Rede Rose: A Medieval Rose Custard
This recipe is drawn from Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books, where flowers were often featured in sweet pottages, thickened with rice flour or egg yolk, and flavored with almond milk. This interpretation of “Cxxvj. Rede Rose” results in a custard that's velvety, floral, and deeply rooted in medieval dining tradition.
Original:
.Cxxvj. Rede Rose.—Take þe same, saue a-lye it with þe ȝolkys of eyroun, & forþer-more as vyolet.
Modern Interpretation (8 servings):
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup or more rose petals (culinary, unsprayed)
- 3 egg yolks
- 1–2 tbsp sugar
Blend all ingredients briefly to break up the petals. Cook gently over a double boiler until thickened. Chill or serve warm.
Kitchen Notes:
I cheated quite a bit with this recipe. I placed the almond milk, egg yolks, rose petals and sugar into the blender and pulsed for a few seconds, just enough to break up the petals. I then poured the mixture into a double boiler and cooked until it became thick. I garnished this with a red rose before serving.
Three taste testers and I fought with spoons for this custard—velvety, sweet, and just a hint of roses. I wish the picture would have done it more justice. The bits of rose petal floating in the custard were beautiful. It couldn't have been simpler to make, requiring only a watchful eye on the custard once it started to thicken. This would be very lovely as a dessert dish at an event, or, if not thickened completely, as a boiled cream to be poured over berries and served. Definitely on the "must serve" at feast list.
Historical Context
Recipes similar to Rede Rose appear across medieval texts:
- Forme of Cury (1390): Almond milk, rose petals, rice flour, sugar, spices, and dates.
- Liber cure cocorum (1430): With meat, alkanet or sandalwood coloring, and almond milk.
- A Noble Boke off Cookry (1468): A broth of almond and primrose flowers, seasoned with saffron and shaped into standing pottage.
Medicinal & Culinary Notes
Rose petals were prized for their cooling, moist properties. In Paradisi in Sole (1629), John Parkinson writes:
“The chiefest flower for beauty, smell and use... the conserve of the red rose is of much use among the gentlewomen.”
Related Dishes in the Manuscript
- Cviij. Prymerose – Rice flour, primrose flowers, almond milk, saffron, and ginger
- Cxxvij. Prymerose – Made “as vyolet”
- Cxxviij. Flowrys of Hawþorn – Also “as vyolet”
Additional Resource: Medieval Edible Flowers Table
Agnes deLanvallei’s 2005 chart (archived) outlines common medieval flowers considered safe and culinary. Especially useful for SCA cooks and gardeners.
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Family | Notes / Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Borage | Borago officinalis | Boraginaceae | Raw or cooked flowers & leaves; uplifting |
| Calendula | Calendula officinalis | Asteraceae | Used in broths, as coloring |
| Carnation / Gillyflower | Dianthus spp. | Caryophyllaceae | Fragrant edible petals |
| Lavender | Lavandula officinalis | Lamiaceae | Used in syrups, conserves |
| Rose | Rosa spp. | Rosaceae | Petals used in custards and preserves |
| Violet | Viola odorata | Violaceae | Delicate, fragrant; great in possets |
Source: Agnes deLanvallei, “Medieval Herbs We Grow Chiefly as Flowers” (archived 2016) — View original table
🌼 See Also: Flavors of the Flower: 5 Medieval Recipes Using Edible Blooms
