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) - .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!

Savoury Tostyde (The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie, Kt, Opened (1669)

Savoury Tostyde With Toast and slices of Ham

Savoury Tostyde (The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie, Kt, Opened (1669) 

– Recipe Courtesy of David Friedman and Elizabeth Cook

Cut pieces of quick, fat, rich, well tasted cheese, (as the best of Brye, Cheshire, &c. or sharp thick Cream-Cheese) into a dish of thick beaten melted Butter, that hath served for Sparages or the like, or pease, or other boiled Sallet, or ragout of meat, or gravy of Mutton: and, if you will, Chop some of the Asparages among it, or slices of Gambon of Bacon, or fresh-collops, or Onions, or Sibboulets, or Anchovis, and set all this to melt upon a Chafing-dish of Coals, and stir all well together, to Incorporate them; and when all is of an equal consistence, strew some gross White-Pepper on it, and eat it with tosts or crusts of White-bread. You may scorch it at the top with a hot Fire-Shovel.

1/2 lb butter
1/2 lb cream cheese
1/8 lb Brie or other strongly flavored cheese
1/4 t white pepper

Melt the butter. Cut up the cheese and stir it into the butter over low heat. You will probably want to use a whisk to blend the two together and keep the sauce from separating (which it is very much inclined to do). When you have a uniform, creamy sauce you are done. You may serve it over asparagus or other vegetables, or over toast; if you want to brown the top, put it under the broiling unit in your stove for a minute or so. Experiment with some of the variations suggested in the original.

This dish has affectionately been labeled "crack cheese"--yes it is good and addicting.  As you can see from the picture, as the cheese cools it starts to harden. This does not affect the flavor, so much as the texture.  I have to confess I would eat this off of a old boot even if it was cold...ok...maybe not a boot but when I taste tested this, the bowl was licked clean ~glances at the child~ but I am not naming names. It is absolutely delicious, easy to make and easily made ahead of time and then reheated.  Note all of the variations you can use to serve it--plain, asparagus, bacon, chunks of meat, onions, anchovies or bread. I personally would serve this in a bread bowl, and then fill the remainder of the platter with goodies to dip into it.  This is the starter dish for the next "white flag feast" I do.  

Rose Conserve - The Queen-like Closet (1675)

Old Fashioned Rose Petal Jam

Conserve? Jam? Jelly? Marmalade? Cake? Paste? Compote? Butters? Curds? What are they? Before electricity and the advent of modern day refridgeration and freezing food preservation was an art. It still is, don't get me wrong, but think about it. Living seasonally has made me much more aware of how necessary it was to carefully preserve summer and fall bounties to make it through the leaner winters and springs. I can't go into my garden and pick a quart of fresh strawberries in winter, but I might be able to go into my cellar and bring up cabbages, turnips, apples or a winter squash. Our ancestors were geniuses! They had to be. Many of us would be lost if we had to survive without electricity or refridgeration for more then a few days. they lived their lifetimes without it.

 
Sugaring is a method of food preservation, along with smoking, salting, drying and pickling. I have become fascinated with the way sugar was employed in the diet of our ancestors. It was thought to be a medicine so I can't help but thing that the copious amounts that were used in cooking was medicinal as well as functional for flavor. It's a fascinating part of food history with a wide variety of methods employed to create the final product. The Food History Timeline offers this quote to support the long history of preserving food with honey or sugar: 

"The earliest kind of jam making...dates back to pre-Roman times, when fruit pulp was mixed with honey and spices and dried in the sun. In the first century AD, Greeks made a preserve, using their abundant crops of quinces, by stuffing pieces of peeled and pipped raw fruit tightly into jars filled with honey. After a year the fruit became soft as wine-honey'. This Greek quince preserve was called melomeli' (apple: melo, in honey: meli). The Romans later reversed the words into melimela' and improved the preserve by cooking the fruit in the honey with pepper and spices and sealing the jars to make them airtight. Quinces had a high pectin content so that when cooked, preserves made with them would have had a very solid texture. Pectin is a vital ingredient for successful jelly and jam making... By the 17th century...cane sugar was more readily available, and preserving fruit with sugar became an affordable option. Recipes that previously used honey were easily adapted...The English had their own particular version that included pieces of warden pear, but seemed to prefer the Portuguese quince preserve. Using their sugar from India and their abundance of quinces, the Portuguese had developed their own specialty, which they called marmelada' (like the Roman melimela')...As early as the sixteenth century, little chests of marmelada were included in the cargoes of Portuguese merchant ships arriving in English ports. Gradually the same process was applied to other fruits, which then came to be known as a marmalade' of pears, damsons, or plums..." ---Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World, Sue Shepard, chapter on sugar (p. 163-174)

