} -->

Creme Bastarde – A Tudor Custard (Harl MS 279, ~1430)

Creme Bastarde (Harleian MS. 279) — Egg-White Custard for Potage or Baked Meats

Updated August 19, 2025 with additional context, serving notes, and a modern recipe aligned to the manuscript.

Creme Bastarde served with stewed apples and pears
Creme Bastarde with stewed fruit (apples/pears) — a lovely Twelfth Night pairing.

The Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (Harleian MS. 279, ab. 1430) includes a custard made only with egg whites. It shows up again in later Tudor sources, which hints at how beloved it remained. Romans gave us many egg dishes, but the medieval period is where “custards,” as we recognize them, hit their stride. Some hard-set cousins (like let lardes or milke rosty’s) fell out of fashion; this one reads more like a pourable custard or sauce.

I recently served it at our local Baronial Twelfth Night with stewed apples and pears (pictured above). My own redaction landed very close to Peter Breverton’s version in his Tudor Cookbook—including nutmeg, cinnamon, and a splash of orange-flower water—yielding a light, fragrant custard that flatters fruit. It’s also lovely on its own, or over strawberries and cherries.


Original Text & Modern Sense

Harleian MS. 279: .Clj. Creme Bastarde.

.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.

Modern Sense Translation

151. Cream Bastarde. Take a great heap of egg whites and put them into a pan full of milk; bring to a boil. Season lightly with salt and honey. Let it cool, then strain it; add fair cow’s milk and strain again. Season with sugar; aim for both “poignant” (a little sharp) and “sweet.” Serve as a potage, or with baked meats, as you wish.

Technique Notes

The manuscript boils whites in milk, then cools and strains, then enriches and sweetens. To avoid scorching or curdling, a double-boiler is your friend. (Yes, I also sometimes go “grandma method” and let a bit of water ride up the side of the insert—do what keeps it gentle and even.)

How to Render Suet (Tallow) – 3 Easy Methods

How to Render Suet (Tallow) – Three Easy Methods for Cooking & Historical Recipes

Finding real suet can feel like a scavenger hunt—especially outside the winter months. If you do get your hands on it, rendering suet into tallow is absolutely worth it: cleaner flavor, longer shelf life, and perfect for historic pies, pastries, and frying.

How to Render Suet (Tallow) – 3 Easy Historical Methods

Kitchen Adventures – Bryndons - Crispy Fried Dough with a Sweet and Fruity Sauce (Harleian MS. 279 (ab. 1430))


xlix. Bryndons

One of the very first recipes that I wanted to try after receiving 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 as a gift was this one. I am uncertain why I have not tried to interpret this sooner. The instructions are very straightforward and creates an absolutely divine fruit sauce that when paired with the fried noodles is surprisingly modern.

.xlix. Bryndons.—Take Wyn, & putte in a potte, an clarifiyd hony, an Saunderys, pepir, Safroun, Clowes, Maces, & Quybibys, & mynced Datys, Pynys and Roysonys of Corauns, & a lytil Vynegre, [leaf 13.] & sethe it on þe fyre; an sethe fygys in Wyne, & grynde hem, & draw hem þorw a straynoure, & caste þer-to, an lete hem boyle alle to-gederys; þan take fayre flowre, Safroun, Sugre, & Fayre Water, ande make þer-of cakys, and let hem be þinne Inow; þan kytte hem y lyke lechyngys,*. [long thin strips. ] an caste hem in fayre Oyle, and fry hem a lytil whyle; þanne take hem owt of þe panne, an caste in-to a vesselle with þe Syrippe, & so serue hem forth, þe bryndonys an þe Sirippe, in a dysshe; & let þe Sirippe be rennyng, & not to styf.

