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

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

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

The recipe for this dish can be found at  Two fifteenth-century cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55" Thomas Austin.

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

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

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

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

merchandise (n.) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Harleian MS 279 (ab. 1430) - Cawdelle Ferry - Wine Pudding

Cawdell Ferry

One of the many spices that was used quite a bit in the Middle Ages was a spice known as Galangal (Alpinia officinarum), which is a very aromatic spice that is peppery, gingery, piney and sharp in flavor with a very pleasant citrus scent. It is pronounced guh-lang-guh and is most often used in modern Thai and Indonesian cuisines. It is related to ginger, and ginger can be substituted for it, but lacks the peppery, piney flavor and the scent of the spice. It is believed to have originated in Indonesia and is found in many areas including Thailand, Africa, Arabia, Spain, Italy and Russia. This spice fell out of favor in Europe sometime in the mid 1600's. 

It has both culinary and medicinal uses. The fresh root is very woody and if you happen to find it, you will need to slice it very thin or grate it to add it to a dish, and the best use of the fresh root is in dishes that must be stewed or cooked for a long period of time.

As a medicine, Galangal was used in the Middle Ages as a snuff against Catarrh-a buildup of mucus in the nose or throat with associated symptoms of inflammation. Chewing the root was believed to prevent sea-sickness, vomiting or nausea. There is even rumor that it can be made into an aphrodisiac drink for men.

Galangal is featured in this recipe for wine pudding found in the Two fifteenth-century cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55" Thomas Austin.

.xlvij. Cawdelle Ferry. — Take plkys of eyi-oun Raw, y-tryid fro the whyte ;• jmn take gode wyne, and warme it on j^e potte on a fayre Fyre, an caste ]7er-on plkys, and stere it wyl, but let it nowt boyle tylle it be ]7ikke ; and caste jjer-to Sugre, Safroun, & Salt, Maces, Gelofres, an Galyngale y-grounde smal, & flowre of Canelle; & whan ]>ovf dressyst yn, caste blanke ponder ))er-on.

Thank you Dan Myers for the cleaner version of this recipe :-)

xlvij - Cawdelle Ferry. Take 3olkys of eyroun Raw, y-tryid fro the whyte; than take gode wyne, and warme it on the potte on a fayre Fyre, an caste ther-on 3olkys, and stere it wyl, but let it nowt boyle tylle it be thikke; and caste ther-to Sugre, Safroun, and Salt, Maces, Gelofres, an Galyngale y-grounde smal, and flowre of Canelle; and whan thow dressyst yn, caste blanke pouder ther-on.

47. Caudell Ferry - Take yolks of eggs, raw, separated from the white, then take good wine and warm it on the pot on a fair fire, and caste there-on yolks, and stir it well, but let it not boil till it be thick, and caste there-to sugar, saffron, and salt, maces, gillyflowers and galangal ground small, and flour of cinnamon, and when you dress in, cast white powder there-on.

Interpreted Recipe                                                                               Serves 1 as a Main, 2 as a Side

1 Cup Cabernet Sauvignon
3 Egg yolks -or- 1 large egg, beaten with a pinch of salt
1 Tbsp. Sugar
3 Cloves
1/8 Tsp. each mace and galingale
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of saffron
Pouder Douce to taste

Heat wine, saffron and cloves over a double boiler for five minutes after boiler starts to boil. Remove the cloves. Add Sugar, mace, galingale and cinnamon to the wine, and heat until dissolved. Temper the eggs with the heated wine, and add the tempered mixture to the remaining wine in the pot. Stir until the mixture thickens to taste. I made mine the consistency of a thick white sauce-it took approximately 5 minutes to thicken. Strain your pudding before serving to remove any lumps that may have formed, and any remaining cloves (in case you miscounted!). Right before serving sprinkle with Pouder Douce.

This went over very well with the taste testers. One tester remarked "it tastes like a pie filling". I served this warm, but I imagine that you would be able to store it refrigerated for a short period of time if you place plastic wrap upon the surface. A yucky skin forms *very quickly* on the pudding, which is why you don't see pouder douce in the picture :-(

I would definitely serve this again. This would be excellent for a royal luncheon. The saffron enhances the color of the wine, in this case a soft purple, and I really wanted to place a few gilded sugar paste candies on top. Alas, I did not have any on hand. The recipe calls for "gillyflowers" which is another name for "Clove Pinks" a member of the Dianthus family. Carnations are a close relative, if you have these flowers growing in your yard, I would suggest that you candy them, and reserve them throughout the year-as long as you have not sprayed them with pesticides or herbicides.