The main differences when discussing the different ways to preserve with sugar are the methods used to incorporate the sugar, the kind of fruit used, the size of the fruit, the addition of additional ingredients (booze, spices, nuts, additional fruit) and the proportion of sugar to fruit. Some of the methods we will discuss today were used in period, others (such as fruit curds) would not have been available. 

Preserve is a "catch all" word but when referring to sugaring as a method of preservation, fruit preserves are whole or pieces of fruit suspended in a jelly or a syrup.  Preserves may or may not include additional spices, alcohol, acids or pectin. A great example of a period fruit preserve is .x. Wardonys in syryp which creates pears that have preserved in a syrup flavored with red wine, sugar, vinegar, ginger and saffron. 

What is a conserve? Conserves are a jam which is made up of fruit, or in this case flower petals, mixed with sugar and sometimes other things such as nuts or spices. They can be referred to as "posh jams" and have a consistency that is softer then jam and very spreadable.

If a conserve is a jam, what is a jam? Great question! Jam's consist of a fruit (or flower petal) that has been chopped, crushed, mashed into small pieces and cooked with sugar until it gels. Sometimes additional pectin or an acid of some kind is added to the jam.

Jellies are a mixture of fruit (or petals) and sugar which has been cooked then strained so that the juice becomes the primary ingredient. By definition jellies should be clear without added fruit or spices.

Marmalades are specifically any citrus fruit that has been chopped and then preserved with sugar. The fruit is peeled and the peeled is cooked for a long, slow period of time to soften it before the sugar is added. Ideally a marmalade will be between the consistency of jam and jelly and consist of peices of the peel suspended in a clear jelly. The word marmalade dates back to the Greek melimēlon, which refers to quince stored in honey. My interpretation of Hannah Wooley's orange marmalade can be found here: The Queen-like Closet (1675) - LXXXVI. To make the best Orange Marmalade. - Orange Marmalade. Another more time consuming example of a marmalade is Sir Hugh Platt's To preserve Oranges, after the Portugal fashion which creates an orange marmalade inside of a whole preserved orange peel. 

A "cake" consists of fruit and sugar that has been cooked, pureed and then dried and I believe is the grandfather of our modern day gummy candies or fruit rollups dependant upon how thick you make your sheets and how long you allow them to dry. A good example of this kind of recipe is my interpretation of  Hannah Wooley's dried peaches.

Fruit pastes consists of fruit and sugar, sometimes spices that have been cooked over low heat for a very long period of time until they become concentrated in their flavors. They are then spread onto a tray or a sheet similar to the method you would use for the "cakes" and then dried in an oven. I recently published my interpretation of Sir Hugh Platt's To Make Quidinia of Quinces (Delights for Ladies, Sir Hugh Platt, 1600) which makes a beautiful fruit paste of quince.

Compotes may contain fresh or dried fruit, whole or in pieces and other ingredients that have been cooked in a sugar syrup that may be fortified with liquor or spices and cooked slowly to allow the fruit to keep it's shape. While conserves or jams may be saved for later, compotes are most normally used right away. If that were not confusing enough a coulis is basically a compote that has been pureed to a smooth consistency.

Fruit butters are cooked fruit which has been pureed until smooth and then added to sugar and heated gently until the fruit darkens. They are not cooked until they jelly, but rely on the high pectin content of the fruit to create thickness. They have a much lower sugar content then jams, conserves or jellies. According to the FDA, fruit butter can only be made and labeled such from eight fruits; apples, apricots, grapes, peaches, pears, plums, prunes, and quince.

Curds are a mixture of fruit, sugar, butter and eggs that have been cooked together to form a smooth creamy spread that *must be refridgerated* in order to keep. 

