe; and let the Sirippe be rennyng, and not to styf

44. Bryndons - Take wine and put in a pot, and clarified honey, and saunders, pepper, saffron, cloves, mace and cubebs, and minced dates, pine nuts and currants, and a little vinegar, and seethe it on the fire; and seethe figs in wine, and grind them, and draw them through a strainer, and caste there-to, and let them boil all together; then take fair flour, saffron, sugar and fair water and make there of cakes, and let them be thin enough; then cut them like strips and cast them in fair oil, and fry them a little while, then take them out of the pan, and cast into a vessel with the syrup and so serve them forth, the bryndons and the syrup, in a dish; and let the syrup be running and not to stiff.

Interpreted Recipe Serves 1 as main, 2 as side

1 cups red wine (I substituted grape and pomegranate juice for the wine 50/50 mix)
1/4 cup figs (about 4-5 mission figs)
1-2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. sandalwood (opt)
1/4 tsp. pepper (I used a mix of tri-pepper blend, long pepper, cubebs and grains of paradise)
pinch of saffron
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. mace
2-3 minced dates
1 tbsp. pine nuts
2-3 tablespoons currants
2-3 tablespoons raisins
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Put wine and figs into a pot and bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer and cook till figs are tender. Place figs and wine into a blender, give thanks to the kitchen gods, and grind. Return figs and wine to the pot and add remaining ingredients. Cook until remaining fruit is soft and syrup has thickened.

** Don't have cubebs or grains of paradise? Use the following as a substitute:

2 tbsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. clove
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. allspice
opt. 1/4 tsp cardamom

Mix together spices and then use what you need. For the recipe above that would be 1/4 tsp. each for the cubebs and the grains of paradise. Store what you don't need.

I have a confession to make-- to make the noodles, I cut won ton wrappers in half and fried in the same oil I cooked the Trayne Roste in. However, if you want to make the noodles here is the recipe:

Noodles Recipe

1 cup flour
1/4cup warm water
pinch of saffron
1/4 tsp. sugar and salt

Place saffron in warmed water and allow to cool. Once cooled mix all ingredients together until a dough is formed. Add more water if dough is too dry. Let sit approximately ten minutes before rolling dough out and cutting into strips. Fry in oil.

Similar Recipes

A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)

To mak Breney, put wyne in a pot and clarified hony saunders canelle peper clowes maces pynes dates mynced raissins of corans put ther to vinegar and sett it on the fyer. and let it boile then sethe fegges in wyne grind them and draw them through a strener and cast ther to and let them boile to gedur then tak flour saffron sugur and faire water and mak ther of faire cakes and let them be thyne then cut them bigge lassengis wise and fry them in oile a stonding sewe for sopers and strawe ther on annes in comfets and serue it.

Harleian MS. 4016, (~1450) Guisseƚƚ.

Harleian MS. 4016, (~1450) Guisseƚƚ. Bread Dumplings

Baronial 12th Night

Guisseƚƚ.-- An interesting dish which makes very thrify use of bread that has been turned into bread crumbs, eggs and broth flavored with parsley and sage and colored with saffron. Sounds a lot like dressing, yes? My recipe creates many small, irregularly shaped "curds", or dumplings. Bonus? The broth thickens as the bread cooks leaving you with a gravy that you can use elsewhere. I do not recommend using it with your dumplings. They become very sticky and unappetizing! The instructions can be 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 by Thomas Austin. Harleian MS. 4016, ab. 1450 A.D.

The instructions are just vague enough that I wasn't very certain of what I would end up with once it had been interpreted and cooked. I was half expecting a wet mucky (and unappetizing) unbaked dressing. What I ended up with was something that closely resembled a dumpling. I wonder if it's the precursor to boiled puddings?