Similar Recipes:

Forme of Cury (England, 1390)

Cawdel Ferry. XX.II. I. Take flour of Payndemayn and gode wyne. and drawe it togydre. do þerto a grete quantite of Sugur cypre. or hony clarified, and do þertosafroun. boile it. and whan it is boiled, alye it up with zolkes of ayrenn. and do þerto salt and messe it forth. and lay þeron sugur and powdour gyngur.

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

Kaudel Ferry. Take almondes unblanchyd, so have þou cele, And wasshe hom fayre and grynd hom wele. Temper hom up with wyne so clene, And drau3e hom þorowgh a canvas shene. In pot þou coloure hit with safron, And lye hit up with Amydone, Or with floure of ryse so fre. Ry3t thykke loke þou þat be. Seson hit withsugur grete plenté, Florysshe hit with maces, I tel þe.
A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)

To mak cawdelle ferry tak unblanched almonds wesshe them and grind them and temper them up with wyne and drawe it throughe a canvas into a pot and colour it with saffron and alay it up with amydon or flour of rise and se that it be thik sesson it with sugur and florishe it with maces and serue it.

Harleain MS 279 (ab. 1430) Gelyne in Dubbatte - Chicken in Wine Sauce

Gelyne in Dubbatte

As discussed in my previous post, Henne in Bokenade, chicken is one of the most universally known animal food sources worldwide.  All chickens can trace their roots back to the Red Junglefowl.  The Romans introduced the bird to England during their occupation, and were experimenting with methods to feed and quite possibly breed them to produce heavier birds. It was also discovered at this time that castrating roosters would produce birds that were larger, tenderer and better flavored.

"Sacred Chickens" were raised by priests during this time period and were used for omens prior to significant undertakings.  Priests would watch as the sacred chickens ate grain, if the chickens were stamping their feet and scattering about then the outcome would be favorable.  However, if the chickens refused to eat then the undertaken was abandoned, as the outcome was not favorable.  There is a story I came across while doing research for this article that I found of interest.

When Claudius went to sea, he brought a flock of sacred chickens with him. When he needed a sign, a chicken would be killed and its liver inspected. A healthy liver was a favorable sign; a diseased liver suggested it was not a good time to risk a battle. The chickens were refusing to eat and this worried the men with Claudius. Their continued refusal angered Claudius and he threw all the chickens overboard with the comment (so the story goes), "If they won't eat, let them drink." The battle was lost because the gods did not favor the Romans - or because the men were convinced they were not intended to win and thus did not fight with all their will...

Medieval people enjoyed a varied diet, including goose, pheasant, quail, partridge, ducks even peacocks!  Cockfighting was a favored sport, and the Old English Game Fowl became popular.  Other breeds of chickens outside of the Dorking and the Old English Game fowl that survived medieval times include the Nanking, Poverara, La Fleche and the Minorca.

On farms, chickens were kept in domed structures made of wattle and daub, or, lean-to like buildings next to grain storage areas.  Sometimes, they would share space inside of dovecotes.  They were allowed to eat small insects and rodents in addition to a diet composed of wheat, beans oats and lentils. The best chickens were those that were avid egg layers.  Chickens sometimes were used as a form of currency!

One of the major differences between modern chickens and chickens known in period would be the egg laying capacity.  Modern chickens grow quickly, and can produce up to 300 eggs a year.  Most modern birds are slaughtered when they reach 20 weeks of age.  Their counterparts would produce approximately 40-60 eggs per hen, per year. While they age of slaughter varied, the average bird would live more than a year, and some of them were allowed to live four or more years.

Caponization, the act of castrating roosters is now considered inhumane in many areas which is why it is difficult to find capon.  Pullets were caponized anywhere between 1 1/2 and 5 months.  The process involves making a cut into the bird near the ribcage and removing the testicles. Unlike other animals, it is difficult to locate the testicles because they are not external, but internal, tucked up next to the spine.  There are almost always losses during this process. In fact, one record indicates that 30 out of 82 pullets died during the process of castration in 1375.