The queen-like closet; or, Rich cabinet stored with all manner of rare receipts for preserving, candying & cookery. Very pleasant and beneficial to all ingenious persons of the female sex. By Hannah Wolley offers this fascinating recipe for a conserve of roses that I had to try. I find it delicious but it is one of those things that you will either like or not like. I like to serve mine over ice cream or on bread. The most common rose used was the apothocary rose, or Rosa gallica officinalis, prized for its scent. This rose is believed to have originated in Persia and legend has it that the rose received it's color from a nightingale who so loved the white rose that it grasped it tightly, the thorn piercing the nightingale and that it was the nightingales blood that turned the white rose red. Thus the rose also became known as the Dasmask rose. Whatever it's origins, it is known that the rose was brought to England with the return of the crusade knights sometime in the 12th or 13th century. 

LXXXVIII. To make Conserve of red Roses. 

Take their Buds and clip off the Whites, then take three times their weight in sugar double refin'd; beat the Roses well in a Mor∣tar, then put in the sugar by little & little, and when you find it well incorporated, put it into Gally Pots, and cover it with sugar, and so it will keep seven years.

Recipe

1 part very fragrant rose petals
3 parts sugar

Fortunately for us we do not need to use a mortar. Do be sure to clean your roses very well. I usually pick mine in the morning, wash them very quickly with water and remove the petals and then store them in the refridgerator overnight. I do this to humanely kill any pests that chose to cling to the petals. Sorry guys :-( The next day I gently rinse them again and dry them on a towel, clip off the bitter white end of the petal and then place it and the sugar into my blender and blend until well blended. At this point I put it into jelly jars and store in my fridge.

While I would have LOVED to have shown you a picture of this, I only had enough conserve to make 2 pint jars both of which have been consumed. So you get a *bonus* recipe--Rose petal jam. For those who you didn't know, my rose bushes were very hard hit a few years ago in winter and many of them died. I am slowly replacing them, but my rose yields are still somewhat small. Early in the year I had enough roses to make the conserve. However, in the second blooming I had enough petals to make rose petal jam, something I intend to give away as a gift this year along with violet syrup.

Old Fashioned Rose Petal Jam                                                                      Makes about 3 pints

1 1/2 cups water (I used bottled)
Approximately 2 cups (more is better) lightly packed fragrant rose petals (alternatively you could use dried petals keeping in mind that 1/3 cup dried is equal to 1 cup fresh just be sure what you use is *food grade*)
2 cups sugar
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp pectin (as an alternative you could cook 1 green apple with your rose petals skin, pips and all. The apple should contain enough pectin to make thicken to jelly. I chose the pectin)

Bring roses and water to a simmer in a sauce pan and simmer for about ten minutes. Add 1 3/4 cup of sugar and stir until dissolved. Do not be disappointed that the color is not what you would want, the brilliant red color will come when you do the next step--it's magic! Add lemon juice and watch the magic happen. Simme for another ten minutes or so. While it is simmering add pectin to remaining sugar and stir to prevent clumping when you add the remaining sugar and pectin to your jam. Do so a spoonful at a time making sure that it is well incorporated before adding the next spoonful. Cook for another 20 minutes or so and then remove it from the stone and put into your jars. It will seem very loose--but do not worry as it cools it will set. This is best used in two months or, go ahead and process through canning for longer term storage.

I hope you enjoy this unusual and tasty treat as much as I do.

Gallipot ~1650

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - Roseye - Chicken or Fish in Rose Sauce

 Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - Roseye - Chicken or Fish in Rose Sauce

Roseye is one of the more unusal dishes that I have made from 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. On the surface this looks like a very simple dish, however, it contains a surprisingly "modern" set of instructions - " than take Loches, an toyle (Note: Rub, cover) hem with Flowre, an frye hem". Roughly interpreted "then take loaches and cover them with flour, and fry them." This was the first time since I have started cooking from these books that I had seen instructions to flour and then fry an ingredient. This is a pretty significant finding. At the very least, it gives us a time table for pan frying--in this case fish, but chicken can be easily substituted. Secondly, we are instructed to use roses, not as a flavoring, but as a coloring agent for the sauce of almond milk that accompanies the fish.  The sauce that came from my red roses became a very soft pink color that I wish the picture could have caught.

