Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - Cxxij. A rede morreye

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. 

Medieval First Course - Blaundysorye, Blamange, Blaunche de Ferry & Cawdelle Ferry

 Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) -  Blaundysorye, Blamange, Blaunche de ferry & Cawdelle Ferry.

Blandissorye, Buttered Wortes & Rys

There are several recipes 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 that are similar not only in the methodology of how they are made but also because the name of the recipe describes the color it should be. The first of these I came across was tannye, a drink consisting of almond milk and red wine flavored with ginger, cinnamon, sugar, and galingale. It creates a drink that is a tawny color, hence the name, tannye.

This next set of recipes also has names that describe the colors of the dishes they represent. The first is Blaundissorye - from blanc de soré. Soré describes a color that is orange or reddish brown. The next two are for blamang, which is more familiar to those who research historic cooking as blancmange. Unlike modern-day blancmange which is a sweet dessert, blancmange in period is a dish that is a mix of savory and sweet, which includes chicken or fish.

The etymology of the words is very interesting. The Online Etymological Dictionary identifies blancmange as this:

...originally a dish of fowl minced with cream, rice, almonds, sugar, eggs, etc.; from blanc "white" (also used in Old French of white foods, such as eggs, cream, also white meats such as veal and chicken; see blank (adj.)) + mangier "to eat" (see manger).

The Anglo-Norman dictionary gives this definition for sorré. When making this recipe, the color would indeed be reddish brown if it were made with beef broth, almond milk, and red wine.

This rare lexeme is either the past participle form of the verb sorer (‘to become reddish brown’; not attested in Anglo-Norman, but see Gdf 7,481) or, perhaps less likely, a variant spelling of the adjective soret (DMF: ‘Qui tire sur le jaune brun, le brun roux, le fauve’). The English cognate forms allow for both possibilities (see MED’s etymology). Evidently, while the editor of Culinary Colls chose to have the accented form soré in (B) 27.3, the word may well be read as sore – a variant of sor1.

Original Recipe .xxj. Blandissorye.—Take almaundys, an blawnche hem, an grynde hem in a morter, an tempere hem with freysshe broþe of capoun or of beef, an swete wyne; an ȝif it be lente or fyssday, take brothe of þe freysshe fysshe, an swete wyne, an boyle hem to-gederys a goode whyle; þenne take it up, an caste it on a fayre lynen cloþe þat is clene an drye, an draw under þe cloþe, wyth a ladel, alle þe water þat þow may fynde, ryth as þow makyst cold creme; þanne take owt of the potte, an caste it in-to a fayre potte, an let it boyle; an þanne take brawn of Capoun, an tese it smal an bray it in [supplied by ed.] a morter: or ellys on a fyssday take Pyke or Elys, Codlyng or Haddok, an temper it with almaun mylke, an caste Sugre y-now þer-to; An þan caste hem in-to þe potte and lete hem boyle to-gederys a goode whyle: þenne take it owt of þe potte alle hote, an dresse it in a dysshe, as meni don cold creme, an sette þer-on Red Anys in comfyte, or ellys Allemaundys blaunchid, an þanne serue it forth for a goode potage.

Interpretation

21. Blandissorye - Take almonds, and blanch them, and grind them in a mortar and temper them with fresh broth of capon or beef, and sweet wine; and if it be lent or fish day, take broth of fresh fish, and sweet wine, and boil them together a good while; then take it up and caste it on a fair linen cloth that is clean and dry; and draw under the cloth, with a ladle, all the water that you may find, right as you make cold creme; then take out of the pot, and caste it into a fair pot, and let it boil; and then take meat of capon, and tease it small and bray it (in) a mortar: or else on a fish day, take pike or eels, codling, or haddock, and temper it with almond milk and caste sugar enough there-to; and then cast them into the pot and let them boil together a good while, then take it out of the pot and let them boil together a good while, then take it out of the pot all hot, and dress it in a dish, as men do cold cream, and set there-on red anise in comfit, or else almonds blanched, and then serve it forth for a good potage. Ingredients

Serves 8 as a main 3 c. almond milk made with beef broth 2 c. shredded white meat chicken 1 c. red wine 1 tbsp. sugar anise Comfits or toasted blanched almonds to garnish

Instructions 1. Bring almond milk and wine to a boil, add the sugar and begin stirring it constantly until it thickens to a consistency you like.