The process reminded me very much of making the "rivals" for potato soup with rivals. The difference being that you "pinch off" pieces of the rival dough and put it into the boiling soup, whereas here we are instructed to "cast the stuff to the broth into the pan". Rather than pinch off pieces of dough, I made the dough somewhat crumbly, and then dropped by handfuls into the boiling broth and cooked till they came to the surface. Then using a slotted spoon, I fished out the dumplings and went on to the next batch and the next...this made A LOT of dumplings. As mentioned previously, I made a slight mistake when cooking the very last batch and didn't drain them as well as I wanted to :-/ There wasn't a lot of the thickened broth left but there was enough that the entire batch became bit sticky and gummy. I thought I had ruined it--but guess what? Treating them like spaetzle, I cooked them up in some bacon fat (which makes everything better).

Harleian MS. 4016, ab. 1450 A.D. Guisseƚƚ. [supplied by ed.] *. [Taken from Douce MS. ] [folio 15.] ¶ Take faire capon̄ brotℏ, or of beef, And sette hit ouer the fire, and caste þerto myced sauge, parcelly and saffron̄, And lete boile; And streyn̄ the white and þe yolke of egges thorgℏ a streynour, and caste there-to faire grated brede, and medle hit togidre with thi honde, And caste the stuff to the brotℏ into þe pan̄; And stirre it faire and softe til hit come togidre, and crudded; And þen̄ serue it forth hote.

Guissell. (Note: Taken from Douce MS.) Take faire capon broth, or of beef, And sette hit ouer the fire, and caste therto myced sauge, parcelly and saffron, And lete boile; And streyn the white and the yolke of egges thorgh a streynour, and caste there-to faire grated brede, and medle hit togidre with thi honde, And caste the stuff to the broth into the pan; And stirre it faire and softe til hit come togidre, and crudded; And then serue it forth hote

Guissell. (Note: Taken from Douce MS.) Take faire capon broth or of beef, and set it over the fire and cast thereto minced sage, parsley and saffron, and let it boil; and strain the white and the yolk of eggs through a strainer, and cast thereto grated bread and meddle it all together with your hand, and caste the stuff to the broth into the pan; and stir it fare and soft till it come together, and curded; and then serve it forth hot.

Interpreted Recipe

2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs

4 cups water
1 tsp. sage
1 tbsp. parsley
Pinch of saffron

Put your breadcrumbs and salt (which was added for modern taste) into a bowl, create a well and add in your eggs one at a time until it starts to form lumps. Mean wile, heat up the water, sage, parsley and saffron till it comes to a boil and then lower the heat so that the water is simmering. Add the dough in small batches until the irregularly shaped, curded dough floats like delicious pillowy dumplings. Using a slotted spoon remove from the broth and let drain while you are cooking your next batch.

I imagine since these appear to be very similar to Spaetzle that you could, if you wish to prepare them in advance, put them on a sheet pan, freeze and then thaw and cook with a little bit of butter or bacon fat before serving, although that is cook's prerogative and has nothing to do with the original recipe.
Now I totally cheated and used leftover herb stuffing mix, so my bread crumbs taste a bit like ummmm ~whispers~ stuffing mix that has been made into crumbs in the blender (Hey! They were *on sale* and turning stuffing into crumbs requires very little effort). The dumplings were perfectly lovely until I didn't drain that last batch very well. What a happy mistake...fried up in bacon fat they are nothing short of magical.

In reality, these dumplings were very likely served *in* the broth, and not outside of it. So bear that in mind, you may need a lot more broth then I created. I am planning on serving these as a side dish with a roasted chicken, and therefore choose not to serve them in the broth at this time.