The next recipe I interpreted from Two fifteenth-century cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55" Thomas Austin was Gelyne in Dubatte. This dish is quite delicious featuring chicken cooked in a mixture of broth, wine and spices, thickened with bread crumbs. This dish also resulted in another "dual" amongs the taste testers.  One disappointed tester stated "I only got one bite!" while the victor literally stood in a protective stance in a corner eyeing everybody while eating.

.xlj. Gelyne in dubbatte. — Take an Henne, and rost hure almoste y-now, an choppe hyre in fayre pecys, an caste her on a potte ; an caste J^er-to Freysshe broj^e, & half Wyne, Clowes, Maces, Pepir, Canelle, an stepe it with fe Same broj'e, fayre brede & Vynegre : an whan it is y-now, serue it forth.

The interpretation below came from Dan Myers' "Medieval Cookery" site.  If you have not had the opportunity to visit this site, you should :-D

xlj - Gelyne in dubbatte. Take an Henne, and rost hure almoste y-now, an choppe hyre in fayre pecys, an caste her on a potte; an caste ther-to Freysshe brothe, and half Wyne, Clowes, Maces, Pepir, Canelle, an stepe it with the Same brothe, fayre brede and Vynegre: an whan it is y-now, serue it forth.

41 Gelyne in Dubbatte - Take a hen, and roast almost enough, and chop her in fair pieces, and caste her on a pot, and caste thereto fresh broth and half wine, cloves, maces, pepper, cinnamon, and step it with the same broth, fair bread and vinegar: and when it is enough, serve it forth.

Interpreted Recipe                                                                 Serves 1 as a main, 2 as a side if they are friendly!

1 bone in, skin on chicken breast
1 cup chicken broth -or- as an alternative water with 1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved in it
1/2 cup of wine (I used white, but I suspect red would be just as good and would render this dish very similar to Coq au Vin)
2 cloves
1/8 tsp. mace & pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 tbsp. bread crumbs
1 tsp. white or red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Use your best method to roast your chicken breast, but don't cook it all the way through, make sure it is a little under done.  I cooked mine unseasoned in the oven at 375 degree's with just a little bit of olive oil for about 30-35 minutes (if you want your breast completely done, roast for at least 45 minutes).  Alternatively, you could boil your chicken in the stock or water and bouillon mix until tender, then remove from stock, strain it, and then move forward from here while the chicken is cooling.

Add your wine, cloves, mace, pepper and cinnamon to your stock and heat on low.  While the broth is heating remove the skin and bones from your chicken and cut your chicken into bite sized pieces.  Once the broth has heated for approximately 15 minutes, remove the cloves, and slowly stir in your bread crumbs 1 tablespoon at a time.  If the bread clumps your sauce will get chunky and that's not pleasant.  Trust me!  Stir in the vinegar, and keep your broth on low heat until it thickens to your desire.  Mine was the consistency of a thin white sauce.

Strain your broth to remove any chunks of bread that might still be present then add the chunked chicken.  Cook until chicken is cooked through and tender, the sauce will thicken a bit more.  Serve!

This is another dish that can be as brothy or thick as you please.  While bouncing ideas off of a friend of mine, we thought that rice flour added to this dish as a thickener in lieu of bread crumbs would also be a good thing, although it changes the recipe from the original, it would then make this recipe a gluten free alternative and still be within period as rice flour, was used as a thickening agent as well as eggs. This is another recipe for the "must serve at future events" list.  This list, I fear, is going to become as long as my bucket list!

Red Junglefowl

Harleain MS 279 (ab. 1430) Henne in Bokenade - Stewed Chicken in Sauce

Hen in Bukenade

The people of the middle ages enjoyed a much wider variety of foods then we do today.  Some of the items that they enjoyed were particularly exotic, for example, peacocks, that would be cooked and then re-dressed in their own skin.  Other food sources that they enjoyed are more familiar for example, chicken and chicken eggs.

Domestication of chickens has a very long history. Bones possibly belonging to chickens have been dated to 5400 B.C. in China and there is some speculation that the chicken may have been the very first domesticated animal.  Chickens were traded from China to the Indus Valley and around the Arab peninsula. It is also believed that their ancestors, the red jungle fowl migrated the same path.  An interesting fact of note, there are more chickens then any other domesticated bird or animal in the world today.Chickens also are the most common and wide spread too!

