Fridayes Pye (1615): Meatless Chard, Apple & Raisin Tart from John Murrell

A Fridayes Pye made with greens instead of beet-root

Originally published 6/23/2015. 
Updated: October 20, 2025 – expanded with historical context on fish days, greens vs. root beet.

During research for large, serve-warm-or-room-temp banquet dishes, I fell in love with this meatless tart from John Murrell’s A New Booke of Cookerie (London, 1615). It’s a savory-sweet “Friday” pie—perfect for fast days—combining beet greens (i.e., chard) with apples, raisins, ginger, and a squeeze of orange.

Why “Fridayes” Pye?

In early modern England, Friday was on of the traditional "fish days" or fasting days required by the Church — meaning no flesh meat (beef, pork, lamb, etc.) could be eaten. This custom was rooted in Catholic tradition and continued well into the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, even after England’s break from Rome. 

By the early 1600s, when John Murrell published A New Booke of Cookerie (1615), the observance of Friday and Lent fasts was still common across all social classes. Cooks compiled specific “Friday” or “Fish Day” sections in their books, filled with meatless dishes made from: 

• Fish, eggs, dairy, and vegetables 
• Pastries and pies enriched with fruit and spice instead of meat 
• Almond milk, butter, and oil as substitutes for animal fats 

So when Murrell labels this as a “Fridayes Pye,” he’s signaling that the recipe is appropriate for a fast day: 

• It’s meatless, using greens, fruit, butter, and spice instead of animal flesh. 
• It fits the pattern of “Lenten pies” — dishes made for observant days that were still elegant and flavorful. 
• The ingredients (greens, raisins, orange) reflect the seasonal spring diet tied to Lent and Easter preparation.

Fish Days and Fast-Day Cookery

In early modern England, “Friday” dishes like this one belonged to the long tradition of fish days—weekly abstinences from flesh meat inherited from the medieval Church. After the Reformation these customs never disappeared; instead, Elizabeth I and her Parliament re-cast them as patriotic observances that protected England’s fishing trade. On a fish day, cooks avoided beef, pork, or fowl but freely used fish, eggs, cheese, and butter. Only during the stricter Lenten fast were all animal products forbidden, replaced by almond milk or oil. Thus Murrell’s “Fridayes Pye,” rich with greens, fruit, and spice but still containing butter, fits the ordinary fish-day table perfectly—pious enough for Friday, but indulgent compared with true Lenten fare.

Historical note: The 1563 “Act for the Maintenance of the Navy” mandated regular fish days not for religion but to sustain England’s maritime economy. Observing fish days kept demand for sea-fish steady, ensuring a ready navy in wartime. Religious habit thus became state policy—a rare case where piety and politics shared the same table.

📌 Beet “greens,” not beet-root: In 16th–17th-c. English sources, “beetes” often means the leaf (chard). The line “picke out the middle string, and chop them small” points to de-ribbing greens. You can still make a beet-root version, but the period default is chard.

Why Greens, Not Roots?

When early English cooks wrote of “beetes,” they almost always meant the leaves—what we now call Swiss chard or leaf beet. The swollen red root beet familiar today was a later development. Medieval and early-modern gardeners grew white and red beetes mainly for their greens, prized for winter hardiness and gentle sweetness. Continental varieties that emphasized the root (the forerunners of today’s beetroot) reached England in the later 17th century and did not become common until the Georgian period.

John Murrell’s instruction to “picke out the middle string, and chop them small” clearly describes de-ribbing leaves rather than peeling roots. In humoral terms, greens were considered more cool and moist, balancing the hot and dry spices like ginger and pepper—making this dish suitable for Friday fasts and Lenten abstinence alike.

Fun fact: The modern bulbous beet descended from chard-like ancestors. 18th-century breeders selected for thicker roots, giving rise to the sugar beet and the deep red garden beet we know today.

Original Recipe (1615)

Fridayes Pye. WAsh greene Beetes cleane, picke out the middle string, and chop them small with two or three well relisht ripe Apples. Season it with Pepper, Salt, and Ginger: then take a good handfull of Razins of the Sunne, and put all in a Coffin of fine Paste, with a piece of sweet Butter and so bake it: but before you serue it in, cut it vp, and wring in the iuyce of an Orenge, and Sugar.