Similar Recipes

Forme of Cury (England, 1390)

Jusshell. XX.II. III. Take brede ygrated and ayrenn and swyng it togydre. do erto safroun, sawge. and salt. & cast broth. þerto. boile it & messe it forth

A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)

To mak jusselle tak the swet brothe of a capon or of other good flesshe and set it on the fyere in a large vesselle colour it with saffron put ther to saige cut gret and salt it then tak eggs and drawe them through a strener and temper grated bread and eggs and stirre it to gedure till they be ronn and let the erbes be well mellid to gedur and when yt begynnythe to boille tak out the pot stik and turn the curd about with a scorner and let not the fyere be to hasty when it is throughe knyt tak it from the fyere and couyr it and serue it

Thomas Awkbarow's Recipes (MS Harley 5401)

Jussell. Recipe brede gratyd & egges & swyng þam togydere, & do þerto sawge & saferon & salt; þan take gode broth & cast it þerto, & bole it enforesayd, & do þerto as to charlete, & serof.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .lij. Gyngaudre.

Illustration from The Book of Wonders of the Age” (St Andrews ms32)

This is one of several recipes that I will interpret but will not prepare. Eating fish offal is just a little bit more adventurous then I prefer. While eating offal is part of the new movement of nose to tail dining, where no part of an animal is wasted, eating specific fish offal carries with it particular risks related to toxins in our water. Cod liver is enjoyed in many parts of the world and if you cannot find it at your local fish market, it can be ordered through Amazon. The liver is described as being creamy and fishy and mild in the bitter offal flavor.

If you are feeling adventurous you can prepare the recipe below, and if you are not feeling so adventurous, you can prepare this using an assortment of fish fillets and omit the livers. Fish heads contain a surprising amount of meat, including the cheek and jowl and collar considered to be the tastiest and most succulent bits of meat on a fish. You can also eat the tongue, the area around the eye socket, lips and eyes.

There is a question about what a fish pouch is. I attempted to research this but to no avail. I then asked a Chef friend what he thought the fish pouch might be and he believes it might refer to the sack of roe. Alternatively "pouch" could be a misspelling of "paunch" referring to the fish belly. I have interpreted it to mean the roe sack. I will leave it to you to do your best guess.

.lij. Gyngaudre.—Take þe Lyuerys of Codlyngys, Haddok, Elys, or þe Hake hed, or Freysshe Mylweƚƚ hedys, þe Pouches, & þe Lyuerys, an sethe hem in fayre Water; þan take hem vp on a fayre bord, & mynce smal þe pouches; þan take gode freysshe brothe of Samoun, or Turbut, or of Elys, & cast þe mynced pouches þer-to, & pouder Pepyr, & let boyle; þan take þe brothe, þe pouches & þe lyuerys wer sodoun in, in a stipe*. [? meaning. ] or on fayre brede, & draw þorw a straynoure, & þan mynce þe lyuer in fayre pecys; & [leaf 13 bk.] whan þe pouches haue boylid, an þe licoure, caste þe leuer þer-to, an let boyle a whyle: þan caste þer-to þe lyuerys, Wyne, Venegre, Safroun, Salt, & late it boyle a whyle, and serue forth þat rennyng.

lij - Gyngaudre. Take the Lyuerys of Codlyngys, Haddok, Elys, or the Hake hed, or Freysshe Mylwell hedys, the Pouches, and the Lyuerys, an sethe hem in fayre Water; than take hem vp on a fayre bord, and mynce smal the pouches; than take gode freysshe brothe of Samoun, or Turbut, or of Elys, and cast the mynced pouches ther-to, and pouder Pepyr, and let boyle; than take the brothe, the pouches and the lyuerys wer sodoun in, in a stipe (Note: ? meaning) or on fayre brede, and draw thorw a straynoure, and than mynce the lyuer in fayre pecys; and whan the pouches haue boylid, an the licoure, caste the leuer ther-to, an let boyle a whyle: than caste ther-to the lyuerys, Wyne, Venegre, Safroun, Salt, and late it boyle a whyle, and serue forth that rennyng.

