Harleian MS. 279 (~1430) - XXIX Milke Rostys- Fried Custard

Image taken 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

Curiosity has driven me to return to interpreting and testing recipes from Harliean MS. 279, and most recently I started working with recipes for egg and dairy dishes. Milk Rostys had caught my attention, is it a cheese? Custard? What? I had theorized that it might most closely resemble a medieval grilled cheese sandwich if it were served on bread. I was wrong. Instead I was delighted to discover that Milk Rostys are their own unique thing, eggy and delightful when completed. I have added them to my repertoire of things to be served at a banquet in the future.

The recipe is found in Thomas Austin's "Two fifteenth-Century Cookery-books" in a section that has been titled "Leche Vyaundez" which is a selection of foods that can be (in the most simplified terms) sliced. It is a diverse section that includes recipes on "Brawn in Comfyte", "Cokyntryce", Gyngerbrede" and "Chawettys a-forced".

xxix Milke Rostys -- Take swete mylke, and do it in a panne; take Eyroun with alle they whyte, & swenge hem, & caste there-to; colour it with safroun, and boyle it that it wexe thikke; than draw it thorw a straynoure, and nym that leuyth, & presse it: and whan it is cold, larde it, & schere on schevres, & roste it on a Greddelle, and serve f [orth].

Dan Myers offers this interpretation for the recipe above at his site Medieval Cookery. If you have not visited his site. I urge you to do so!

xxix - Milke Rostys. Take swete Mylke, an do it in a panne; take Eyroun with alle the whyte, and swenge hem, and caste ther-to; colour it with Safroun, and boyle it so that it wexe thikke; than draw it thorw a straynoure, and nym that leuyth, (Note: Take what remains) and presse it: and whan it is cold, larde it, and schere on schevres, (Note: Shivers; thin strips) and roste it on [correction; sic = MS. [amp] on] a Gredelle, and serue forth [correction; sic = f].

29. Milk Roasts. Take sweet milk and put it in a pan; take eggs with all they white and mix them and cast thereto; color it with saffron, and boil it so that it waxes thick; then draw it through a strainer, & take what remains, & press it: & when it is cold, cut it & slice in thin strips, & roast it on a Griddle & serve it forth.

Recipe Serves 2 as main, 3 to 4 as side

2 Cups Milk
3 Eggs
Pinch of saffron
** 1tsp. Salt
Butter


 

After my previous experience working with Let Lory I made a double boiler to prevent the milk roasts from burning on the bottom of the pan while waiting for the whey and curds to separate. Bring bottom pot to a boil. Heat milk and saffron to boil over medium high heat. Beat the eggs and add them to the milk (I added a tsp. of salt to the eggs).


 

Slowly bring mixture to a boil stirring constantly. Continue to stir the mixture until the mixture has thickened and curds have formed and separated from the whey.


Remove from heat and strain the cheese mixture through a strainer that has been lined with cheesecloth. Press out as much liquid as possible (I did this by placing a dish on top of the cheese and adding a one pound can on top of the dish).

The whey can be used in making bread or other items so there is no need to discard it. Take up the cheesecloth and remove the cheese to a dish. Slice the cake into 1/2 inch thick pieces.

Heat butter (bacon grease, lard) in a frying pan. Fry the slices until browned on both sides. Remove to a serving dish and serve hot.

Below is a picture of the completed dish--I tested it on three (Non-SCA) teens, a Non-SCA child under the age of ten and a Non-SCA family friend. It was all completely gone in a matter of a few minutes with folks asking for more. They were excellent hot, and very good at room temperature. I declare this a success!




To Serve 8 as a Side Dish (quantities multiplied by 2 and rounded to nearest cooking fraction)

4 Cups milk
6 eggs
pinch of saffron
2 tsp. salt

Check out these recipes which are similar found in other cookbooks.

Forme of Cury (England, 1390)

XXV - FOR TO MAKE MYLK ROST. Nym swete mylk and do yt in a panne nyn eyryn wyth al the wyte and swyng hem wel and cast therto and colowre yt wythsafroun and boyl it tyl yt wexe thikke and thanne seth yt thorw a culdore and nym that, leyyth and presse yt up on a bord and wan yt ys cold larde it and scher yt on schyverys and roste yt on a grydern and serve yt forthe.


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

Mylke rostyd. Take swete mylke and put in panne, Swyng eyren with alle, grynde safron And do þerto. welle hit þenne, Tylle hit wax thykke, as I þe kenne. And sethe and sye hit thorowghe a cloth, Presse hit, þat leves, withouten othe. When hit is colde, leche hit with knyves. Rost hit, and messe hit forthe on schyves.



A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)

To mak mylk rostid swynge egges and swet mylk togedur put ther to saffron and boile it till it be thik then sethe it and sie it throughe a clothe and pres the remnyant and lesshe it cold and serue it in schyves.

#medievalfood #scafeast #scacook #historicfood #harleianMS279

To Make a Paste of......How to Make Fruit Paste

Paste of quince (amber), apricot (yellow) and strawberries (red)

Baronial 12th Night Plum Paste 

Late last year I started working with making fruit paste. My earliest experiment was a paste made of quince.  Since then I have expanded my experience by making Spanish Marmalade (a truy decadent confection made from dates with powdered pearls and gold leaf), and pastes made from apples, raspberries, strawberries and apricots. The most recent event that I was able to participate in included assorted fruit pastes.

Fruit paste was a very common item to find as part of an Elizabethan Banqueting course. It was a way of preserving a fruit so that it could be enjoyed year round.  Some of the earliest recipes for fruit pastes were made of quinces.  The recipe for Chardequynce below indicates that the past was to be used for the stomach. Sugar was believed to have medicinal benefits, and to "close" the stomach and help with the digestion of food.