xlix - Bryndons. Take Wyn, and putte in a potte, an clarifiyd hony, an Saunderys, pepir, Safroun, Clowes, Maces, and Quybibys, and mynced Datys, Pynys and Roysonys of Corauns, and a lytil Vynegre, and sethe it on the fyre; an sethe fygys in Wyne, and grynde hem, and draw hem thorw a straynoure, and caste ther-to, an lete hem boyle alle to-gederys; than take fayre flowre, Safroun, Sugre, and Fayre Water, ande make ther-of cakys, and let hem be thinne Inow; than kytte hem y lyke, (Note: long thin strips) an caste hem in fayre Oyle, and fry hem a lytil whyle; thanne take hem owt of the panne, an caste in-to a vesselle with the Syrippe, and so serue hem forth, the bryndonys an the Sirippe, in a dysshe; and let the Sirippe be rennyng, and not to styf

44. Bryndons - Take wine and put in a pot, and clarified honey, and saunders, pepper, saffron, cloves, mace and cubebs, and minced dates, pine nuts and currants, and a little vinegar, and seethe it on the fire; and seethe figs in wine, and grind them, and draw them through a strainer, and caste there-to, and let them boil all together; then take fair flour, saffron, sugar and fair water and make there of cakes, and let them be thin enough; then cut them like strips and cast them in fair oil, and fry them a little while, then take them out of the pan, and cast into a vessel with the syrup and so serve them forth, the bryndons and the syrup, in a dish; and let the syrup be running and not to stiff.

Interpreted Recipe                                                                                  Serves 1 as main, 2 as side

1 cups red wine (I substituted grape and pomegranate juice for the wine 50/50 mix)
1/4 cup figs (about 4-5 mission figs)
1-2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. sandalwood (opt)
1/4 tsp. pepper (I used a mix of tri-pepper blend, long pepper, cubebs and grains of paradise)
pinch of saffron
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. mace
2-3 minced dates
1 tbsp. pine nuts
2-3 tablespoons currants
2-3 tablespoons raisins
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Put wine and figs into a pot and bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer and cook till figs are tender. Place figs and wine into a blender, give thanks to the kitchen gods, and grind. Return figs and wine to the pot and add remaining ingredients. Cook until remaining fruit is soft and syrup has thickened.

** Don't have cubebs or grains of paradise? Use the following as a substitute:

2 tbsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. clove
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. allspice
opt. 1/4 tsp cardamom

Mix together spices and then use what you need. For the recipe above that would be 1/4 tsp. each for the cubebs and the grains of paradise. Store what you don't need.

I have a confession to make-- to make the noodles, I cut won ton wrappers in half and fried in the same oil I cooked the Trayne Roste in. However, if you want to make the noodles here is the recipe:

Noodles Recipe

1 cup flour
1/4cup warm water
pinch of saffron
1/4 tsp. sugar and salt

Place saffron in warmed water and allow to cool. Once cooled mix all ingredients together until a dough is formed. Add more water if dough is too dry. Let sit approximately ten minutes before rolling dough out and cutting into strips. Fry in oil.

Similar Recipes

A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)

To mak Breney, put wyne in a pot and clarified hony saunders canelle peper clowes maces pynes dates mynced raissins of corans put ther to vinegar and sett it on the fyer. and let it boile then sethe fegges in wyne grind them and draw them through a strener and cast ther to and let them boile to gedur then tak flour saffron sugur and faire water and mak ther of faire cakes and let them be thyne then cut them bigge lassengis wise and fry them in oile a stonding sewe for sopers and strawe ther on annes in comfets and serue it.

Measurements and Conversions (Temperature and Recipe)

📏 Kitchen Measurements & Conversion Guide

This reference page helps cooks quickly convert ingredients, scale recipes, and adjust between imperial and metric units. Whether you’re preparing for a feast or modifying a modern dish, this chart simplifies your kitchen math.