— John Murrell, A New Booke of Cookerie, 1615; ed. T. Gloning

Bruet of Almayne (Spiced Wine Broth) — Harleian MS 279 (c. 1430)

Detail from the Banquet du Paon (Chroniques de Hainaut, c. 1447–48) — feasts like these inspired Russell’s Dynere of Flesche.

In John Russell’s Dynere of Flesche, a “pottage of spice and wine” appears beside Herbelade as part of the first course. The closest surviving analogue is Bruet of Almayne from Harleian MS 279 (c. 1430): a smooth, aromatic broth of wine, almond milk, and warming spice. Where Herbelade is cool and green, this dish is rich and golden — together balancing the table in taste and humor.

See the full reconstructed menu here: A Dynere of Flesche — John Russell’s 15th-Century Menu.

What “Bruet” means: from Old French bruir, “to boil” or “brew.” In medieval English cookery, a bruet was a seasoned sauce or broth — rich, spiced, and served as an early-course pottage or accompaniment to meats.

Why “of Almayne”? Almayne = Germany. Late-medieval English kitchens borrowed Central European taste for wine-forward, spice-laden sauces. This “German-style” bruet showcases almond milk, white wine, and warming spices (ginger, galingale, cinnamon, cloves, mace), yielding a golden, aromatic pottage.

Spice Note – Galingale vs. Ginger: Galingale (or galangal) was a favorite medieval spice imported from the East Indies, resembling ginger but sharper and more peppery. English cooks often paired the two — ginger for warmth, galingale for brightness — in “Almayne” and “Lombard” dishes influenced by continental taste. In modern kitchens, you can substitute extra ginger or a touch of cardamom for a similar aromatic lift.

Original Text — Harleian MS 279 (EETS 1888 p. 23)

Bruet of Almayne. Take Almonde mylke and Wyne, and drawe it with powder of Gyngere, of Galyngale, of Canelle, of Clowys, and of Maces, and let hit boyle; and take brawne of Capoun or Hennys, and small cutte, and cast therto; and when hit is boyled, then serve hit forth.

Modern English Rendering

Take almond milk and wine, and blend it with powders of ginger, galingale, cinnamon, cloves, and mace. Bring it to a boil. Add diced cooked capon or chicken, simmer briefly, and serve hot.

Modern Recipe (Tested Redaction)

Yield: 6–8 servings • Time: ~25 min

• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 ½ cups cooked chicken or capon, diced small (optional for pottage)
• ¼ tsp each ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, galingale (or nutmeg), and mace
• Pinch saffron (optional for color)
• 1–2 tsp sugar (optional, period-accurate)
• Salt to taste

1. Heat almond milk and wine together over gentle flame.
2. Add spices, saffron, and sugar; stir well.
3. Add diced chicken if using; simmer 10–15 minutes until fragrant.
4. Season with salt and serve warm as a lightly thickened broth.

Flavor profile: warm, spiced, subtly sweet — the golden mirror to Herbelade’s green herb pottage.

Herbelade (Herb Pottage) — Harleian MS 4016 & Forme of Curye

Herbelade (Herb Pottage) — Harleian MS 4016 (c. 1450) & Forme of Curye (1390)

Detail from the Banquet du Paon (Chroniques de Hainaut, c. 1447–48) — the kind of noble feast where Herbelade might open the first course.

John Russell’s Boke of Nurture lists a “pottage of herbs, spice, and wine” in the first course of his Dynere of Flesche. See the full reconstructed menu here: A Dynere of Flesche — John Russell’s 15th-Century Menu. . Among surviving 15th-century recipes, the Herbelade from Harleian MS 4016 (c. 1450) matches that description exactly — a delicate, green, wine-scented broth thickened with bread and perfumed with gentle spice.

What “pottage” means here: a smooth herb-based soup or light stew served early in the meal — modestly thickened with bread or almond milk, spiced with ginger and saffron, and occasionally enriched with wine.

Original Text — Harleian MS 4016 (EETS 1888 p. 89)

Herbelade. Take persel, sawge, ysope, saveray, and tansey, and other gode herbys that ye may gete, and do hem in a potte; sethe hem; take brede y-grated, and temper it with broth, and do thereto, and sethe it, and serue it forth.