Chardequynce         C. 1444

Chardecoynes that is good for the stomach is thus made: take a quart of clarified honey and 2 ounces of powder of pepper and meddle them together, and then take 20 quinces and 10 wardens (a kind of pear) and pare them and take out the kernels and the cores and seeth them in a clean [ale]-wort till they be tender and then stamp them in a mortar as small as thou mayest and then strain them through a strainer and that that will not [go] well through put in again and stamp it oft and oft drive it through a cloth or strainer, and if it be too dry put in half a saucerful or a little more [or wort?] for to get out the other the better and then put it to the honey and set it on the fire and make it seeth well and stir fast with a great staff and if there be 2 stirrers it is the better for both: if it be [not] strongly stirred, it will set [stick] to the vessel and then it is lost; and seeth it till it [be] sodden thick and then take it down off the fire and when it is well nigh cold put in 1/4 ounce of ginger and as much of canell [cinnamon] powdered and mddle them well together with a slice and then let it cool and put it in a box; this manner of making is good, and if it [is] thus made it will be black; if thou wilt make more at once, take  more of each one after the proportions, as much as though list.

Another manner of making and is better than the first: for to put in 2 parts of honey and 3 parts of sugar and then shall this be better than the other, and in all other things do as thou did before, for thou mayest well enough seeth thy quinces in water, and it is good enough though put no wort thereto, and if thou wilt, thou mayest make it without wardens, but it is the better with wardens.

The third manner of making is this, and is the best of all, and that is for to take sugar and quinces alike much in weight, and no honey nor pears and in all other things do as thou didst before, and this whall be whiter than that other, in asmuch as the sugar is white [so] shall the chardequynce be.

A Leechbook, Royal Medical Society MS 136

To make drie Marmalade of Peaches     C.  1587

Image taken from: A.W. A book of Cookrye (1587)

Take your peaches and pare them, and cut them from the stones, and mince them very finely, and steep them in rosewater, then strain them with rosewater through a coarse cloth or strianer into your pan that you will seeth it in: You must have to every pound of your peaches half a pound of sugar finely beaten, and put it into your pan that you do boil it in: You must reserve out a good quantity to mould your cakes or prints withall of that sugar, then set your pan on the fire and stir it till it be thick or stiff that your stick will stand upright by itself, then take it up and lay it in a platter or charger in pretty lumps as big as you will have the moulds or prints, and when it is cold print it on a fair board of sugar: and print thereon a mould or what knot or fashion you will, and bake it in an earthen pot or pan upon the embers, or in a fair cover, and keep them continually by the fire to keep them dry.

A. W., A Book of Cookrye (1587)

To make Marmalade of Damsins or Prunes     C. 1573

TAke Damsins, which ar ripe, boyle them on the Fyre with a lyttle fayre water tyll they bee softe, then draw them through a course Boulter as ye make a tart set it on the Fyre agayne seeth iton height with sufficient sugar, as you do your Quinces, dash it with sweete water. &c. and box it.  If you wil make it of Prunes, euen likewise doo put some Apples also to it, as you dyd to your Quinces.

This wise you may make Marmylade of Wardens, Peares, apples, & Medlars, Seruits or Checkers, strawberys euery one by him selfe, or els mixt it together, as you thik good.

Partridge, John., The treasurie of commodius conceits (1573)


The method that I use to make fruit paste is very simple although it can be quite time consuming to get the paste to the proper thickness and also to dry appropriately.  I have found that the paste can be quite sticky, and I roll it in sugar before serving.  This gives the pastes a very pretty jewel like quality.

I start with 1 cup of applesauce (I have found through trial and error that applesauce contains the correct amount of pectin to set the paste once it is cooked and enough water to dissolve the sugar without adding additional water.  To the applesauce I add from 1 1/2 to 2 cups of prepared fruit.  I then add equal amounts of sugar, or a mix of sugar and honey.

I like to "heat" the fruit, applesauce and sugar mix until the sugar has dissolved. At this point I will puree the fruit in a blender (yay for modern technology), and then strain it through a strainer returning  it to a pan set upon a medium to medium high heat.

Note: The pan you use *must* be non-reactive 

Heat the fruit mixture to 225 degrees F. and continue to stir at this temperature until the paste has thickened to the point that you can run your spoon through it and it leaves a trench behind in the pan.  You will also note at this point when you stir your fruit paste it comes away from the bottom and sides of the pan.  I have had the pastes come together in as little as 30 minutes and a batch that took almost 90 minutes to reach this point.

Once you have reached this point (and not before) pour your paste into a plan that has been prepared with parchment paper that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray (trust me on this).  I keep my fruit pastes in my oven with the light turned on until they are dry to the touch on top; I then flip them over till the other side dries. This has taken as little as 24 hours and as much as four days--again it depends on the kind of fruit and the humidity.

Once the paste is dry, you can cut it into shapes and roll it in sugar to serve.  OR--you can store it in a airtight container, wrapped in parchment paper and plastic wrap until you need it.  The longer it is stored the dryer it gets.  As near as I can tell, it stores indefinitely, but you should probably use it within two or three months of making it.

#medievalfood  #scafeast  #scacook  #historicfood #elizabethan

Comfits - Candied Anise, Fennel and Caraway Seeds

Please note, that this post has been edited to correct a mistake.  I had originally stated that Gum Arabic and Gum Tragacanth were the same things.  This is untrue as they are two different substances.  Mea culpa! My apologies to anyone who was misled by my mistake. Thank you to the individual who advised me on this. 