Need spice conversions by weight?
Visit the full guide: Ounces to Tablespoons FAQ.
Need to substitute one spice for another?
Check out our Spice Substitution Chart.
Looking for a quick conversion?
Click on any section below to expand and view standard U.S. kitchen measurements, converted to ounces and cups for easy reference. Great for cooks, feast stewards, and anyone scaling recipes up or down!
🔯 Dry Measure Conversions
American Standard Equivalent Ounces
Smidgen1/2 pinch1/32 tsp
2 Smidgens1 Dash
Pinch1/16 tsp
Dash1/8 tsp
8 Dashes1 tsp
1 Tbsp3 tsp0.5 oz
1/8 cup2 tbsp1 oz
1/4 cup4 tbsp2 oz
1/3 cup5 tbsp + 1 tsp2.6 oz
1/2 cup8 tbsp4 oz
2/3 cup10 tbsp + 2 tsp5.3 oz
3/4 cup12 tbsp6 oz
1 cup16 tbsp8 oz
🧪 Liquid Measure Conversions
American Standard Equivalent Ounces
1 pint2 cups / 32 tbsp16 oz
1 quart2 pints / 4 cups32 oz
1 gallon4 quarts / 16 cups128 oz
8 quarts1 peck
4 pecks1 bushel
🔥 Oven Temperatures (Traditional Terms)
Traditional TermFahrenheitCelsiusNotes
Cool Oven200–250°F93–121°CUsed for slow baking or drying
Slow Oven300–325°F149–163°CBreads and low-temp roasting
Moderate Oven350–375°F177–191°CMost cakes, cookies, general baking
Hot Oven400–450°F204–232°CQuick roasting, pies
Very Hot Oven475–500°F246–260°CFlash cooking, puff pastry
🍬 Candy Stage Temperatures (Detailed)
StageFahrenheitCelsiusDescription
Smooth215–220°102–104°CUsed for crystallizing creams, gum goods, and liqueurs
Thread230–235°110–112°CForms threads between finger and thumb, used for liqueurs
Pearl226°108°CLonger threads form, finger and thumb separate fully
Blow230°110°CSmall air bubbles appear when blowing through skimmer
Feather240–245°115–118°CMore bubbles appear, used for fondants and rich creams
Soft Ball240°116°CForms soft ball in water
Hard Ball248°120°CForms firm ball that sticks to teeth
Ball250–255°121–124°CUsed for coconut candies and grain sugar
Soft Crack252°122°CCracks under pressure but reforms
Crack260°127°CCracks easily and doesn’t reform
Hard Crack290°143°CSnaps like eggshells, used for clear goods and machine drops
Crack (High)310–315°154–157°CUsed for taffy, clear drops, stick candies
⚕️ Apothecary Weights & Measures
UnitSymbolEquivalent
Graingr1/7000 lb
Scrupleƒ (scruple)20 grains
Dramʒ (dram)3 scruples (60 grains)
Ounce§ (ounce)8 drams
Pound℔ (lb)12 ounces (5760 grains)

📦 Volume Conversions (US)

VolumeEquals
3 tsp1 tbsp
2 tbsp1 fl oz
4 tbsp1/4 cup
1 cup8 fl oz
2 cups1 pint
4 cups1 quart
4 quarts1 gallon

🌡️ Temperature Conversion

  • Fahrenheit to Celsius: Subtract 32, multiply by 5, then divide by 9.
  • Celsius to Fahrenheit: Multiply by 9, divide by 5, then add 32.

🔁 Recipe Scaling

To scale a recipe up or down:

  • Determine the number of servings you want.
  • Divide by the recipe’s original servings to get a conversion factor.
  • Multiply every ingredient by this factor.

Example: If a recipe serves 6 and you need 12, use a factor of 2. If it serves 12 but you want 8, use 0.66.

⚖️ Common Weight ⇄ Volume Estimates

Ingredient1 Cup ≈ Grams
All-purpose flour120g
Granulated sugar200g
Brown sugar (packed)220g
Butter227g (or 2 sticks)
Salt300g

🔢 Quick Conversion Math

  • 1 lb = 16 oz
  • 1 qt = 32 fl oz
  • 1 cup = 16 tbsp
  • 1 cup = 8 fl oz
  • 1 tbsp = 3 tsp
  • 1 gal = 4 qt = 16 cups

🧠 Kitchen Abbreviation Key

  • tsp = teaspoon
  • tbsp = tablespoon
  • oz = ounce
  • lb = pound
  • pt = pint
  • qt = quart
  • g = gram, kg = kilogram
  • ml = milliliter, l = liter

More detailed breakdown? Download this Culinary Measurement Guide PDF.