2. Spoon the sauce into a bowl and arrange the chicken on top. Garnish with fried almonds or anise seeds.

Original Recipe

.lxxxj. Blaundysorye.—Take Almaunde Mylke, an flowre of Rys, and brawn of Capounys or of hennys, & pouder Gyngere, & boyle it y-fere, & make it chargeaunt; an whan þou dressest yn, nym Maces, Quybibes, & caste a-boue, & serue forth.

Interpretation

81 Blaundysorye - Take almond milk, and flour of rice, and meat of capons or hens, & powder ginger, an boil it fair, and make it thick; and when you dress it, take mace, cubebs and cast above and serve forth.

Ingredients

3 c. almond milk 2 c. shredded white meat chicken

2 tbsp. rice flour

1 tsp. ginger

garnish with mace, and cubebs

optional salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat almond milk till it comes to a simmer and then add the rice flour and ginger. Stir until the almond milk thickens and the rice flour has cooked.
2. Shred or slice your chicken and place it on your plate, and cover it with the almond milk sauce. Before serving add a sprinkle of crushed mace and cubebs.

Original Recipe

.lxxxij. Blamang.*. [(? Blamanger).]—Take Rys, an lese*. [pick. ] hem clene, & wasshe hem clene in flake Water, & þan sethe hem in Watere, & aftyrward in Almaunde Mylke, & do þer-to Brawn of þe Capoun aftyrward in-to a-noþer almaunde Mylke, an tese it smal sumdele with a pyn, an euer as it wolt caste*. [stick. ] þer-to, stere it wel; nym Sugre and caste þer-to, þen make it chargeaunt; þen take blawn-chyd Almaundys, an frye hem, an sette hem a-boue, whan þou seruyst ynne; & ȝif þou wolt, þou myȝte departe hem with a Cawdelle Ferry y-wreten*. [Written. ]before *. [[No. xlvij. p. 15, and cxxxix. p 31]], an þan serue forth.

Interpretation

82. Blamang (Blamanger) - Take rice and pick it clean, and wash it clean in flake water, and then boil it in water, and afterword in almond milk, and do there-to brawn of capon afterword in-to another almond milk, and tease it small, to some degree (sumdele) with a pin, and ever as it would cast, stick there-to, stir it well, take sugar and cast there-to, then make it thick; then take blanched almonds, and fry them, and set them above, when you serve it, and if you will, you might depart them with a caudle ferry written before (previous recipe), and then serve forth.

Original Recipe

.lxxxxviij. Blamanger of Fyshe.—Take Rys, an sethe hem tylle they brekyn, & late hem kele; þan caste þer-to mylke of Almaundys; nym Perche or Lopstere, & do þer-to, & melle it; þan nym Sugre with pouder Gyngere, & caste þer-to, & make it chargeaunt, and þan serue it forth.

Interpretation

98. Blawmanger of Fish - Take rice, and cook them till they break, and let them cool; then cast there-to milk of almonds; take perch or lobster, and do there-to and mix it; then take sugar with powder ginger, and cast thereto, and make it thick, and then serve it forth.

Ingredients

1 c. cooked rice

3 c. almond milk

2 c. poached shredded chicken, poached white fish cut into bite-sized pieces, or 2 lobsters, cooked, heads and claws saved to use as a garnish

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. ginger

almonds that have been lightly fried - or - comfits

Opt: Caudle Ferry (see recipe below)

Instructions

1. Add the rice and almond milk, sugar, and ginger to a pot and cook until the almond milk has been absorbed into the rice. You could add your meat to the rice at this time if you wish.
2. Spoon the rice mixture into a bowl, arrange the meat along the tip of the rice and garnish with almonds or anise comfits, before serving.