Baronial 12th Night Comfits 

Comfits were often served at the end of the feast to freshen the breath, act as a digestive, as decoration and sometimes used in the treatment of specific illness. Aromatic seeds such as anise (pictured in foreground), fennel or caraway were coated with sugar and colored using beet, spinach or saffron. They can also be made using almonds or ginger. Comfits can still be purchased today, for example Jordan almonds or pastilles. They are a bit time consuming to make but ohhhh sooo much tastier then the ones you purchase!

The easier comfits to make are the ones with seeds such as caraway, fennel or anise. Making cinnamon comfits is a bit of a process. To start I will walk you through the process of candying seeds such as anise, caraway or fennel. Many of the cookbooks that were published 1700's and after call for coating the seeds with a solution of gum arabic. This is a necessity if you are going to be making cinnamon comfits. To create your solution use 1 tsp. of gum arabic (if you can't get gum arabic you can also use tragacanth powder), to 3 tsp. rosewater. I let mine sit overnight and it becomes a thick, honey colored gel.

For more information on making these historic treats, please visit Historic Comfits Using Modern Equipment by Dame Alys Katharine (Elise Fleming)

Recipe

1 tbsp. seed of choice (anise, fennel, caraway)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

Heat the sugar and the water until it reaches 225 degrees. Heat the seeds in a large flat pan, similar to a wok or frying pan. I use a setting of 3 on my stove. If you can't comfortably reach into the pan and stir the seeds with your hand, then the pan is too hot.

Once the syrup has reached 225 degrees (for a smoother comfit, you need only heat the syrup to about 170 degrees), take a teaspoon of it and pour it over the seeds in the pan. Using the back of a wooden spoon, stir the seeds until the sugar dries. If the seeds stick together, you have used too much syrup. If the sugar forms pellets in the bottom of the pan then you have used too much syrup. The first few charges (coats) of the syrup the seed will look grayish, and then they will gradually begin to turn white. After about 12 charges, you are done for the day. I prefer my comfits smaller, so I usually do not do this process a second day. However, you can, if you wish, make another solution of syrup and coat your seeds again after they have had time to dry out overnight. The larger the comfits get, the more you will need to divide your batch. You need to be able to work with the pan.

If you choose to coat your seeds with gum arabic you will need to do that in the first few charges of syrup. The ratio that most of the later confectionary books used was 6:1 - 6 parts sugar syrup to 1 part gum arabic solution. It has an odd smell when you "cook" it, but that does not affect the taste.

To Make Cinnamon Comfits

Cinnamon comfits require an extra step. First you need to make sure that you are using "true" cinnamon, that is Ceylon Cinnamon, which is soft, crumbly and brittle. When you look at it, it is "compact" and consists of many layers. Cassia cinnamon is what you normally find in the store, and it is thick, and darker in color then ceylon cinnamon which is a light rusty brown in color. Once you have obtained ceylon cinnamon you will need to soak it overnight in water. This is so that you can shave it down into the needle like strips that are needed to make the comfit. Then you will need to let your cinnamon dry thoroughly.

Once the cinnamon has dried completely, proceed as above, being careful to coat the cinnamon with the gum arabic/syrup solution in the first three charges (coats). You will need to stop coating your comfits after about eight charges of syrup and let them dry overnight. Then you can make another solution of syrup and continue the next day.

Beet juice, spinach juice and saffron can be used to color your comfits in the last several charges of syrup, or, you can add a few drops of food coloring if you wish.

Enjoy!

Update: Regarding cinnamon comfits,  I have been able to make these successfully without soaking ahead of time.

Sekanjabin - Persian Mint Drink

Sekanjabin is another popular drink that can be found at events. It is simple and easy to make. This is another recipe from "An Anonymous Andalusian cookbook of the 13th Century" as translated by David Friedman.

Syrup of Simple Sikanjabîn (Oxymel)

Take a ratl of strong vinegar and mix it with two ratls of sugar, and cook all this until it takes the form of a syrup. Drink an ûqiya of this with three of hot water when fasting: it is beneficial for fevers of jaundice, and calms jaundice and cuts the thirst, since sikanjabîn syrup is beneficial in phlegmatic fevers: make it with six ûqiyas of sour vinegar for a ratl of honey and it is admirable.

...[gap: top third of this page has been cut off]...

... and a ratl of sugar; cook all this until it takes the consistency of syrup. Its benefit is to relax the bowels and cut the thirst and vomiting, and it is beneficial in bilious fevers (Friedman, 2000).

Sekanjabin Recipe (Courtesy of David Friedman)

Dissolve 4 cups sugar in 2 1/2 cups of water; when it comes to a boil add 1 cup wine vinegar. Simmer 1/2 hour. Add a handful of mint, remove from fire, let cool. Dilute the resulting syrup to taste with ice water (5 to 10 parts water to 1 part syrup). The syrup stores without refrigeration.

Sekanjabin refers to the "family" of drinks made with vinegar, sugar and water (Meade, 2002).  I prefer to use red wine vinegar as the base of my drink.  I have also used flavored vinegars and omitted the mint.  I prefer a stronger drink, so I usually dilute 5:1 ratio of water to syrup.  

Works Cited 

Friedman, D. (2000, September 4). Chapter One: On Drinks. Retrieved 14 2015, September, from An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century: http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian10.htm#Heading506

Meade, R. H. (2002, October 25). Non-Alcoholic Beverages of the Middle Ages. Retrieved September 14, 2015, from Medieval Brewers Homepage: http://mbhp.forgottensea.org/noalcohol.html#_ftnref5

Spiced Pomegranite Drink - Spiced Pomegranate Syrup

Ale, beer, mead and wine were very popular beverages in the middle ages, but most sites are dry or semi dry, or for personal reasons, folks will choose not to drink alcoholic beverages. There are several different drinks that I turn to that are documentable to within period in the SCA. These have gone over very well at banquets I have served in the past.