Modern English Rendering

Take parsley, sage, hyssop, savory, tansy, and any other good herbs you can find, and put them in a pot; boil them. Mix grated bread with broth (or wine), add it to the herbs, and simmer; then serve it forth.

Modern Recipe (Tested Redaction)

Yield: 6–8 servings • Time: ~20 min

• 3 cups mixed herbs – parsley, sage, savory, hyssop (or thyme), tansy (optional)
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth – replace up to 1 cup with white wine
• ½ cup breadcrumbs (or 2 Tbsp ground almonds for richer version)
• Pinch ginger, few threads saffron, and a little sugar (optional)
• Salt to taste

1. Blanch herbs 30 sec, chop fine.
2. Heat broth + wine; add herbs.
3. Stir in breadcrumbs (or almond flour) to thicken.
4. Season with ginger, saffron, pinch sugar, and salt.
5. Simmer 5–10 min until lightly thickened. Serve hot.

Flavor profile: fresh herbal green, gently spiced, and light on the palate — ideal first-course fare.

About Tansy: Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) was a common medieval herb with a strong, aromatic, slightly bitter flavor. Though best known for Lenten or Easter “tansy” dishes, it also appeared in savory contexts like Herbelade, valued for its warming, cleansing properties. Medieval herbalists classed it as “hot and dry,” balancing the “cold and moist” nature of green herbs, and believed it aided digestion after rich meats.

• Flavor: Bitter–spiced, similar to a cross of rosemary and sage; use sparingly in modern redactions.
• Availability: A hardy perennial, typically dried for winter use.
• Modern caution: Tansy contains thujone, a volatile compound that is both neurotoxic and abortifacient in high doses. Historically, tansy was used medicinally to induce menstruation or miscarriage — so it’s absolutely contraindicated during pregnancy. and should be omitted entirely, or used in the smallest of quantities; mild substitutes include thyme or a pinch of rosemary.

Brawn of Swyne / Brawn with Mustard — Harleian MS 279 vs. Forme of Cury vs. Good Huswife’s Jewel

Period-inspired brawn served cold with sharp mustard — a fifteenth-century English favorite.

Brawn of Swyne / Brawn with Mustard

Last updated: October 10, 2025

This post compares the medieval dish Brawn of Swyne across three sources: Harleian MS 279 (c.1430), Forme of Cury (c.1390), and the late-Tudor The Good Huswife’s Jewel (1585/1596). You’ll find original texts, plain-English renderings, a contrast table, an authenticity explainer for new cooks, and a concise Harleian-leaning modern redaction.

TL;DR: All three sources agree: brawn (boar/pork) is served cold with strong mustard. Harleian 279 uniquely adds a brief wine soak. Forme of Cury is earlier but near-identical. Dawson’s Good Huswife’s Jewel shows the same dish living on in the 16th century.

1) Harleian MS 279 (c.1430) — “Brawn of Swyne”

Middle English: Brawn of Swyne. Take Brawn of Swyne, and seþe hit; and whan hit is y-sothe, pare hit and lay hit in wyne, and serue hit forth with mustard.

Modern rendering: Boil the pork brawn; when cooked, slice/trim it and lay it in wine; serve with mustard.

• Distinctive feature: the quick wine soak before service.
• Service: cold, thin slices with sharp mustard.
• Text: Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books (EETS 1888), p. 25.

2) Forme of Cury (c.1390) — “Brawne of Swyne”

Middle English (abridged): Brawne of Swyne... sethe it and serve it forth with Mustard.

Modern rendering: Boil pork brawn and serve it with mustard (no wine soak specified).

• Text: Forme of Cury (ed. Pegge), p. 95.

3) The Good Huswife’s Jewel (1585/1596) — “Brawn with Mustard”

See my late-Tudor descendant here: Brawn with Mustard (Dawson).