Original Recipe

Cxvj. Blaunche de ferry.—Take Almaundys, an draw þer-of an Chargeaunt Mylke; take Caponys & sethe hem; & whan þey ben y-now, take hem vppe, & ley hem on a fayre bord, & strype of þe Skyn, & draw out þe Brawn & hew hem smal; do hem on a Morter, & grynd hem smal; caste on a potte, & fayre whyte Salt, & boyle hem; & whan þey bey boylid, sette it out, & caste on whyte Wyne or Venegre, & make it quayle*. [Curdle.]; take a clene cloþe and lete it be tryid a-brode, & stryke it wyl vnder-nethe alle þe whyle þat þer wol auȝt out þer-of; þan caste Blaunche powder þer-on, or pouder y-mellyd with Sugre; stryke it clene, take a newe Erþen potte, oþer a clene bolle, & caste þin mete þer-on, þer plantyng Anys in comfyte.

Interpretation

116 - Blaunche de ferry - Take almonds, and draw there-of a thick milk; take capons, and cook them, and when they be enough, take them up, and lay them on a fair board, and strip off the skin, and draw out the meat, and cut it small; do them (the meat) on a mortar, and grind it small; cast on a pot, and fair white salt, and boil them (the almond milk and chicken); and when they are boiled, set it out, and cast on white wine, or vinegar, and make it curdle; take a clean cloth, and let it be separated (tryid) abroad, and strike it well underneath all the while that there will own out there-of; then cast white powder there-on, or powder mixed with sugar, strike it clean, take a new earthen pot, or a clean bowl, and cast thin meat there-on, there planting anise in comfit.

Ingredients

Note: This recipe appears to be very similar to a dish known as ".lvij. Charlet a-forcyd ryally." which has been one of the most unappetizing dishes I have interpreted from Harl. MS 279. You have been warned.

2 c. almond milk

2 c. ground poached chicken

2 tsp. (or to taste) salt

2 tbsp. white wine or vinegar

1 tsp. blaunche powder

1 tbsp. sugar

Anise comfits

Instructions

1. Add almond milk, half of the chicken, salt, sugar and blaunche powder to a pot and bring it to a boil.
2. Remove it from the heat and add the vinegar or wine. The mixture will curdle.
3. Allow it to sit until room temperature. You will need to strain the mixture before it can be served. Strain it through a cloth-lined strainer, and weight it with a plate and heavy can. Allow it to strain for several hours.
4. Prior to serving, you can "unmold" it from the mold, and garnish with additional sugar, blaunche powder, and anise comfits.

Original Recipe

.Cxxxix. Caudel Ferry departyd with a blamanger.—Take Fleysshe of Capoun, or of Porke, & hakke hem smal, & do it in a mortere an bray it wyl, & temper it vppe with capoun broþe þat it be wyl chargeaunt; þan nym mylke of Almaundys, take ȝolkys of eyroun̛, & Safroun, & melle hem to-gederys þat it be ȝelow, & do þer-to pouder Canelle, & styke þer-on Clowis, Maces, & Quybibis, & serue forth [supplied by ed.]

Interpretation 139. Caudel Ferry departed with a blamanger - take flesh of capon, or of pork, and hack it small, an do it in a mortar, and grind it well, and temper it up with capon broth that it be well thick; then take milk of almonds, take yolks of eggs, and saffron and mingle them together that it be yellow and do thereto powder cinnamon, & stick there-on cloves, maces and cubebs and serve forth.

Original Recipe

xlvij - Cawdelle Ferry. Take 3olkys of eyroun Raw, y-tryid fro the whyte; than take gode wyne, and warme it on the potte on a fayre Fyre, an caste ther-on 3olkys, and stere it wyl, but let it nowt boyle tylle it be thikke; and caste ther-to Sugre, Safroun, and Salt, Maces, Gelofres, an Galyngale y-grounde smal, and flowre of Canelle; and whan thow dressyst yn, caste blanke pouder ther-on.

Interpretation

47. Caudell Ferry - Take yolks of eggs, raw, separated from the white, then take good wine and warm it on the pot on a fair fire, and caste there-on yolks, and stir it well, but let it not boil till it be thick, and caste there-to sugar, saffron, and salt, maces, gillyflowers and galangal ground small, and flour of cinnamon, and when you dress in, cast white powder there-on.