I will start with one of the more popular beverages, spiced pomegranate drink. This drink is easy to make and very refreshing. This is very similar to Grenadine syrup, but please don't buy the commercial product when this drink is so easy to make.

Syrup of Pomegranates 

Take a ratl of sour pomegranates and another of sweet pomegranates, and add their juice to two ratles of sugar, cook all this until it takes the consistency of syrup, and keep until needed. Its benefits: it is useful for fevers, and cuts the thirst, it benefits bilious fevers and lightens the body gently (Friedman, 2000).

Recipe

1 quart pomegranate juice
4 cups of sugar
1-2 cinnamon sticks*
Up to a tablespoon of cloves*

**One of the recipes I located while researching (Non Alcoholic Beverages of the Middle Ages by HL Ronan Meade) suggested the addition of cinnamon and or clove as well as other "warmed spices". 

As the recipe from Al-Andulus suggests, equal parts of juice to sugar, heated until it boils and then lower the heat and cook until it becomes thick syrup. I dilute my syrup with a 4:1 ratio of water to syrup.

 This syrup can be kept nonrefridgerated and prepared in advanced. 

Works Cited

Friedman, D. (2000, September 4). Chapter One: On Drinks. Retrieved 14 2015, September, from An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century: http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian10.htm#Heading506

Meade, R. H. (2002, October 25). Non-Alcoholic Beverages of the Middle Ages. Retrieved September 14, 2015, from Medieval Brewers Homepage: http://mbhp.forgottensea.org/noalcohol.html#_ftnref5

To Make Callishones - Marzipan flavored with Coriander

Callishones dryiing on the stove top

Baronial 12th Night 

I am working on putting together an Elizabethan Banqueting Course this week. I have candied fruits, roots and flowers, made comfits of anise seed, fennel, caraway and cinnamon and fruit paste of peaches, quince and berries. Today I started working on other items that you might have found laid out for the banqueting course.

What is the banqueting course? It is the culmination of a feast, and it usually consisted of an assortment of sweetmeats and other delicacies served with a spiced wine known as hypocras. Sugar and spices were very expensive to purchase. Sugar was thought to be medicinal. To close a meal with a banqueting course served a three-fold purpose. First, it was an indication of the host's wealth, secondly, it also was a display of status and lastly, it showed off the artistic skills of the lady of the house.
Now you know, I'm not artistic. I'm very good with molds and cutters!

To Make Callishones

Take halfe a pound of Marchpane paste, a thimble-full of coriander seeds beaten to a powder, with a graine of Muske, beat all to a perfect paste, print it and drie it.

John Murrell, A Daily Exercise for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1621

Recipe

10 ounces almond paste
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
up to 1/2 cup confectioner sugar
1 tsp. rosewater

This works best if the almond paste is cold, so I put mine in the refrigerator overnight. I grated it into a bowl and added 1/2 tsp. ground coriander to the grated paste. I then added the remainder of the coriander to the sugar, and put a small handful of it onto a piece of wax paper. I took 1/3 of my almond paste and pressed it on both sides into the sugar/coriander mixture. I rolled it out to approximately 1/4" thick and cut it out with cookie cutters. I got about 80 pieces of candy from this.

To finish, I mixed gold luster dust with ground coriander and painted the edges of the callishones with rosewater before running the edges through the coriander/luster dust mix, before setting it out to dry.

To make the almond paste I used a mix of equal parts almond flour to confectioner sugar and then add 1-2 tsp. almond extract, a tsp. of orange flower or rose-water plus an egg white. I know, I should be worried about salmonella, but these were super fresh eggs purchased at the market that morning.

To Candy any Root, Fruits, or Flowers

Sugared Plums

Baronial 12th Night 

In preparation for serving the dessert course at an upcoming SCA event I have been working with preserving a variety of roots, fruits and yes...earlier this year I preserved flowers (see: To Candy Flowers). So the method I am using is based on the method below:

Dissolve sugar, or sugar-candy in Rose-water, boyl it to an height, put in your roots, fruits or flowers, the syrup being cold, then rest a little; after take them out, and boyl the sirrup again, then put in more roots, &c. then boyl the syrup a third time to an hardness, putting in more Sugar, but not Rose-water put in the roots &c the syrup being cold, and let them stand till they candy (Markham).

I am not using rose water in my candying. I personally enjoy the taste of roses, and I also enjoy the scent that the rosewater gives to food when you use it. However, rose water is not a taste most people are familiar with and it is very much one of those like it/hate it tastes. I am cooking for a wide audience, which is the reason I am not using rosewater. I am also not boiling three times. I did use a very similar method last year to glace cherries. The entire process took nine days and the flavor of the fruit was very deep with a honey like flavor. If you can go this route, please do. Here is the method I am using.

To candy any roote, fruite or flower.

Dissolue Sugar, or sugar candy in Rose-water, boile it to an height, put in your rootes, fruits or flowers, the sirrop being cold, then rest a little, after take them out and boyle the sirrop againe, then put in more roots, &c. then boile the sirrop the third time to an hardnesse, put∣ting in more sugar but not Rose-water, put in the roots, &c. the sirrop being cold and let them stand till they candie. The English house-vvife Containing the inward and outward vertues which ought to be in a compleate woman. As her skill in physicke, surgery, cookery, extraction of oyles, banqueting-stuffe, ordering of great feasts, preseruing of all sorts of wines, conceited secrets, distillations, perfumes, ordering of wooll, hempe, flax, making cloth, and dying, the knowledge of dayries, office of malting, of oates, their excellent vses in a family, of brewing, baking, and all other things belonging to an houshold. A worke generally approued, and now the fourth time much augmented, purged and made most profitable and necessary for all men, and the generall good of this kingdome. By G.M. Markham, Gervase, 1568?-1637.