You are probably more familiar with the loach as one of the fishes you would find in your local pet store. Loaches have been described as being mild tasting and similar to catfish in flavor. If I were to serve this dish at an event I would use catfish as my substitute, or another similarly textured or flavored fish such as bass, cod, troug, salmon, perch, whiting or whitefish.

.C. Roseye.—Take Almaunde Mylke an flowre of Rys, & Sugre, an Safroun, an boyle hem y-fere; þan take Red Rosys, an grynd fayre in a morter with Almaunde mylke; þan take Loches, an toyle*. [Rub, cover. ] hem with [supplied by ed.] Flowre, an frye hem, & ley hem in dysshys; þan take gode pouder, and do in þe Sewe, & caste þe Sewe a-bouyn þe lochys, & serue forth.

Dan Myers offers this interpretation at his site Medieval Cookery.

C - Roseye. Take Almaunde Mylke an flowre of Rys, and Sugre, an Safroun, an boyle hem y-fere; than take Red Rosys, an grynd fayre in a morter with Almaunde mylke; than take Loches, an toyle (Note: Rub, cover) hem with Flowre, an frye hem, and ley hem in dysshys; than take gode pouder, and do in the Sewe, and caste the Sewe a-bouyn the lochys, and serue forth.

100 - Roseye - Take almond milk and flour of rice, and sugar and saffron, and boil them together; then take red roses, and grind fair in a mortar with almond milk; then take loaches, and cover them with flour, and fry them, and lay them in dishes; then take good powder and do in the sauce, and caste the sauce above the loaches, and serve forth. 

Interpreted Recipe                                                                    Serves 1 as a main, 2 as a side

1/4 pound firm textured, mild flavored fish cut into finger width strips

flour to dredge the fish in

oil to fry the fish

For the sauce: 

1 cup almond milk (I used the quick almond milk recipe)

1 tbsp. rice flour

1 tsp. sugar

pinch of saffron

1/4 tsp. good powder or to taste (I used the Le Menagier's recipe for fine spice powder )
Salt and pepper to taste

Place almond milk, rice flour, sugar and saffron into a pot and simmer until it thickens to the desired consistency.  Meanwhile, cut the fish into finger width strips, lightly dredge in flour and pan fry in the oil until done.  To serve, place the fish on a plate and cover with the sauce, add good powder to taste.

I am saddened to report though, that while this is very pretty to look at, the dish itself was a bit bland and was not favored by the taste testers or myself. One of them described (and I agreed) that it resembled fish cooked in porridge.  

It hurt for something acidic--wine, lemon, ale or beer. I do strongly recommend that you create the sauce with almond milk that has been created with something acidic (like wine) or that you serve something acidic on the side (maybe even lemon slices).  Several other recipes from the manuscript prescribe making the almond milk with ale or wine, and I believe that would have gone a very long way towards creating a more favorable experience.

Similar Recipes are listed below. 

Forme of Cury (England, 1390)

XLI - For to make Rosee. Tak the flowris of Rosys and wasch hem wel in water and after bray hem wel in a morter and than tak Almondys and temper hem and seth hem and after tak flesch of capons or of hennys and hac yt smale and than bray hem wel in a morter and than do yt in the Rose so that the flesch acorde wyth themylk and so that the mete be charchaunt and after do yt to the fyre to boyle and do thereto sugur and safroun that yt be wel ycolowrd and rosy of levys and of the forseyde flowrys and serve yt forth.

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

Rose. Take flour of ryse, as whyte as sylke, And hit welle, with almond mylke. Boyle hit tyl hit be chargyd, þenne Take braune of capone or elle of henne. Loke þou grynd hit wondur smalle, And sithen þou charge hit with alle. Coloure with alkenet, sawnder, or ellys with blode, Fors hit with clowes or macys gode. Seson hit withsugur grete plenté, Þis is a rose, as kokes telle me.