It was the Romans that brought the chicken to England. Chickens were bred for two purposes; meat and eggs, and cockfighting. The oldest recognized breed of chicken is the Dorking. They were bred for meat and eggs and are believed to have originated in Italy. Columella described this bird in his Rei Rusticae Libri as "square-framed, large and broad breasted with big heads and small upright cobs...the rest of the breed being five clawed".

Another breed of chicken that may have been known in period is the Old English Game.  It is believed that they were used for the purpose of cockfighting in period.  They are small birds weighing in at about four pounds and are not very good egg layers.  This breed of chicken was specifically bred for cockfighting by nobility.

Roman cooks discovered when they castrated a rooster, they would fatten on their own. Romans are responsible for  "Capons".  Farmers were also developing ways to fatten chickens; bread soaked in wine, cumin seeds, barley even lizard fat were used!

There are several pottages which include chicken, eggs or both found in Two fifteenth-century cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55" Thomas Austin. The first of the recipes that I interpreted was "Henne in Bokenade" which produces chunks of chicken in a very flavorful broth, thickened with eggs.  I had to fight the taste testers! It was that good.  It is also a very versatile dish as the instructions include veal and goat in addition to chicken.

.xxxvj. Vele, kede, or henne in Bokenade. — Take Tele, Kyde, or Henne, an boyle hem in fayre Water, or ellys in freysshe brothe, an smyte hem in pecys, an pyke hem clene ; an )7an draw ]>e same brothe J^orwe a straynoure, an caste J'er-to Percely, Sawge, Tsope, Maces, Clowys, an let boyle tyl J-e flesshe be y-now; j^an sette it from j^e fyre, & a-lye it vp vritk raw jolkys of eyroun, & caste J^er-to ponder Gyngere, Teriows, Safroun, & Salt, & Jeanne seme it forth for a gode mete.

For more information on this, or similar recipes, please vist Dan Myers' "Medieval Cookery".

xxxvj - Vele, kede, or henne in Bokenade. Take Vele, Kyde, or Henne, an boyle hem in fayre Water, or ellys in freysshe brothe, an smyte hem in pecys, an pyke hem clene; an than draw the same brothe thorwe a straynoure, an caste ther-to Percely, Sawge, Ysope, Maces, Clowys, an let boyle tyl the flesshe be y-now; than sette it from the fyre, and a-lye it vp with raw 3olkys of eyroun, and caste ther-to pouder Gyngere, Veriows, Safroun, and Salt, and thanne serue it forth for a gode mete.
36. Veal, Kid, or Hen in Bukenade -Take Veal, Kid, or Hen, and boil them in fair water, or else in fresh broth, and smite them in pieces, and pick them clean; and then draw the same broth through a strainer, and cast there-to parsley, sage, hyssop, mace, cloves, and let boil till the flesh be enough; then set it from the fire, and allay it up with raw yolks of egg, and caste there-to powder ginger, verjuice, saffron and salt, and then send it forth for a good meat.

Interpreted Recipe                                            Serves 1 as a main dish, 2 as a side if they are friendly!

1 bone in, skin on chicken breast
1 C. water + 1 chicken bouillon cube -or-  alternatively 1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp. parsley
1/8 tsp. each sage, hyssop, mace
2 cloves
1 whole egg or 2 egg yolks
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/8 tsp. ginger
pinch of saffron
salt to taste (note:if you use a bouillon cube, you probably won't need salt)

Cook the chicken breast in the broth, or the water with bouillon cube until completely cooked.  Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside to cool.  Strain the broth through a strainer and add parsley, sage, hyssop, mace and cloves. Heat on low heat.  Remove the skin and bones from the chicken and cut into bite sized pieces.  When the broth has cooked five minutes, remove the cloves. Temper the egg or the egg yolks with the broth.  Add the tempered eggs to the broth along with the vinegar, saffron, ginger and salt and stir constantly until the broth has thickened. If the heat is too high the eggs may curdle.  Strain the broth into a dish, and add the chicken.  Serve.

As I said, this dish caused a bit of an uproar amongst the taste tenders. After a heated game of rock, paper, scissors, the victor got to eat the spoils.  This is a very comforting and filling dish, which could be made as saucy or as brothy as the cook desires.  This dish is on my "must serve at a future feast" list. It would also be nice for a luncheon or lunch tavern.