Interpreted Recipe

1-2 pounds of peeled, cored and sliced fruit or roots (I have candied plums, apples, pears, cantaloupe, ginger, orange and lemon peels, dried figs, cherries, beets, parsnips, yellow and orange carrots)
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup honey or corn syrup
1 cup water

Heat your sugar, honey (or corn syrup) and water to 235 degrees. Add your fruit and cook for 20 minutes. Most fruits will become transparent in the process. Do NOT let your temperature rise above 235 degrees. After fruit has cooked for 20 minutes, remove from syrup and place on a screen to dry.


Candied Figs, Ginger and Red Anise Seed Comfits

When I start the process of boiling the sugar I preheat my oven to the lowest temperature available and then turn it off when it is heated. After the fruit has been removed to the screen, I place the fruit in the heated oven and leave it overnight. Your fruit should be dry to the touch, if not, flip the fruit over on the screen and allow for continued drying. 

Some observations on the things that I have recently candied: 

Cantaloupe took four days to completely dry, pears and plums took three days.
If you are using dried fruit (like figs or apricots) you must first rehydrate them in warm water.
Make sure the fruit is dry when you add it to the sugar syrup.
A dip in temperature after fruit is added is normal.
The more humid it is, the less likely fruit will dry as expected-don't worry-it will get there.

Works Cited

Markham, G. (n.d.). Countrey Contentments, or the English Huswife: containing the Inward and Outward Vertues which ought to be in a Compleate Woman, 1623 London. Retrieved August 30, 2015, from LSE Library: http://digital.library.lse.ac.uk/objects/lse:heh898zor

To Stew Fillets of Beefe - Wine Braised Beef (1615)

In June, I hosted a cook's gathering featuring a selection of dishes that would have been found on "Shakespeare's" table. Each of the cook's that attended chose a dish from the recipes presented and brought it with them. We dined that night on buttered eggs, french bread, stewed fillets of beef, Fridayes pye and a berry cream.

The beef was delicious, tender, and served over a bed of saffroned rice. I cooked it in a crock pot. It recieved rave reviews. I don't cook with salt or pepper if I can avoid it, so the major comment of the evening were that this dish would have been better if I had added some salt and pepper while cooking. Note to self: Add Salt and Pepper!

To stew Fillets of Beefe

Take a rawe fillet of beefe and cut it in thin slices halfe as broad as your hand and fry them till they bee halfe fried in a frying-panne with sweete butter uppon each side with a soaft fire, then powre them into a dish or pipkin putting in a pint of claret-wine, a faggot of sweet herbes, and two or three blades of whole mace, a little salt, the meate of a Lemon cut in slices, then stewe these all together very softly for the space of two or three houres till it be halfe boyled away, then dish it up on sippets and throwe salt upon it, and serve it to the table hot  John Murrell "A Booke of Cookerie" (Lorwin, 1976).

Interpreted Recipe

2 to 3 pounds beef chuck shoulder roast (aka pot roast), sliced into ¼ inch thick slices

2 Tbsp. butter

2 cups red wine (preferably a Bordeaux which is another name for “claret”)

8 sprigs fresh thyme

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1-2 Tbsp. parsley

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

1/8 tsp mace

1 lemon, peeled, sliced

Beef prepared to be stewed

Fry the slices of beef in the butter (if you wish, add olive oil to keep butter from burning). Remove from the pan until the all of the meat has been cooked thoroughly. Add meat back into the pan and add remaining ingredients. Allow meat to simmer two to three hours, or until liquid has been reduced by half and meat is tender.


I have included some pictures of the product in process, but silly me! I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. This was a huge hit at the gathering and I will be making it again in the future for an event. Probably 12th Night in January.

Ladie Graies Manchets (1594) and Robert Mays French Bread (1685)

Manchet Bread -three loaves from one recipe

Can you imagine eating two to three pounds of bread a day? Or following it up with a gallon of ale? During the late medieval period, that was the standard ration of food given to individuals from nobility to castle garrisons. It is a staggering amount of bread to be eaten daily. Bread was an important staple of the medieval diet, in fact, it was the most basic and common element on every table.  

Bread could be produced as trenchers, which were used in lieu of plates, or as "table bread" or pain de mayne. The Menagier de Paris not only gives specific instructions on how trenchers are to be made, but even advises his wife that four-day old trencher bread would be the best to use for a dinner party.  

"Trencher bread, three dozen of half a foot in width and four fingers tall, baked four days before and browned, or what is called in the market Corbeil bread (Le Menagier de Paris)."

Table bread was produced from cereal grains and can be dated back to Ancient Mesopotamia.  Grains such as millet, wheat or barley were ground into flour, wet with a liquid, shaped and cooked.  With the addition of yeast, the dough would rise and the bread would become lighter.

Recently I have been experimenting with medieval bread recipes; specifically, two recipes found in Madge Lorwin’s “Dining with William Shakespeare”. Here are my thoughts.  First, our flour is much better ground then medieval flour.  Not far from here there is a stone mill that will mill flour for you, which means you can get the added benefit of a bit of stone with your meal. In lieu of purchasing stone ground whole wheat flour, I mix my flour 3:1 ration of unbleached white to whole wheat. No stones—BONUS!

The first recipe I worked with was Robert May’s French Bread, which is very different from what you would normally think of.  This recipe results in “buns” that are about the size of a hamburger bun, it’s salty, crusty and crumbly on the inside.

To make French Bread the best way.