A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)

To mak rose, tak flour of ryse and temper it with almond mylk and mak it chaungynge then tak the braun of capon or of henne sodyn and grind it and charge it ther with and colour it with sanders and blod and fors it with clowes and maces and sesson it with sugur and serue it.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab. 1430) - Brwes in lentyn - Broth in Lent

Harleian MS. 279 (ab. 1430) - Brwes in lentyn - Broth in Lent 

I hope the holiday season has blessed everyone and that the New Year will bring a years' worth of health, wealth and happiness to you, but most importantly, time for you to share with others. Of course I had to try something with wine in it! Today I tried a rather interesting recipe from 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", which roughly interprets to a "Broth in Lent". I found it an interesting and delicious recipe and I would almost post this into the category of "found" recipes. Why? Most cooks who have prepared a feast will have some if not all of these ingredients left over, and with a bit of time could create this as an extra dish to serve at a meal. 

I think this would be an exceptionally forgiving recipe, for example, you could substitute broth for wine, and vary the spices. The taste testers and I put our heads together and even came up with some suggestions on how to serve it. My preference would be at the beginning of the meal with cheese pipes and a peppery arugula salad. Another suggestion was a side dish to be served with roasted beef and frumenty. Just a few thoughts to take into the new year with you :-)

Yes, this will definitely appear in a future feast---I better start putting in more bids I'm developing quite a list! Perhaps for next year I will start hosting small parties at my house, not only to share my passion with others, but to enjoy the company of good friends.

I have also hit a milestone with this post. I have interpreted or referenced approximately 57 of the 153 pottage recipes found in the Harleain MS 279. I am reaching the point where some of the ingredients are prohibitively expensive to make, or I can't get the ingredients for, or, are things I am not fond (like oysters!). I will continue to work on completing these recipes as best as I can.

.Cxlvij. Brwes in lentyn. — Take AVater & let boyle, and draw a Iyer ]7er-to of Brede, of j^e cromys, w/tA wyne y-now ; lete alle ben wyne almost ; j^en put Jjer-to hony a gode quantyte, l^at it may ben dowcet, j^an putte ponder Pcpir ]>er-to, Clowys, Maces, and Saunderys, & Salt, & skalde ]>m^ brewes tender, & serue f[orth].

Cxlvij - Brwes in lentyn. Take Water and let boyle, and draw a lyer ther-to of Brede, of the cromys, with wyne y-now; lete alle ben wyne almost; then put ther-to honey a gode quantyte, that it may ben dowcet, than putte pouder Pepir ther-to, Clowys, Maces, and Saunderys, and Salt, and skalde thin (Note: Thine) brewes tender, and serue forth [correction; sic = f].

147. Brewes (broth) in lent - Take water and let boil and draw a mixture of bread, of the crumbs, with wine enough: let all be wine almost; then put there-to honey a good quantity, that it may be sweet, than put powder pepper there-to, cloves, mace, and sandalwood, and salt and scald your broth tender, and serve forth.

Interpreted Recipe                                                                     Serves 1 as a main, 2 as a side

3/4 cup water
1/4 cup wine -I used a beautifully fruity red
2 tbsp. bread crumbs
1 tbsp. honey
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp.  mace
2 cloves
1-2 tsp. saunders (opt.)

Soak bread crumbs in wine.  Meanwhile, bring water to boil and stir in honey and spices. Let steep until desired color is reach. Add bread and wine mixture and stir until it has thickened. Strain before serving.

As is, this is a lovely thickened wine sauce or broth.  As I've stated previously, I think it is beautifully versatile for a modern day kitchen.  I added ginger to this in addition to the other spices. This would make a lovely royalty luncheon, or you could throw it together in a pinch as a camp meal as well.  I urge you to experiment with this.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab. 1430) - Murrey - Another Meat Sauce

Murrey - Meat sauce seasoned with ginger and galingale, sweetened with a touch of honey and thickened with bread.  Normally colored with Saunders. 

Two unusual recipes caught my interest while I was researching 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" Thomas Austin and I had determined that I was going to try them. They both appeared to be recipes for a kind of "meat sauce".

Murrey, like Rapeye, is another recipe that appears to be the name for a kind of sauce, in this case, one that is red, or reddish, in color, and thickened. For example, this recipe is from the Forme of Curye, written approximately 1390, shows a very early form of the recipe that I used.

