A Potage of Roysons: Medieval Apple and Raisin Rice Porridge from Harleian MS 279

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Cxxxvj. A Potage of Roysons – apple, raisin, almond milk, rice flour, ginger, and galangal

A Potage of Roysons – Medieval Apple and Raisin Rice Porridge

There are recipes that sweep into the medieval kitchen wearing gilt and peacock feathers, and then there are recipes like A Potage of Roysons. This one arrives quietly with apples, raisins, almond milk, rice flour, ginger, and galangal. It sounds simple. It is simple. But it is not nearly as plain as it first appears.

The original recipe is only a few lines long, yet those few lines give us several excellent little mysteries. Why do the raisins have “kernels”? What does the cook mean by temper? How thick is clene chargeaunt? And why, after all that careful instruction, does no one actually tell us to put the pot over the fire?

I first made this pottage in 2016 and served it at an SCA breakfast. It went over well, although one of the kinder verdicts was, “Tasty, but not delicious.” Honestly? Fair. I have made similar dishes with more sparkle, and I have never been a devoted member of the raisin fan club. Still, there was enough here to make me curious, and curiosity is usually where the good cooking begins.

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Apple Moyle, a warm apple and almond rice pottage reconstructed from Harleian MS 279, c. 1430

Apple Moyle: A Sweet Medieval Apple Porridge from Harleian MS 279

Apple Moyle is the sort of dish that makes a medieval manuscript feel suddenly close enough to touch. Ground rice and almond milk cook into a soft, creamy pottage; small pieces of apple settle into it; sugar, saffron, and sweet spices turn an armful of familiar ingredients into something warm, golden, and unmistakably fifteenth-century.

It is comforting without being plain and rich without being heavy. The apples are not puréed away. They remain as tender little morsels inside the smooth rice-thickened base, giving each spoonful a bit of orchard brightness. My testers liked this one enough that the final serving inspired what can only be described as a very polite spoon duel.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• It is warm, gently spiced, and deeply comforting.
• The ingredient list is short and naturally dairy-free.
• It works beautifully as a modern camp breakfast or a small pottage course.
• The rice flour thickens the almond milk without eggs, butter, or wheat.
• It reheats well with a small splash of almond milk.

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Historical Integrity Statement: The manuscript clearly names rice, almond milk, apples, sugar, saffron, and “good powder,” and it preserves the basic order of preparation. It does not provide quantities, cooking times, a final consistency, or the composition of the spice powder. The measurements below are my tested reconstruction. Fine rice flour replaces rice freshly ground in a mortar, Powder Douce is my interpretation of “good powder,” and salt is an optional modern addition.

Apple Muse: Medieval Apple Purée with Almond Milk from Harleian MS. 279

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Apple Muse: A Medieval Apple Pottage from Harleian MS 279

Apple Muse reconstructed from Harleian MS 279, c. 1430

At first glance, Apple Muse looks almost too simple to hide a mystery. Apples are boiled and pushed through a sieve. Almond milk, honey, grated bread, saffron, saunders, and a little salt follow them into the pot. The cook stirs, lets the mixture simmer, and sends it to the table.

Yet this short recipe opens a remarkably wide door into the medieval kitchen. It shows us how familiar fruit could be transformed through texture, color, spice, and careful thickening. It also leaves us with one stubborn little question: how, exactly, did the medieval cook use the saunders?

The finished dish is not a modern mousse and it is not ordinary applesauce. It is a warm, smooth fruit pottage, gently sweetened with honey, enriched with almond milk, and given body with bread. It is humble in its ingredients but elegant in its handling, the sort of recipe that rewards patience more than spectacle.

Why You May Love This Recipe

• It turns everyday apples into a distinctly medieval dish.
• It is naturally dairy-free and vegetarian as written.
• It introduces bread thickening, one of the quiet workhorses of the medieval kitchen.
• It can be prepared ahead for a feast and reheated gently.
• It gives us a chance to taste texture, color, and seasoning working together in a fifteenth-century pottage.

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Historical Integrity Statement

The manuscript gives the ingredients and the order of work, but it does not give quantities, temperatures, cooking times, or the final consistency. The proportions below are my tested reconstruction. Saunders remains the least certain part of the dish because the source names it without explaining how it was prepared or added.

Wardonys in Syryp: Medieval Pears in Spiced Wine Syrup

Wardonys in Syryp

Medieval Pears in Spiced Wine Syrup from Harleian MS 279 (c. 1430)

Wardonys in Syryp, a fifteenth-century dish of pears simmered in a spiced red wine syrup until both poynaunt and dowcet: pleasantly sharp and sweet.

Wardonys in Syryp is a medieval pear dish from Harleian MS 279, a fifteenth-century English culinary manuscript preserved in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books. Firm cooking pears are first softened, then simmered in red wine with cinnamon, sugar, ginger, vinegar, and saffron.

Today, we might recognize the dish as a poached pear in red wine, but the manuscript asks for something more carefully judged than a modern dessert. The syrup is not meant to be merely sweet. Its final flavor should be both poynaunt and dowcet, sharp enough to awaken the palate and sweet enough to round the wine and spice.

This is not a modern poached pear wearing a medieval cloak. It is a historical reconstruction built from the surviving manuscript, comparison with related fifteenth-century pear recipes, the original kitchen testing behind this article, and the practical question that guides my work: What is the cook doing between the written lines?

The result is wine-dark, fragrant, warmly spiced, and brightened with vinegar. The pear becomes tender without losing its shape, while the syrup gathers cinnamon, ginger, saffron, sugar, wine, and acidity into something far more complex than the short ingredient list suggests.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It is an approachable reconstruction from Harleian MS 279.
• It uses familiar ingredients while preserving a distinctly medieval sweet-sour flavor.
• It introduces the period idea of a dish being both poynaunt and dowcet.
• It can be served as a pottage or first-course fruit dish, or as part of a banquet and final course.
• It may be prepared ahead, making it practical for a feast, class, dayboard, or modern dinner.

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Historical Integrity

The main recipe below is my historical reconstruction. Modern substitutions and dietary accommodations appear afterward and are clearly labeled, allowing readers to distinguish the manuscript-based dish from later adaptations.