Take a gallon of fine flour, and a pint of good new ale barm or yeast, and put it to the flour, with the whites of six new laid eggs well beaten in a dish, and mixt with the barm in the middle of the flour, also three spoonfuls of fine salt; then warm some milk and fair water, and put to it, and make it up pretty stiff, being well wrought and worked up, cover it in a boul or tray with a warm cloth till your oven be hot; then make it up either in rouls, or fashion it in little wooden dishes and bake it, being baked in a quick oven, chip it hot. (May, 1685)

Recipe

1 Cup lukewarm water

2 cakes fresh yeast or 2 Tbsp. dried yeast

1 Cup lukewarm milk

1 Tbsp. salt

1 egg white

6 cups sifted unbleached flour

Pour the water into a large mixing bowl. Crumble or sprinkle the yeast into the water and let it stand until the yeast softens and expands .Add the milk, salt, and egg white and beat until the egg white is blended in.

Stir in five cups of the flour, one cup at a time, until all is absorbed. Sprinkle the remaining flour on your work surface and turn the dough out onto it. Pat the dough back and forth between your hands until it is coated with flour. Then knead it for five minutes. Put the dough into a clean, warmed mixing bowl large enough to permit the dough to double in size. Cover with a clean cloth or plastic bowl cover and set to rise in a warm place or an unheated oven. When the dough has doubled in size—in 1 1 ½ hours—turn it out on a floured work surface and bread into a ball.

Divide the ball into twelve more or less equal parts, and knead each one into a ball. Flatten each ball with the palm of your hand to a thickness of ½ inch, and, with a sharp knife, cut around the circumference of the roll 1/8 inch halfway between the top and bottom.  Place the rolls two inches apart on a floured cookie sheet. Punch holes in the tops and set the rolls to rise—forty five minutes to an hour—until doubled in size.  Bake at 400 degrees for twenty minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool on a wired grill (Lorwin, 1976).

I read somewhere, and I wish I had kept a record of where I read it, that to imitate ale barm, you use a mixture of ale and yeast.  This is one of the areas I diverted from the recipe.  I used some of my son’s homemade ale ¼ cup to 2 tablespoons of yeast. I also added a tablespoon of sugar and 1 cup of the 3:1 ratio flour to my starter.  I allowed the starter to proof….ok….I went to a movie, and then shopping for groceries…you get the idea. I threw all of the rules out the window…and I was pleasantly surprised at the sponge that I had when I returned home. At that point I followed the recipe exactly.

The other bread that I have been experimenting with is Manchet. There are several variations of the recipe available.  Manchet was the most common kind of bread eaten. The loaves are made with the best flour, they should develop a good crust, with a soft, dense interior when completed.

The making of manchets after my Ladie Graies use.

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, and in summer it shall not need so much heate, for in the Winter it will not rise without warmeth. Thus let it lie two howers and a halfe: then at the second opening take more liquor as ye thinke will serve to wet al the flower. Then put in a pinte and a halfe of good yest, and so all to breake it in short peeces, after yee have well laboured it, till it come to a smoothe paste, and be well ware at the second opening that yee put not in too much liquor sodenlie, for then it wil run, and if ye take a litle it will be stiffe, and after the second working it must lie a good quarter of an hower, and keep it warme: then take it up to the moulding board, and with as much speede as is possible to be made, moulde it up, and set it into the Oven, of one pecke of flower ye make ten caste of Manchets faire and good.

(Wallace, 2011)

Recipe

¼ cup ale or beer lukewarm + lukewarm water to equal 2 cups

2 tbsp. dry yeast

1 tbsp. salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

4 cups all-purpose flour

Makes 6 “Elizabethan” size rolls or 8 dinner rolls or two medium sized loaves - 1 large loaf

Peck = 14 pounds

Mix the yeast and the ale together and add water to equal 2 cups.  Mix the two flours together, and when the yeast has softened, add the salt and stir in flour to form a dough (this will take anywhere from 4 ½ to 5 cups).  Knead until it becomes elastic and dough has formed. Cover and let dough rise until doubled in bulk.  This will take anywhere from an hour to two hours.

Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead into a smooth ball.  At this point you can divide it into two loaves, 6-8 “rounds”, or 12 small rolls.  Flatten your dough with the palm of your hand and cut ¼ “all the way around the side between ½ and ¾ of the way between the top and the bottom of your roll.  You can also slash the top in a decorative pattern if you choose.  Let them rise until doubled in bulk.

Bake your bread in a 400 degree oven until golden brown.  It should sound “hollow” when you pick it up and thump it on the bottom.

This bread is dense and heart and has become the favored bread in our house.  When I make bread, this is the one “the fam” asks for.  It is a very forgiving sort of bread.  I have made the sponge by adding a cup of flour to the yeast and ale mix and walking away, and running errands for several hours and then returning to complete the bread.  I prefer to make six hamburger bun size rolls, or, if I’m feeling especially lazy, two big round loaves. I have varied the flours and have added eggs and milk at times also.

Works Cited

Le Menagier de Paris. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2015, from http://www.daviddfriedman.com/: http://www.daviddfriedman.com/

Lorwin, M. (1976). Dining with William Shakespeare. New York: H. Wolff.

May, R. (1685). The Accomplisht cook, or the Art & Mystery of Cookery. Retrieved May 16, 2015, from Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22790/22790-h/main.html

Wallace, S. (2011, March). The good Huswifes Handmaide . Retrieved August 30, 2015, from http://www.staff.uni-giessen.de/gloning/ghhk/

A Fridayes Pye, without eyther Flesh or Fish - Beet and Apple Pie with Raisins

A Fridayes Pye made with Greens instead of beets

During my research, I ran across a recipe that caught my attention for a dish that could be prepared for large banquets that could be served warm or room temperature.  The recipe can be found in John Murrell’s “A new booke of Cookerie”.  

In our most recent meeting of our cook’s group, I brought this dish.  It was agreed that it was very pleasant tasting.  I didn’t miss the meat in this dish and I believe it would make a great starter dish for any banquet, possibly alongside some fresh cheese.

Recipe

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  (Gloning, 2001).