52 - Gyngaudre - Take the livers of Codlyngys (a young or small cod, possibly preserved in some way), Haddock, Eels, or the Hake Head, or Fresh Milwell (a kind of cod) heads, the pouches, and the livers, and boil them in fair water; then take them up on a fair board and mince small the pouches; then take good fresh broth of salmon, or turbut, or eels and cast the minced pouches thereto, and powder pepper, and let boil; then take the broth, the pouches and the liver were cooked in, in a stipe, or on fair bread and draw through a strainer, and then mince the liver in fair pieces; and when the pouches have boiled, and the liquor, cast the liver there-to, and boil awhile: then caste there-to the livers, wine, vinegar, saffron, salt and let it boil a while, and serve forth that running.

Interpreted Recipe Serves 1, 2 as a Side

1 fish head (Cod, Haddock, Hake preferred), livers and roe sacks or 1/4 pound fish fillets
3/4 cup fish stock
1/4 cup vinegar mix (1 tbsp each white wine, white wine vinegar and water)
Pinch of saffron
1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper

Boil your fish heads, livers until cooked, remove from broth and allow to cool. Remove flesh from the head and mince the roe and the liver. Strain stock and return to pot. Add saffron, salt and pepper and return your fish to the pot. Bring to boil and serve.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .xxxxix. Sardeyneȝ - Sugared and Spiced Nuts

xxxxix. Sardeyneȝ - Sugared and Spiced Nuts

Occasionally you run across a set of instructions that are so vague they are difficult to interpret. This is one such recipe. I must admit I did attempt to locate similar recipes from peers and fellow cooking scholars, but to no avail. I finally jumped in feet first and created my own interpretation. If my interpretation is correct it creates something similar to a praline, a spiced and sugared caramalized nut candy that is D E L I C I O U S! I am unashamed to admit that I am thoroughly addicted to this interpretation.

This strikes me as unusual because this recipe is found in the "pottage" section of 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, so I would expect a pudding, cereal, broth like consistency. Something magical happens when you add a large amount of sugar to rice milk (make a gode Mylke of Flowre of Rys + a fayre parte of sugre, & boyle hem wyl) --it becomes a caramel. Since we aren't really told what to do with our almonds--I lightly crushed them and added them to this mixture and voila! A candy I served at Collegium Feast and hid from the taste testers after initial tasting.

.xxxxix. Sardeyneȝ.—Take Almaundys, & make a gode Mylke of Flowre of Rys, Safroun, Gyngere; Canelle, Maces, Quybibeȝ; grynd hem smal on a morter, & temper hem vppe with þe Mylke; þan take a fayre vesselle, & a fayre parte of Sugre, & boyle hem wyl, & rynsche þin dysshe alle a-bowte with-ynne with Sugre or oyle, an þan serue forth.

49. Sardeyney - Take almonds, and make a good Milk of Flour of Rice, Saffron, Ginger, Cinnamon, Mace, Cubeb; grind them small on a mortar, and temper them up with the milk; than take a fair vessel, and fair part of sugar, and boil them well, and rinse your dish all about within with sugar or oil, and then serve forth.

Interpreted Recipe

1 c. raw almonds
1 c. rice milk (or any nut milk, in a pinch I used almond milk)
Pinch of saffron
1/2 tsp. pouder douce-sugar, ginger, cinnamon, mace (I have a powder given to me as a gift I used)
1/4 tsp. cubebs finely ground
3/4 c. sugar

A couple of points before we move forward into the actual interpretation of the recipe. Rice milk is something you can easily make at home. To make your rice flour simply take a quantity of rice and grind it to flour in your blender. Add liquid of your choice (just like you would for almond milk), grind some more, strain, and you have rice milk.

There are no specific instructions on how to create pouder douce. The pouder I am currently using was a gift given to me after I cooked the Curia Brunch. The instructions I use to make my sweet spice pouder (pouder douce) though, can be found in Le Menagier de Paris (ab 1393):

FINE POWDER of spices. Take an ounce and a drachma of white ginger, a quarter-ounce of hand-picked cinnamon, half a quarter-ounce each of grains and cloves, and a quarter-ounce of rock sugar, and grind to powder.