---

Compare & Contrast at a Glance

Source	Date	Core Method	Unique Step	Mustard Note
Harleian MS 279	c.1430	Boil → slice → lay in wine → serve cold	Wine soak before service	Rustic wet mustard (seed + wine/vinegar + salt)
Forme of Cury	c.1390	Boil → slice → serve cold	—	Same condiment; simple instruction
Good Huswife’s Jewel	1585/1596	Boil/cure → slice → serve cold	Printed domestic tips; seasonings trend sweeter	Mustard with wine/vinegar; later sugar appears in print culture

What “brawn” really means — and how it was prepared

In period, brawn was cured pork or boar—typically shoulder, neck, or head—put up in salt during autumn for winter feasts. When Harleian says “Take brawn of swyne, and seþe hit,” it assumes the meat is already salted. Boiling softens and reheats the preserved meat for slicing; the wine soak perfumes it; mustard completes the service.

Household records mention both “brawn of boor salte and fresshe” in service. See the Household Ordinances of Edward IV and the Harleian text itself: Harleian MS 279, “Brawn of Swyne”; compare Forme of Cury, “Brawne of Swyne”. A late Tudor descendant appears in The Good Huswife’s Jewel (1585).

1) The basic medieval cure

Plain coarse salt (sometimes a little saltpetre) for a week or more, then gentle boiling and a brief wine soak before service.

2) Aromatic “luxury” cures

Noble kitchens sometimes added peppercorns, cloves, mace, sage, or bay, mirroring salted fish/venison methods: “To Salt Fresh Salmon” and “To Salt Venison” (Harleian MS 279).

3) Preparing brawn today

• If using cured meat: start with unsmoked salt pork, salt-cured ham, or brined shoulder; soak overnight to reduce salt before simmering gently.
• If using fresh pork: a simple brine for 3–5 days under refrigeration (per quart water: 1/4 cup coarse salt, a few peppercorns, 2–3 cloves, 1–2 bay leaves, splash of white wine or vinegar). Rinse, then simmer gently.
• To serve: slice thin, lay briefly in wine (Harleian), and serve cold with sharp mustard.

🕯️ “Lord’s Salt” (optional, elite cure): Some noble households kept a perfumed preserving mix called Lord’s Salt (sal domini): fine salt blended with a little saltpetre and warming spices (pepper, cloves, mace), sometimes with sage or bay. It yields rosy, aromatic brawn for display tables. Ordinary kitchens used plain salt. References: EETS intro (sal domini), Household Ordinances, Liber Cure Cocorum, Boke of Kervynge (1508).

Modern Redaction (Harleian-leaning)

Serves 10–12 as slices with mustard.

• 3–4 lb boneless pork shoulder (or unsmoked salt pork / salt-cured ham; see notes)
• Dry white wine (about 1 bottle; divided: 1 cup for simmering, remainder for brief soak)
• A few whole peppercorns or a pinch of powdour fort; a little salt to taste
• Mustard (period-style): 3 Tbsp mustard seed (coarsely ground), 2–3 Tbsp wine or wine vinegar, pinch of salt

1. If using fresh pork: brine 3–5 days (see explainer). Rinse before cooking.
2. Simmer: Cover meat with water and add 1 cup wine, pepper, and a little salt. Simmer gently until very tender (about 2–3 hours for shoulder; less for cured ham).
3. Chill: Cool and chill under light weight for neat slicing.
4. Slice & soak: Slice thin; lay in a shallow dish with enough wine to scent (10–20 minutes). Drain well.
5. Mustard: Grind mustard seed; wet with wine or vinegar and salt to a thick paste. (For a 16th-c. profile, whisk in a little sugar.)
6. Serve cold with mustard alongside.

🥕 Dietary notes: Naturally gluten-free if mustard ingredients are GF. Contains pork. Substitutions: cured ham or salted beef (period-plausible).

Humoral & Menu Placement

In meat-day first courses (like Russell’s), brawn is a hot & dry food offset by moist wine and mustard. It signals winter plenty and often appears at Christmas or Twelfth Night.

Sources & Editions

• Harleian MS 279 (c.1430), in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books (EETS, 1888).
• The Forme of Cury (c.1390), ed. Pegge.
• Thomas Dawson, The Good Huswife’s Jewel (1585/1596), Internet Archive.