Note: The Beetes that are being referred to are not beet roots, but chard, a member of the beet root family, specifically red, or ruby chard, but any green can be used. I also think this would be lovely made with beet root, but the line “picke out the middle string, and chop them small” is the giveaway. For more information follow this link:  First Beets Yielded Only Greens

Ingrediants for a Fridayes Pye

Interpreted Recipe

1 bunch of swiss chard (or other leafy green) –OR- 2 pounds of beets, peeled and cubed

2 apples, peeled, cored and quartered and chopped to same thickness as greens or beets (whichever you choose)

¼ cup raisins or currants

2 tsp. ginger

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup butter, melted

Juice of 1 orange (approximately ¼ cup)

1-2 tsp. sugar (or to taste)

1 9”  pie crust

Parbake your pie shell at 400 degrees for approximately 10 minutes then lower the heat to 350 degrees. Clean, wash and chop your greens, and dry them. Mix together butter, apples, raisins, ginger, salt and pepper and add them to your greens.  Place the mixture into your pie and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until apples have softened. Before serving, add juice of orange and sugar.

Some things that I would do differently with this recipe include finely chopping the greens.  I picked them apart, and they were a bit large.  I think this would also do very well if served in smaller bites, rather than one large pie. It was suggested at the gathering that baking this dish as tarts or in mini-cupcake tins would be a better choice.

Works Cited

Gloning, T. (2001, May 9). John Murrell: A new booke of Cookerie; London Cookerie. London 1615. Retrieved May 15, 2015, from http://www.staff.uni-giessen.de/gloning/tx/1615murr.htm

Dent-de-lion- The Dandelion - Buttered Wortes (Buttered Greens) & Joutes (Braised Spring Greens with Bacon)

“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerso

Family: Asteraceae

Usage: Culinary, Medical

Whether you are referring to the dandelion as blowball, lion's tooth, cankerwort, fairy clock, priest's crown, wild endive or pissabed, you are referring to a plant that has long been known for its culinary and medicinal properties. One of the earliest known greens, and a common and misaligned flower, dandelion's make very good eating and were not unknown in period.

The official name is Taraxacum officinale, which is a derivative of the Arabic tarakhshaquin, "wild chicory" or "bitter herb", and also refers to "wild endive". In Latin, the plant was referred to as Dens Leonis, the Greeks referred to it as Leotodum. The Welsh refer to it as Dant y Llew as early as the 13th century. The French, the dent-de-lion, and the English gave it the name we are now familiar with--the dandelion.

European dandelions were imported to North America by our ancestors because it was a familiar 'potherb'. It is thought that dandelions may have arrived as early as the arrival of the pilgrims on the Mayflower. It is believed that the seeds were deliberately scattered in order to establish a wild population and to provide food for honeybees which were also introduced from Europe (Ombrello).

What is a potherb? A potherb is defined as any leafy herb or plant that was grown for culinary usage and prepared by cooking in a pot. In fact, there are records of dandelion seeds being for sale in seed catalogs as early as 1874 (Rubel, 2015).

Dandelion greens are bitter, and the first mention of dandelions are for their medicinal usage rather than culinary. They are a good source of vitamins A, B complex and C and are rich in minerals such as zinc, potassium and iron. Using the roots of the plant roasted as a tea does have a diuretic effect. The first written records of dandelion can be found in 7th century Chinese records. In the 10th century the Arabs wrote about it. In 1485, the first referance in Europe can be found.

Medieval people ate a wider range of greens then we eat today. Many of the greens that were consumed are considered weeds today. The fresh leaves of the dandelion were served in salads or cooked as greens in period. The flowers may have been used as a coloring agent, as they do produce a yellow coloring and could have been used in place of saffron. I have not been able to determine if that is so. It is a guess on my part.

James Beard has this to say of the much aligned dandelion: "A sea of golden dandelions thrusting up thorough the grass is a pretty sight--and inspires thoughts of gastronomic possibilities as well. Though familiar to us all, dandelions are not, as far as I know, native to this country. There is a legend that the first plants were brought here by a woman who greatly enjoyed the provocative, distinct taste of fresh dandelion greens in a spring salad. Being hardy little plants, dandelions then spread all over the country. True or not, the idea of transplanting a European weed for gastronomic delight is a romantic one. There was a time, both in England and here (especially through the Pennsylvania Dutch country), that dandelions were gathered and flowers picked off the stems to be made into dandelion wine. This was recognized as tonic by many people who eschewed alcohol, but would have a little nip of dandelion or parsnip wine for their health. It was worth nipping, though not a wine of such character or distinction that one would want it constantly. However, during Prohibition and during times when women thought it was not the thing to drink wine in public, a sip of dandelion wine was considered good and comforting....I have a book by Macmillan deLoup, published in New York in 1899, which lists three different recipes for dandelion salads, along with this remark: 'These are not yet popular in the United States, but the peculiar bitterness is relished by some people and is said to be most healthful.' Dandelion greens have long been popular in France and Italy, and remain so. There are even a couple of cultivated varieties that are not members of the species that pops up unannounced in one's garden. They are used in spring salads with a dressing of olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, with salad herbs or mustard added. I love the slight bitterness and refreshing quality--it goes so well with a grilled chop or a steak. Years ago, when I was flirting with the idea of a career as an opera singer, I studied with a brilliant Italian coach in London. He also was a great connoisseur of food and a very respectable cook. He would gather dandelion greens, or find them in the markets, and concoct a most delectable mixture for Sunday lunch. This would be the first course, followed perhaps by some cheese and very good bread, or maybe chops or a chicken (Beard, 1981)."

THE BOOKE OF SIMPLES. (Bulleins Bulwarke Of Defence Against All Sicknesse, 1562)

Marcellus.