.xxxviij. Morree. Tak almaundes blaunched, waisch hem, grynde hem, & temper hem up with rede wyne, & alye hem with flour of rys, do therto pynes & fryed & colour it with saundres, do therto poudour fort & poudour douce and salt & messe hit forth & flour hit with aneys confyt whyte.

This recipe from MS Royal 12 (1340), references the various different ingredients that you can use to complete the sauce.

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 orgoat, if you would have a good and royal meat. 

Below is the original recipe from 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" Thomas Austin.

Mxxj. Murrey. — Take Porke an Yele, & sethe it, & grynd it, & draw it with Jie self brothe ; J^en take bred y-gratyd, & pouder of Gyngere & of Galyngale, & Hony, an caste J^er-to, & boyle it y-fere ; & make it chargeaunt, & coloure it with Saunderys & serue f[orth].

To find similar recipes, visit the link below. It will lead you to Dan Myers' Medieval Cookery website. I urge anyone with an interest in historic cooking, or if you are foodie, to visit this site.

lxxj - Murrey. Take Porke an Vele, and sethe it, and grynd it, and draw it with the self brothe; then take bred y-gratyd, and pouder of Gyngere and of Galyngale, and Hony, an caste ther-to, and boyle it y-fere; and make it chargeaunt, and coloure it with Saunderys and serue forth [correction; sic = f].

71. Murrey - Take pork and veal and soak it and grind it, and draw it with the same broth; then take bread grated, and powder of Ginger and Galingale, and Honey, and caste there-to, and boil it together; and make it thick, and color it with saunders and serve forth.

Interpreted Recipe                                                                             Serves 1 as a main, 2 as a side

1/4 Pound ground pork, or ground pork and veal
1 Cup broth (beef, chicken or a 50/50 mix)
1 Tsp. Honey
1/8 Tsp. Ginger and Galingale
3 Tbsp. Bread Crumbs (I used Rastons)
1-2 Tsp. Sandlewood (I had chips--see below for why I didn't use them)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place your broth in a pot and add the sandlewood chips (please note: my daughter wanted to test out a "burgundy" food dye for an upcoming play on red velvet cake, so we skipped this entirely, and instead added the tiniest amount of the food dye to the broth. This turned it a lovely "raw meat" red and led to a few questions about food safety--do not do this ever!!!! The picture shows questionably colored meat but I do assure you, was thoroughly cooked, albeit dyed pork!)

Bring the broth to a simmer and remove from the heat.  Allow the sandlewood to steep until the broth takes on a reddish hue (approximately 5-15 minutes) then strain the chips from the broth.

Return the broth to the stove, and add the ground pork, making sure to break it into small pieces as you add it to the broth. Once the pork has been added and begins to cook add the honey, ginger and galingale.  Let cook until the pork has been cooked through, and add the bread crumbs. Once the bread has been added stir the mixture until the sauce has thickened to your preference.  Remove from heat, taste for seasoning and serve.

These are very easy to put together and an effective use I believe for any leftover ground pork, or in this case, pork and veal (or hamburger) that you might have.  It reminds me of bolognese sauce made without tomato.  I could almost imagine that this could be one of the very earliest recipes for the great modern day Italian bolognese sauce.

The beauty of this dish is that we are told to "make it chargeaunt", meaning, make it thick, but the thickness of this dish is up to the cook. Like Rapeye, I chose to make this a very thick, almost dry, sauce. I do know that I will be serving this dish again in the future, possibly as a sauce to put with rice, or noodles.

Rapeye (on the left) and Murrey (on the right) two examples of a medieval meat sauce.

Similar Recipes:

An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook (Andalusia, 13th c. - Charles Perry, trans.)

A Dish of Murri from Any Meat You Wish. Put meat in the pot and throw on it spices, an onion pounded with cilantro and salt, and throw on it three spoonfuls of murriand one spoonful of vinegar, and the same of oil, and fry and cover with oil and cook until done and browned. Ladle out and sprinkle with pepper and cinnamon. If you omit the vinegar, it is good, and if you throw in soaked garbanzos and a little rue, it is good, God willing.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab. 1430) - Rapeye of Fleysshe - Meat Sauce

Rapeye - Medieval Meat Sauce of ground pork, honey, egg and broth, sprinkled with a mix of ginger and galingale. 