Labels: Appetizer, Medieval Finger Food, Pork, Feast Planning, Period Techniques, Medieval, Harleian MS 279, Forme of Cury

Balloke Brothe – Medieval Eel Broth (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430)

Balloke Brothe – Medieval Eel Broth (Harleian MS. 279, ab. 1430)

                                 Eel from the 13th-century  Ashmole Bestiary

Source: Harleian MS. 279, ab. 1430, recipe xxv.

📜 Original Recipe

xxv - Balloke Brothe. Take Elys and fle hem, an kytte hem in gobouns, an caste hem in-to a fayre potte with fayre water; than take Percely and Oynonys, an schrede hem to-gederys nowt to smal; take Clowes, Maces, an powder Pepyr, an caste ther-to a gode porcyon of wyne; then take 3est of New ale an caste ther-to, an let boyle: an when the Elys byn wyl y-boylid, take fayre stokfysshe, an do a-way the skyn, an caste ther-to, an let boyle a whyle; then take Safroun and Salt, an a lytil Venegre, an caste ther-to, an serue forth.

Lady Graie’s Manchet Bread – Elizabethan White Bread Recipe

Elizabethan Manchet Bread – three loaves from one batch

Originally published 8/30/2015 / Updated 10/2/2025

Introduction

Can you imagine eating two to three pounds of bread a day? Or washing it down with a gallon of ale? During the late medieval and early modern period, that was the standard ration for households and garrisons alike. Bread wasn’t just food—it was the staple at every table. It appeared as trenchers, used as edible plates, or as the fine “table bread” known as pain de mayne or manchet.

The Menagier de Paris even instructs his wife that four-day-old trencher bread was best for entertaining, as it held its shape beneath sauced meats. From castle to cottage, bread marked rank: the nobility received pale white wheat bread, while darker maslin loaves went to servants. This post focuses on one of the most celebrated “white breads” of Elizabethan England: manchet.

What is manchet?

Manchet was the “best” white household bread of the late Tudor and early Stuart period. These were small, hand-sized loaves or rolls made from double-bolted flour (finely sifted to remove bran and germ), yielding a pale crumb and firm crust.

Leavening

Recipes call for a piece of old dough (sourdough-style leaven) opened with water and mixed with ale barm—brewer’s yeast skimmed from fermenting ale. In a modern kitchen, this is easily mimicked with commercial yeast and a splash of mild ale.

Deep dive: see my pillar post on White Bread in Early Modern England.

Historical Recipe

The following comes from The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin (1594), under the title “The making of manchets after my Ladie Graies use.” It is one of the earliest printed bread recipes in English.

Take two peckes of fine flower, which must be twice boulted, if you will have your manchet verie faire: Then lay it in a place where ye doe use to lay your dowe for your bread, and make a litle hole in it, and put in that water as much leaven as a crab, or a pretie big apple, and as much white salt as will into an Egshell, and all to breake your leaven in the water, and put into your flower halfe a pinte of good Ale yeast, and so stir this liquor among a litle of your flower, so that ye must make it but thin at the first meeting, and then cover it with flowre, and if it be in the winter, ye must keepe it verie warm… Of one pecke of flower ye make ten caste of Manchets faire and good.

White Bread in Early Modern England: Manchets (1594) vs. Robert May’s French Bread (1685)

Fine white breads on the English table, 16th–17th c.

Can you imagine eating two to three pounds of bread a day—and washing it down with ale? In late medieval and early modern kitchens, bread was the staple, from four-day-old trencher loaves to fine white table bread. This overview compares two elite white breads I bake often: manchet “after my Ladie Graies use” (1594) and Robert May’s “French bread” (1685).

Almond Milk Recipes in the Middle Ages — Variants from Water to Wine

Almonds were the medieval cook’s “milk” on fast days—drawn with water, sugar-water, broth, or even wine.

Almond Milk in Period Sources — How Medieval Cooks Made It (and Variations)

Originally published 1/2/2015 / updated 10/1/2025

For roughly a third of the medieval calendar—Lent and other fast days—cooks avoided meat, dairy, and eggs. Far from the stereotype of endless roasts, elite kitchens leaned on almond milk as a flexible stand-in for dairy: it could be drawn “thick” or “thin,” seasoned sweet or savory, and tailored to the dish at hand.