What is the vertue of Dandelion or Lyons teeth

Hilarius.

IT is temperate, cold, and drye: with Roses and Uineger tēpered togea∣ther, it helpeth the hed in hotte diseases, the sowthistle called Sonchos hath ye same vertue & so hath Cicory: if they be sodden, the loose the belly & quen∣cheth heat which burneth in the stomacke. and defendeth the head from hot smoking vapoures, and purgeth yellow choller, and rebateth venerous & fleshly heat, & is good to be sodden & dronk in hote burning Agues: though this herbe be commonly knowen and counted of many as a vile wede, yet it is reported of Dioscorides to be an excellent herbe, & is called Lyons teeth.

An excellent drinke for the Tissicke well approued. (The Good Husvvifes Ievvell, 1587)

TAke a handfull of fennell roots, as much persly roots, as many Alisander rootes, halfe a handfull of Borrage rootes, and put out the pith of all the saide rootes, then take halfe a handfull of Peniryall, as much of Uiolet leaues, and as much of cinckfoyle, as much Succary, Endiue, Holly hocke leaues, Mallow leaues, and redd gardene mints, of all these the like quantitie as of these next before, halfe a handfull of Lico∣ris sticks scraped, brused and beaten to fine powder, a gallon of faire running water, boyle therein all these simples, and boyle these séedes with them, that is, thrée spoone∣full of Anniséeds, as much Fennell seede, the like of Colliander seede and Commin séede, a good handfull of Dandelion rootes, and so boyle altogether from a gallon to a pottell, and let the patient drinke thereof first and last, and it will helpe him in short space. probatum est.

If you are looking for a free, period green to use in a salad, or in a dish of wortys, some may need look no further than the backyard. Please be sure if you are picking dandelion greens, that the area you are picking from has not been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides. I have known dandelion’s to stay green and growing in even the mildest of winters. A good dish for the SCA to try them would be “Buttered Wortes, found in Harliean MS 279, published approximately 1430.

“Buttered Wortes”. ^ Take al maner of good herbes that thou may gete, and do bi ham as is forsaid ; putte hem on \q fire with faire water ; put ]7ere-to clarefied buttur a grete quantite. Whan thei ben boyled ynogh, salt hem ; late none otemele come ther<;-in. Dise brede small in disshes, and powr<? on \q wortes, and serue hem forth (Austin).

Buttered Herbs. Take all manner of good herbs that thou may get, and do by them as is aforesaid; put them on the fire with fair water; put thereto clarified butter a great quantity. When they are boiled enough, salt them: let no oatmeal come therein. Dice bread small in dishes and pour on the herbs, and serve them forth.

Buttered Herbs – Makes about 4 Cups serves 6-8 (this is probably more than enough for two tables of 8 at any feast- it is a vegetable. Use your best judgment)

8 cups assorted greens (kale, spinach, cabbage, beet greens, arugula, lambs quarters, chard, dandelion, etc.)Several sprigs of fresh herbs such as thyme, marjoram, parsley, mint etc.
2 Tbsp. clarified butter
1 tsp. salt
2 1” thick slices of bread cubed

Bring the water to a boil in a pot. Rinse all greens and herbs well and place them in the boiling water for 5-1o minutes. Remove from heat. Take the greens and herbs out of the pot with a slotted spoon. Allow them to cool on a cutting board. When cool, press them with a paper towel or absorbent cloth to remove the excess water. Chop them into small pieces and place them in a clean pot. Add butter and salt. Mix well. Cook the mixture over medium heat until hot. Do not boil. Either pour the hot herb mixture over bread cubes in a serving dish, or top the herbs with the bread. Serve hot.


For an additional recipe visit the following link: Harleian MS 279 Joutes (~1430) Braised Spring Greens with Bacon

Sources

Austin, T. (n.d.). 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. Retrieved May 22, 2015, from Archive.Org: https://archive.org/details/twofifteenthcent00aust

Beard, J. (1981). Beard on Food: Dandelions Left Home ot Make Good. Los Angeles Times, K38.
Ombrello, T. D. (n.d.). Dandelion. Retrieved May 19, 2015, from Plant of the Week - Dr. T. Ombrello - UCC Biology Department: http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/pow/dandelion.htm

Name.umdl.umich.edu. 2020. Bulleins Bulwarke Of Defence Against All Sicknesse, Soarenesse, And Vvoundes That Doe Dayly Assaulte Mankinde: Which Bulwarke Is Kept With Hilarius The Gardener, [And] Health The Phisicion, With The Chirurgian, To Helpe The Wounded Soldiours. Gathered And Practised From The Most Worthy Learned, Both Olde And New: To The Great Comfort Of Mankinde: By Vvilliam Bullein, Doctor Of Phisicke. 1562.. [online] Available at: <http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A17156.0001.001> [Accessed 6 August 2020].


Rubel, W. (2015, April 23). The History of the Garden Dandelion . Retrieved May 19, 2015, from The Magic of Fire, Traditional Foodwas with William Rubel: http://www.williamrubel.com/2015/04/23/the-history-of-the-garden-dandelion/

Name.umdl.umich.edu. 2020. The Good Husvvifes Ievvell Vvherein Is To Be Found Most Excellent And Rare Deuises For Conceits In Cookerie, Found Out By The Practise Of Thomas Dawson. Whereunto Is Adioyned Sundry Approued Reseits For Many Soueraine Oyles, And The Way To Distill Many Precious Waters, With Diuers Approued Medicines For Many Diseases. Also Certaine Approued Points Of Husbandry, Very Necessarie For All Husbandmen To Know.. [online] Available at: <http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A19957.0001.001> [Accessed 6 August 2020].



**NOTE: Post Previously published on 5/22/2015 and updated on 8/6/2020**