Medieval meat sauce! Yes, these are two examples of dishes that as I interpreted very closely resemble a meat sauce that you would serve over pasta. In trying to define the word "Rapeye" several sources refer to "Rapeye" as a thick spiced sauce, made of fruit and boiled with wine.  Yes, there are recipes for this dish that do resemble the defination.  This one does not, and being unusual to begin with begged to be tried.

The recipe for this dish can be found at  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" Thomas Austin.

.Cvj. Rapeye of Fleysshe. — Take lene Porke y-sode & y-grounde smalle, & tempere it vppe w/t/( )e self broj^e, & do it in a potte, an caste J^er-to a lytil honye, & boyle it tyl it be chargeaunt ; & a-lye it wyth pYkjs of Eyroun, & coloure it with Saunderys, & dresse forth, and ponder Marchaunt.

Cvj - Rapeye of Fleysshe. Take lene Porke y-sode and y-grounde smalle, and tempere it vppe with the self brothe, and do it in a potte, an caste ther-to a lytil honye, and boyle it tyl it be chargeaunt; and a-lye it wyth 3olkys of Eyroun, and coloure it with Saunderys, and dresse forth, and pouder Marchaunt.

106. Rapeye of Flesch - Take lean pork soaked and ground small and temper it up with the same broth and do it in a pot, and cast there-to a little honey, and boil it till it be thick: and mix it with yolks of egg, and color it with saunders, and dress forth, and powder Marchaunt.

A search for the term Marchaunt brought forth this information from the Online Etymology Dictionary. It is safe, therefore, I believe to assume that the "pouder Marchaunt" that is referred to in the recipe above indicates a spice mix that was purchased from a merchant already blended. As the Rapeye recipe resembles closely the recipe for Murray recipe, I used the same spices to dress this dish; ginger & galingale.

merchandise (n.) 

mid-13c., "trading, commerce;" mid-14c., "commodities of commerce, wares, articles for sale or trade," from Anglo-French marchaundise, Old Frenchmarcheandise "goods, merchandise; trade, business" (12c.), from marchaunt "merchant" (see merchant).

Interpreted Recipe                                                              Serves 1 as a main, 2 (or more) as a side

1/4 pound Ground pork
1 Cup Beef broth -or- chicken broth -or- pork broth -or- mix 50/50 beef and pork (I used beef)
1 Tsp. Honey
1-2 Egg yolks (I used two because I wanted a thicker product)
1 Heaping Tsp. Sanders (I have chips, so if you have powder you will want to use less and may get a better color result)
Salt and Pepper to taste
A pinch of ginger and galingale

Add the sanders to the broth and heat to a simmer.  Cover and set aside letting the color from the sanders leech into the broth, for me, I got a lovely orange-ish color, but I did not attain the red that I was expecting so I may not have used enough sanders.  Once the broth has reached the desired color, you will need to strain it (if you are using chips).

Return the broth to the pot and add the pork broken into small pieces and the honey.  Bring to a boil and cook until the pork is no fully cooked. Temper the egg yolks with some of the heated broth, and then return the eggs to the pan.  Cook over medium heat until the mixture has thickened to your preference.  This mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.  You may want to remove it from the heat a little bit before you reach your preference. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Before serving sprinkle with a pinch of ginger and galingale.

I think I got this a little too thick before removing it from the fire.  By the time the pictures were taken the Rapeye had thickened to a soft pudding.

The kids who have become my regular group of guinea pigs have now learned to trust the cook.  They ate it and enjoyed it.   I am iffy on this dish, not because of the taste which was quite good, but because of the appearance.

Rapeye is not the most appetizing dish to look at (one of my testers said it resembled cat puke), and with that lovely description, this dish might fall into the category of something that could be just a little bit "too" period.  *IF* I were to serve this dish at an event, I would introduce it as a side dish so that the most brave among my audience could give it a try.  I would not introduce it as a main course--I would be afraid that my diners might put up white flags of surrender. However, because this is a meat sauce this might be a great dish to serve as an accompaniment to a dish of noodles or rice.  Maybe if the hall is dark enough........nobody would notice?

Rapeye (on the left) and Murrey (on the right) two examples of a medieval meat sauce.