Because every trained cook knew how to make it, many manuscripts don’t bother giving a basic recipe. When they do spell it out, we learn that medieval almond milk could be drawn with plain water, sugar-water (white or “black”/brownish sugar), or tempered with honey—and in practice, cooks also drew it with broth for savory dishes, or wine for rich Lenten fare and sweets. Below are period texts with clean translations, followed by kitchen-ready modern methods for each variant.

---

Primary Recipes (Original & Translation)

Harleian MS 279 (c. 1430) — “Froyde almoundys” (Cold Almond Milk, sugar-water)

Original

xj. Froyde almoundys. Take blake sugre, an cold water, an do hem to in a fayre potte, an let hem boyle to-gedere, an salt it an skeme it clene, an let it kele; j^an take almaundys, an blawnche hem clene, an stampe hem, an draw hem, with fe sugre water thikke y-now, in-to a fayre vessel: an [yf] fe mylke be nojt swete y-now, take whyte sugre an caste fer-to.

Modern English

11. Cold Almond Milk. Take black sugar and cold water and put them in a pot; let them boil together, salt and skim clean, and let it cool. Then take almonds, blanch them, and grind them; draw them with the sugar-water thick enough into a fair vessel. If the milk is not sweet enough, add white sugar.

Source: Austin, Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books, Harl. MS 279.

Harleian MS 4016 (c. 1450) — “Froyte de almondes” (Cold Almond Milk, sugar-water)

Original

Froyte de almondes. Take blak sugur and cold water, and caste the sugur and þe water in a potte; and lete hem boile togidre, and salt, and skeme hem clene, and let hit kele; And þen take Almoundes, and blanche hem clene, and stampe hem in a morter al smal, and drawe hem thik ynowe thorgh a streyner with sugur water… And serue hit forth in maner of potage, And namely in lenton tyme.

Modern English

Cold Almond Milk. Boil black sugar with water, salt and skim clean, let cool. Blanch and grind almonds very fine; draw them thick enough through a strainer with the sugar-water… Serve it as a kind of pottage, particularly in Lent.

Source: Austin, Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books, Harl. MS 4016.

MS Pepys 1047 — “To make gode almondys mylke” (Honey-tempered)

Original

Take brokyn sugure or for fawte ther of take claryfied hony and put hit into fayre water And set hit on the fyre and boyle hit and skymme hit clene and set hit be syde the fyre and let hit cole and then blanche thy almondys cast them yn a morter and bray them small temper hem up with þe same water.

Modern English

Take crushed sugar—or, if lacking that, clarified honey—and put it in fair water. Set it on the fire, boil and skim clean; set aside and let cool. Then blanch almonds and grind them small; temper them with the same water.

Source: MS Pepys 1047 (transcription at OldCookery.com).

Notes: These texts show the core technique (blanch → grind → draw/strain) and clearly attest to sugar-water and honey-water variants. In practice, medieval recipes also direct cooks to “draw with broth” for savory pottages and sauces, or with wine for certain feast dishes and sweets. “Thick” vs. “thin” is a matter of almond-to-liquid ratio.

Almond Milk in the Middle Ages — History, Humors & Culinary Uses

Ground almonds mixed with water – the basis of almond milk, a medieval staple.

Almond Milk in the Middle Ages — History, Humors & Uses

Originally Published 11/10/2015 / Updated 10/1/2025

“The more things change, the more they remain the same.” That phrase feels especially true when we look at almond milk. Today, we reach for it as a dairy-free alternative in lattes or smoothies. In the Middle Ages, cooks turned to it for many of the same reasons: dietary restrictions, health, and versatility.

Almond milk appears in nearly every major medieval cookbook — from the English Forme of Cury (c. 1390) to French texts like Le Viandier. Whether thickened into custards, stirred into pottages, or sweetened for desserts, it was a foundational ingredient in European kitchens from the 13th–15th centuries. Understanding almond milk helps unlock a whole category of medieval recipes.

Origins & Spread of Almonds

The almond tree (Prunus dulcis) is native to the regions of modern-day Iran and Central Asia. Cultivation spread westward along trade networks into Persia and the Mediterranean by the first millennium BCE. The Greeks and Romans knew almonds well — Roman authors like Pliny the Elder mention them, and they were commonly served at banquets.