Interpreted into terms we can all understand becomes the following mix:

2 1/2 tbsp. ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. each grains of paradise and cloves
1 1/2 tsp. sugar

Moving forward--we are told to take almonds, then given a set of instructions to make rice milk. Unusual in that the more common milk used is almond milk in this particular manuscript. We are told to season the milk with the spice mixture and then given another set of instructions which I believe allude to what we are supposed to do with the almonds, specifically "grynd hem smal on a morter, & temper hem vppe with þe Mylke", then the remainder of the recipe gives us instructions to boil them with sugar and then serve them in a bowl which has had additional sugar or oil added to it.

Here is my interpretation based on my understanding of the instructions.

Take rice milk and season it with your spices, add your sugar and crushed almonds and bring to a boil. Cook approximately ten minutes and then turn your nut mixture onto a cookie sheet which has been coated with additional sugar. It will harden almost immediately, break apart as you can and serve.

I made two deviations when I served these at Collegium. The first is that I used a mix of walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts, the second is that I kept them as whole as possible when I added them to the spiced rice milk mixture. They were extremely well received and have gone on my list of sweet goodies to make at the end of a meal.

The picture above is of the almonds a bit more ground. I was without rice or rice milk so I used almond milk--equally delicious.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .Cxv. Quynade. - Almond Milk Cream Cheese with Quince Puree

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .Cxv. Quynade. - Almond milk cream cheese with quince puree

When I first came across this recipe in Full text of "Two fifteenth-century cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55", I knew that I *had* to make it, the difficulty was in waiting until quinces were in season. Last year I missed the season and I nearly missed it again this year--the ability to purchase quince is only a few weeks where I live. It is a shame, because I could see this becoming a regular spread in addition to butter, marmalade's or preserves at any event. This is a delicious spread that would go well on bread or to be used as a substitute for butter. The picture cannot do justice to how pretty the slight yellow of the almond "cream cheese" studded with bright golden quince is. I wish I had silver or gold leaf to jazz it up.

The taste testers raved about it. It also keeps very well, and is an alternative for those who are lactose intolerant and vegan. Do not get stressed about the ambiguity of the directions "to taste". I wanted to taste more of the fruit and the almond and so was light with the seasonings. Just be sure that you use equal amounts of sugar to the other seasonings you use. For example, 1 1/2 tsp. of mixed spices +1 1/2 tsp. of sugar. Also, note that I used a spice powder that contained cinnamon that was not called for in the original instructions.

The almond cheese is very easy to make despite the complex directions. It is very similar to making fresh cheese from milk on your stove top. I caution you though to be careful of getting the milk too hot. You only want it to come to a simmer, not boil, however, if you do get the almond milk too hot (boiling), just turn off the heat and let it cool, before adding your acid--you want the enzymes to work, not destroy them.

.Cxv. Quynade.—Take Quynces, & pare hem clene, caste hem on a potte, & caste þer-to water of Rosys; do it ouer þe fyre, & hele*. [Cover. ] it faste, & let it boyle a gode whyle tyl þey ben neysshe; & ȝif þey wol not ben neysshe, bray hem in a Morter smal, draw hem þorw a straynoure; take gode Mylke of Almandys, & caste in a potte & boyle it; take whyte Wyne & Vynegre, an caste þer-to þe Mylke, & let it stonde a whyle; take þan a clene canvas, & caste þe mylke vppe-on̛, & with a platere [leaf 21 bk.] stryke it of þe cloþe, & caste it on þe potte; gedyr vppe þe quynces, & caste to þe creme, & do it ouer þe fyre, & lat boyle; take a porcyon of pouder of Clowys, of Gyngere, of Graynys of Perys, of Euery a porcyon; take Sugre y-now, with Salt, & a party of Safroun, & alle menge to-gederys; & when þou dressyst forth, plante it with foyle of Syluer.