Ingredients

Serves 1 as a Main, 2 as a Side

1 c. wine

3 egg yolks -or- 1 large egg, beaten with a pinch of salt

1 tbsp. sugar

3 cloves

1/8 tsp. each mace and galingale

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Pinch of saffron

Pouder Douce to taste

Instructions

1. Heat wine, saffron, and cloves in a double boiler for five minutes after the boiler starts to boil.

2. Remove the cloves. Add the sugar, mace, galingale, and cinnamon to the wine, and heat until dissolved.

3. Temper the eggs with the heated wine, and add the tempered mixture to the remaining wine in the pot.

4. Stir until the mixture thickens to taste.

5. Strain your pudding before serving to remove any lumps that may have formed, and any remaining cloves (in case you miscounted!). Right before serving sprinkle with Pouder Douce.

Similar Recipes

Forme of Cury - (England, 1390) FOR TO MAKE BLANK DESNE. XX.IX. XIII. Take Brawn of Hennes or of Capouns ysoden withoute þe skyn. & hewe hem as smale as þou may. & grinde hem in a morter. after take gode mylke of Almandes & put þe brawn þerin. & stere it wel togyder & do hem to seeþ. & take flour of Rys & amydoun & alay it. so þat it be chargeant. & do þerto sugur a gode party. & a party of white grece. and when it is put in disshes strewe uppon it blaunche powdour, and þenne put in blank desire and mawmenye in disshes togider. And serue forth. A Noble Boke off Cookry - (England, 1468) To mak bland sorre tak the mylk of almondes blanched mad with capon brothe then tak the braun of a capon and bet it in a mortair and mele the fishe and the mylk to gedur in the mortair with the pestelle and thik it with flour of rise and boile it put ther to sugur or hony and mak it stondinge then lesk it in dyshes and diaper it with turnsole and serue it. Recipes from John Crophill's Commonplace Book - (England, 1485) Blaunde Sorre. Tak rys & wasch hem & grynd hem smal tempre hem up with almaunde melk do it ovre the fyer & boylle it tak braun of hennys & of capouns hew it & grynd it smal as myed bred do ther to seson it with sugre gret plente florysch it with fryed almaunds.

Libre del Coch - (Spain, 1520)

237. BLANCMANGE OF GOURDS. Take the most tender of the gourds and prepare them, well-scraped with a knife until they are white, and then cut them into pieces as big as your hand, and set water on the fire. And when it boils, cast in the gourds. And when they are cooked, remove them. And put them into a clean cloth. And then make almond milk according to the quantity of the gourds. And squeeze them very well, in such a manner that all the water comes out. And then put it in the pot or kettle where you must make the blancmange; and cast the gourds into the milk; and cast in the sugar that you see is necessary; and let it go to the fire; and before you cast in the gourds, sprinkle them with rosewater; and these gourds need to be beaten a lot; and let them have a good fire so that they boil well; and stir them constantly in such a manner as if they were thick gourds; and when you see that they are thoroughly mushy, let them cook a little while; and then cast on the rosewater; and let it come off the fire; and then prepare dishes, and upon each one cast fine sugar.

And know one thing: that in these foods you cannot have a measurement, but rather according to the discretion of the one who cooks it; because the gourds by their nature are all water; and no one can well say what is required, only the same one who cooks it.

Sources

"Blancmange | Etymology, Origin And Meaning Of Blancmange By Etymonline". Etymonline.Com, 2022, https://www.etymonline.com/word/blancmange. Accessed 3 Nov 2022. Medievalcookery.Com, 2022, https://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/crophill.txt. Accessed 24 Oct 2022. Search, Advanced et al. "Anglo-Norman Dictionary". Anglo-Norman.Net, 2022, https://anglo-norman.net/entry/sor%C3%A9. Accessed 24 Oct 2022. "The Forme Of Cury: A Roll Of Ancient English Cookery Compiled, About A.D. 1390". Gutenberg.Org, 2022, https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8102/pg8102.html. Accessed 24 Oct 2022. "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/1:6?rgn=div1;view=fulltext. Accessed 24 Oct 2022.