Through Roman expansion and later Arab influence in Spain and Sicily, almonds became established throughout southern Europe. By the 9th–10th centuries, almond-based dishes appear in Arabic medical and culinary texts, praised both for flavor and for their gentle, “cooling” effect in humoral medicine.

Almonds on the Move: From Orchard to Feast Table

• Italy & France: Almonds were cultivated in Mediterranean orchards and imported inland. French and Italian manuscripts from the 13th–14th centuries make frequent use of almond milk in sauces, custards, and pottages.
• England & Germany: By the late Middle Ages, almonds were arriving in northern ports like London, Lübeck, and Hamburg. They were expensive imports, sometimes listed alongside spices and sugar in customs rolls. Their cost gave them a dual role: practical (for fast days) but also a marker of wealth and status when used lavishly in feasts.
• Monastic & noble kitchens: Monasteries, bound by fasting rules, relied heavily on almond milk. Nobles embraced it for both practical and prestigious reasons, often specifying “thick” almond milk in their cookery books.

In this way, the humble almond traveled thousands of miles — from Asian orchards to English feasting halls — and almond milk became one of the most common “dairy substitutes” in medieval Europe.

Why Almond Milk Was Essential

• Religious fasting: Animal milk was prohibited on fast days. Almond milk allowed cooks to create “dairy-like” dishes during Lent and other observances.
• Shelf life: Fresh cow’s milk spoiled quickly. Almonds, stored dry, could be turned into fresh milk on demand.
• Status & luxury: Almonds were imported and costly, signaling refinement at noble tables.
• Versatility: Used in both savory and sweet contexts — soups, sauces, blancmange, custards, even beverages.

Almonds & Humoral Theory

In Galenic medicine, almonds were considered “hot and moist.” Almond milk, tempered with water, was thought gentler on the stomach than cow’s milk and was prescribed for the sick or those with delicate digestion. This idea echoes modern perceptions of almond milk as “lighter” and easier to digest.

How It Was Made

Medieval almond milk was made almost exactly as we do today:

1. Soak whole almonds, then grind them to a paste with a mortar and pestle.
2. Mix with warm water, wine, or broth depending on the recipe.
3. Strain through cloth to produce a smooth liquid.

The ratio determined the thickness. Recipes often call for “thick” almond milk when a rich base was needed, or a thinner version for soups and sauces. Sweetening with sugar, honey, or rosewater was common, while savory versions might use broth or even wine.

Uses in Medieval Cookery

• Savory: In sauces like Rapeye, in fish pottages, or as the base for meatless soups.
• Sweet: In blancmange, rice puddings, and custards.
• Feasts: Almond milk was prepared in large quantities ahead of service — much like we buy cartons today.

Then & Now

The parallels are striking:

• Medieval: fasting, shelf-stable, luxury, versatile.
• Modern: vegan/dairy-free, shelf-stable cartons, premium organic blends, versatile in cooking.

What was once a Lenten necessity has become a café staple.

Medieval Rapeye (Harleian MS. 279) — Apple, Date & Almond Pudding Recipe

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) — .Liiij. Rapeye — Date & Apple Pudding

Rapeye (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430) — Apple, Date & Almond “Pudding”

Originally published 3/26/2017 / Updated 10/1/2025

What is “Rapeye”?

The name can sound jarring to modern ears, but in Middle English it had an entirely different meaning. You’ll find it spelled rapeye, rapy, rape, or rapé across manuscripts like Harleian MS. 279, Forme of Cury, Liber cure cocorum, and A Noble Boke off Cookry. The most likely origin is the Old French rapé (“grated” or “rasped”), from the verb raper (“to grate, scrape”). This makes sense: most recipes called for grated or pounded dried fruit, thickened with rice flour or bread.

In practice, Rapeye could mean either a sauce or a fruit paste/pudding. Some versions are clearly sauces for meat or fish; others, like this one, stand as thick fruit dishes in their own right. The Forme of Cury has a “Rape” made of figs and raisins strained with wine; the Liber cure cocorum “Rape” is a raisin sauce sharpened with vinegar. Our apple–date Rapeye is more of a spoon dish or pudding, but the common thread is fruit grated or mashed, spiced, sweetened, and thickened until “chargeaunt” (stout or substantial).