115. Quynade/Quinade- Take quinces and pare them clean, cast them on a pot and caste there-to water of roses; do it over the fire and cover it fast, and let it boil a good while till they be soft; and if they will not be soft, bray them in a mortar small, draw them through a strainer; take good milk of almonds and caste in a pot and boil it; take white wine and vinegar, and caste there-to the milk, and let it stand a while; take than a clean canvas, & caste the milk upon, and with a platter strike it of the cloth, & cast it on the pot; gather up the quinces & caste to the cream, and do it over the fire, and let boil; take a portion of powder of cloves, of ginger, of grains of paradise, of every portion, take sugar enough, with salt & a party of saffron, and all mingle together; and when you dress it forth, plant it with foil of silver.

Interpreted Recipe Serves 4-8

To make Almond Cream Cheese:

1 cup almond flour
2 cups water (Hot)
Pinch of saffron
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
1 tbsp. or more of sugar to taste
1 1/2 tsp. each (or equivalent of 1 tbsp) white wine and/or white wine vinegar --can substitute lemon juice

To make quince:

4 quinces pared and chopped small
Rosewater to taste (I used 1 tsp. rose water and 1 tsp. lemon juice)
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. mixed spice powder (I used Le Menagier's fine powder of spices and added 1/8 tsp. cloves to it--yes I know, this adds cinnamon that is not used in the recipe) or to taste

To make the almond milk: Put first five ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Place almond milk in a pot and bring to a simmer. Add the acid and turn off the heat. It will start to curdle immediately--GENTLY stir with a spoon and allow to sit a minimum of ten minutes. Until cool is better.

Gently turn the curds into a cloth lined colander (I use white cotton pillowcases cut in half) and allow the whey to drain. For this I wanted a fairly loose texture so I only allowed it to drain for as long as it took me to make the quince. For a thicker creamier cheese, allow several hours over night with a weight on top to press the whey out. This is similar to the method I used to make Harleian MS. 279 xij. Fride Creme of Almaundys- Cream cheese made from Almond Milk.

Note: The cheese can get a bit "gritty" so several internet sites with similar instructions suggest immersion blender to make a creamier cheese. I find with a "wetter" cream, that the grit is not as notable.

To cook the quince: Put all ingredients in a pot and cook until quince is tender and water is nearly gone. I took half of the quince and pureed it in a blender. Note that you can use as much or as little rose water as you wish. I believe modern day preparations are much stronger then that found in the late medieval period, so I tend to be lighter in my usage of it. I want the taste to enhance but not to overpower.

Place almond cheese and quince in a pot and cook until mixture has heated thoroughly, being sure to stir constantly so that it does not burn. Mixture will thicken as it cools so it is better to be a bit looser at this stage for a creamier spread after it cools. Place spread in a bowl and cool.

To serve, garnish with silver leaf.

Knowing that fruit puree was added to the almond cream cheese in the late medieval period means that I will be experimenting with other kinds of preserves in the future and calling it "Cook's Prerogative"--can you imagine cherry preserves? Nummsss!

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .lxxxxiij. Walkys*. [Whelks. ] in bruette.

The last of the seafood shellfish recipes 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 was for whelks, which is a kind of snail that was plentiful in the late Medieval period and still enjoyed in Europe today.
Whelks are difficult to get where I live, so the Cook's Thesaurus suggested periwinkles or conch, again, difficult ingredients to obtain fresh where I live. I finally settled upon clams, which are locatable but are a bit firmer and stronger in flavor then whelk, conch or periwinkles. The taste testers and I really enjoyed this dish, made all the better through the use of a strong home brewed beer (a lager) courtesy of my son, and dried parsley from my garden. This is a dish that I will make again.

.lxxxxiij. Walkys*. [Whelks. ] in bruette.—Take Walkys [supplied by ed.] an sethe in Ale, þen pyke hem clene; þan wasshem in Water an Salt be hem-self, & fyrst wyth Ale & Salt, an do so whele þey ben slepyr*. [Slippery; slimy. ]; þen putte hem in [leaf 18 bk.] Vynegre, an ley Perceli a-boue, an serue ynne.