Parallels exist in other European traditions: Latin glossaries sometimes link rapa (turnip) to grated preparations; Italian rappigliare means “to curdle or thicken.” While etymologies vary, the consensus is that Rapeye signified a grated fruit preparation that could flex between sauce, sweetmeat, or pudding depending on context.

Rapeye shows up multiple times in fifteenth-century English cookbooks and seems to be a flexible category—sometimes a sauce, sometimes a fruit paste, sometimes (like this one) a spoonable “pudding.” In Harleian MS. 279 the fourth Rapeye (.Liiij.) combines almond milk with minced dates and raw apples, thickened with rice flour and perfumed with ginger, cinnamon, maces, cloves, sugar, and a touch of saffron or sanders (sandalwood) for color. It’s comforting, gently spiced, and—per my taste testers—popular even with folks who “don’t like dates.”

Original Recipe & Translation

Middle English (Austin, UMich)

.Liiij. Rapeye.—Take almaundys, an draw a gode mylke þer-of, and take Datys an mynce hem smal, an put þer-on y-now; take Raw Appelys, an pare hem and stampe hem, an drawe hem vppe with wyne, or with draf of Almaundys, or boþe; þan caste pouder of Gyngere, Canel, Maces, Clowes, & caste þer-on Sugre y-now; þan take a quantyte of flowre of Rys, an þrowe þer-on, & make it chargeaunt, an coloure it wyth Safroun, an with Saunderys, an serue forth; an strawe Canel a-boue.

Modern-English 

Make a good almond milk. Mince dates finely and add plenty to the milk. Peel raw apples, pound them, and strain with wine or with the almond “draff” (the pressed solids), or both. Add ginger, cinnamon, mace, cloves, and enough sugar. Sprinkle in rice flour to thicken (make it chargeant), and color with saffron and sandalwood. Serve, strewing cinnamon on top.

Seasonal Note: With apples at their peak in autumn and the warming spices of ginger, cinnamon, mace, and cloves, this Rapeye fits naturally into a fall table. In the medieval calendar, it would have been equally at home during cooler seasons and fasting days when almond milk stood in for dairy. Today, it makes a wonderful harvest-time pudding.

Menu Placement

• Fish/fasting days (Lent-friendly): Made with almond milk (no dairy), fruit, rice flour, and spices—ideal as a pottage or spoon course.
• Entremet / Subtle “pudding”: Served warm and “standing thick,” dusted with cinnamon—works between savory courses or as a gentle sweet near the end.
• Breakfast tavern / camping: Holds well and reheats; can be made ahead and served warm or room temperature.

Humoral Notes

Medieval diners balanced dishes by qualities (hot/cold, dry/moist). Almonds were often classed as warming & drying; dates generally warming & moistening; apples tending cooling & drying. The spicing (ginger, cinnamon, mace, cloves) nudges the dish warmer; almond milk and gentle cooking temper dryness; rice flour adds drying/“binding.” Likely seen as moderately warm and tending moist—comfortable fare for cooler seasons.

See also: Rapeye of Fleysshe and Rapeye (.Liij.).

Comfits of Anise and Fennel – Medieval Candied Spices & Seeds (A Sweet Treat from the Past)

Comfits—candied spices & seeds—served as sweet digestives and table decoration in late medieval & Renaissance feasts.

Comfits – Medieval Candied Spices & Seeds (How to Make Historic Comfits)

Originally published 9/15/15 / updated 10/1/2025

Please note this correction: gum arabic and gum tragacanth are not the same substance. I originally conflated them—mea culpa, and thank you to the reader who flagged it.

Baronial 12th Night Comfits

Comfits were often served at the end of a feast as a digestive, to perfume the breath, and to decorate subtlety dishes and table settings. Aromatic seeds such as anise, fennel, or caraway were built up with repeated coats of sugar syrup—sometimes tinted with beet, spinach, or saffron. Almonds, ginger, and cinnamon splinters appear in later sources as well. You can still buy descendants of these sweets today (think Jordan almonds and pastilles), but handmade comfits are more delicate and—yes—tastier.