93 - Whelks in Bruette - take whelks and boil in ale, then pick them clean; than wash them in water and salt by themselves & first with ale & salt, and do so while they be slimy; then put them in vinegar and lay parsley above and serve in.

Interpreted Recipe Serves 2 as main, 3 or more as side

1 cup beer of choice (lager)
1 can of clams (or 1/2 pound fresh clams cleaned well)
1 1/2 to 2 tsp. vinegar or to taste
1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
Parsley for garnish

Before using fresh seafood, which I would have preferred but the poor dears sitting in the ice looked half dead and there was a fishy smell in the air the day I went to purchase at the grocery so I used canned clams instead (trusting they would be safe!), make sure that you clean your seafood very well. There are multiple sites available on the internet with instructions to clean the shellfish of your choice. In my case, I simply opened a can and drained off the juice, which I used in the oyster recipes.

Bring your beer to a boil, and cook your shellfish, either until the shells open (which would be a lovely sight to see), or until they are heated through. Here you have a choice.

A) I added the vinegar and salt to the broth and topped with dried parsley and it was divine!

B) Remove your shellfish from the broth, place on the serving dish, liberally add salt, dip your parsley in vinegar and then serve. I would probably serve with more vinegar on the side.

I went with option A because this is supposed to be a pottage, a dish cooked in a pot, and to toss the broth seemed like a waste, it was very flavorful. The instructions are quite clear, that the whelks are to be boiled in ale long enough to loosen the muscle and allow you to remove them from their shells. If my understanding of cooking whelks is correct, they would need another boiling in salted water to remove any slime that may exist.

Another method of cleaning whelks is to place them is to soak them in water for several hours and change the water a few times. The fear is that twice boiling them would make them rubbery and difficult to eat.

We really liked this dish and I look forward to making it again when I can use fresh clams, which I can readily get. I would definitely serve this at a feast, luncheon or, if using tinned shellfish, as a quick and easy camp supper along with some crusty bread to soak up all the yummy broth.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .lxxxxij. Oystrys in bruette.

The last pottage recipe 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 for oysters is Oysters in Bruet. It is very similar to the previously published xl. Oystrys in grauy bastard. The difference is in the spicing (adds cinnamon), and in the specific set of instructions "Take an schene Oystrys", indicating that for this dish the oysters should be removed from their shells.

.lxxxxij. Oystrys in bruette.—Take an schene*. [for schele. ] Oystrys, an kepe þe water þat cometh of hem, an strayne it, an put it in a potte, & Ale þer-to, an a lytil brede þer-to; put Gyngere, Canel, Pouder of Pepir þer-to, Safroun an Salt; an whan it is y-now al-moste, putte on þin Oystrys: loke þat þey ben wyl y-wasshe for*. [on account of. ] þe schullys: & þan serue forth.

92. Oysters in Bruet - Take and shell oysters, and keep the water that come of them, and strain it, and put it in a pot, and ale there-to, and a little bread thereto; put ginger, cinnamon, powder pepper there-to, saffron and salt; and when it is enough almost, put on your oysters; look that they be well washed for the shells: and then serve forth

Interpreted Recips Serves 2 as main, 1 as side

1/2 cup Ale (dark to compliment the oysters)
1/2 to 1 can oysters
1/2 cup oyster liquor, fish stock or clam juice
1-2 tbsp. bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. pepper
2-3 threads of saffron
salt to taste

For instructions on how to properly clean fresh oysters, please refer to xl. Oystres en grauey .

Bring ale and oyster liquor (fish stock or clam juice) to a boil in the pan, slowly add bread crumbs and spices. When the mixture starts to thicken add your oysters. Cook until heated through and serve.

This was another example of using the wrong ale ruining the dish :-/ Having had such dim luck with the ginger flavored ale, I used a darker lager, which unfortunately made the dish taste muddy and slightly bitter. The taste testers were not impressed. BUT--they did agree that the addition of the cinnamon and not including sugar, this dish was a bit more elevated then xl. Oystrys in grauy bastard.

My taste tester did agree that they would try this dish if it were served to them at an event, but strongly suggested that less ale, or a different ale be used (Might I suggest Guinness, porter or a stout?) If you should try any of these recipes--please leave feedback.

Oysters...strike 2!

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .xl. Oystrys in grauy bastard

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 Thomas Austin allows an interesting look at our culinary past. Oysters were a very cheap and plentiful source of protein in the Middle Ages. Although the oysters that were most likely eaten (ostrea edulis) were much smaller then the oysters many of us enjoy today. So it is surprising that the manuscript only contains three specific preparations for oysters in the pottage section.

Oysters, whelks, cockles, muscles and limpets are shellfish that were plentiful. The Romans brought with them their love of shellfish when they arrive in Britain in 43AD. After they left, the oyster fell out of favor, however, by the 8th century that was no longer case. Oysters were once more a very popular food.

Fish and shellfish were eaten on days that meat and animal products were prohibited--Lent, all Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays (in some cases), Ember Days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after Saint Lucia's (December 13th), Ash Wednesday after Whitsunday (8th Sunday after Easter) and Exaltation of the Cross (September 14th). In total, more then half the year meat and animal products were forbidden.

Additionally, Medieval physicians believed that serving fish and meat together in the same meal would make an individual sick. This belief was prominent until the 17th century, where they were enjoyed as an hors d'oeuvre or main meal.

The title of this particular recipe is a bit baffling. "Bastard" usually refers to a Spanish sweet wine (similar to a muscatel) that became popular in the 14th Century. However, there is no wine in the recipe below. Perhaps if wine had been substituted for the ale this recipe would have been better enjoyed by the taste testers. The problem wasn't the oysters but in the ale that was used. I used a ginger flavored ale, believing that it would compliment the ginger already included in the recipe. However, the flavor of the oysters and the ale did not marry well. I believe this dish would have been much more successful had I used a darker beer, a stout, porter or black lager, all of which are rumored to pair well with the briny creatures.

.xl. Oystrys in grauy bastard.—Take grete Oystrys, an schale hem; an take þe water of þe Oystrys, & ale, an brede y-straynid, an þe water also, an put it on a potte, an Gyngere, Sugre, Saffron, powder pepir, and Salt, an let it boyle wyl; þen put yn þe Oystrys þer-to, and dresse it forth.

xl - Oystrys in grauy bastard. Take grete Oystrys, an schale hem; an take the water of the Oystrys, and ale, an bredey-straynid, an the water also, an put it on a potte, an Gyngere, Sugre, Saffron, powder pepir, and Salt, an let it boyle wyl; then put yn the Oystrys ther-to, and dresse it forth.

40 - Oysters in Gravy Bastard - Take great oysters, and shell them; and take the water of the oysters and ale, and bread strained, and the water also, and put it on a pot, and ginger, sugar, saffron, powder pepper and salt, and let it boil well; then put in the oysters there-to, and dress it forth.

Interpreted Recipe Serves 2 as Main, 3 or more as side

1/2 cup ale (see note above)
1/2 cup oyster liquor or other fish/clam stock
2 tbsp. bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. sugar
2-3 threads of saffron
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 can of oysters (don't judge!)

If you have oysters you will want to clean them. If you are like me and you purchased a can, drain the liquor from it and mix it with the ale, spices and bread crumbs. Bring to a boil and wait till the broth begins to thicken. Add the oysters, and cook till heated through and thickness of sauce is to your liking. Serve them.

As stated previously, I used the wrong ale to make this dish and the taste testers were unhappy with me. However, we all agreed that a more complimentary ale would have created a much better dish. Would they eat this if served at an event? The answer was no. I will leave it to you to decide.

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