Give it Forth: Adventures in Medieval Cookery

Fukujinzuke (red pickles for curry) 福神漬け Picture Courtesy of Avelyn Grene (Kristen Lynn) Japanese cuisine is composed of rice (or another starch), soup and at least two side dishes.  Rice, which is a staple commodity, is the central component.  The accompanying dishes are called Okazu, and are designed to supplement the rice. The main okazu is almost always protein based--grilled fish, meat, or eggs. The secondary okazu can be either a vegetable dish or another protein dish. Additionally, there are accompaniments called "hashi yasume".  A special kind of okazu that contrasts flavor, temperature and texture of the main dish and most often includes small salads or pickles. Pickles are a very important part of Japanese cuisine.  Just as rice is considered a "core" part of a meal, so too are pickles.  They are used as palate cleansers, condiments, garnishes or relishes. They emerged as a way of preserving food before refrigeration. The methods of pickling ra

Vegetarian Gyoza 餃子 & Sarada yō kyabetsu (Japanese Slaw) 福神漬 Picture Courtesy of Avelyn Grene (Kristen Lynn) I have a confession to make--Japanese dumplings are not period.  While it is true that Japan and China had many years of conflict and that Jiaozi (the Chinese dumplings) were a commonly eaten food for almost two thousand years in China, it wasn't until Japan invaded China in 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War that Japanese soldiers were exposed to Chinese Jiaozi,  the parent of Japanese Gyoza and took them home to their families.   I could not in good conscience allow people to sit at an empty table.  So, I used cook's prerogative to put a small bite of an acidic food (Sarada yō kyabetsu "Japanese Slaw" 福神漬) with a small bite of something savory and spicy to increase the appetite. Additionally, keeping with the theme of symbolism in the feast, the dumpling represents wealth, happiness and celebration. Both the cabbage and mushrooms used in the

Urashima Taro and the Turtles. T urtle (kame): In Japan, the turtle is the symbol of wisdom, luck, protection and longevity. It is believed that the turtle will bring 10,000 years of happiness. Urashima Taro Long, long ago, in a small village near the sea in the south of Japan, lived a young fisher named Urashima Taro. Although he was a fine fisherman, he was most known for his kind heart. One day, as he returned home from his work, he noticed a group of boistrous children. As he drew near, he saw that they were tormenting a small turtle. Urashima Taro’s heart went out to the turtle. “Children, that is such a fine turtle. Why not help it back into the sea?” The children only laughed and continued to poke at the poor turtle. “If you will give me the turtle, I will give you the money from my catch today,” said Urashima Taro. The children looked at the large catch of fish and decided to sell the turtle. The kindhearted fisher spoke softly to the turtle. “You, my fri

The Tokugawa Shoguns Through my research I discovered that there are three different styles of traditional Japanese cooking; Yusoku Ryori (court cuisine), honzen ryori (dishes for feudal lords) and kaseiki ryori (formal dinners).  The style that was chosen for this banquet was Honzen Ryori, whose roots are in the gishiki ryori (ceremonial cooking) exclusive to nobility in the Heian period (794-1185) (Kodansha). The basic menu is one soup and three sides (considered minimum fare), which is referred to as ichijū-sansai (一汁三菜) . The number of soups and side dishes could vary from two to three soups, with three, five, seven or eleven accompanying side dishes.  Rice which is a basic staple food and pickles are not counted as side dishes. Although, the menu for Crown Tourney feast contained a staggering number of dishes (33 over three courses and a sweets tray), the soups, rice and pickles should not be considered in the final count of dishes that were served per course. In the first

Learning a new culture requires a ton of reading and research in order to try to "get it right".  Following is a list of some of the resources that I used to research and put together the banquet and a brief essay on the inspiration for the meal that will be served and some take-aways from the copious amount of research that went into the creation of this meal. Research Sources Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan By Eric Rath The Tastiest Dish in Edo: Print, Performance and Culinary Entertainment in Early-Modern Japan By Eric Rath Japanese Foodways Past and Present Edited by Eric Rath and Stephanie Asmann Early Modern Japan- Banquets Against Boredom: Towards Understanding (Samurai) Cuisine in Early Modern Japan by Eric Rath A Peek at the Meals of the People of the Edo; Tracing the Diet of Edo--the Establishment of Japan's Culinary Culture Part One by Nobuo Harada Ryōri Monogatari  - A partial translation of one of Japan's earliest cookb

Note: Four is an unlucky number-   it is generally avoided because the word for four is shi (四/し)  closely resembles the word for death shi (死/し)--avoid serving in groups of 4-only serve 1, 2, 3. Note: Fourth Course* (sweets) will be referred to as what it is "Anmitsu" --traditionally sweets are not served as a separate course but eaten with tea or served as part of the meal. The Power of Five - The number five is considered important in Japanese culture, and this extends to its food traditions as well. They form the basis of concepts that have been in place for centuries. Five Colors - The prevalence of the five colors – white, black, red, green and yellow – has been a tradition since Buddhism arrived from China in the 6th century. White 白 shiro - includes rice, tofu and soy milk, mild-flavored, delicate white-fleshed fish (shiromi-zakana) and “white meat” pork. White is the traditional color of mourning. It also represents purity and truth. Black 黒 kuro - i

https://shop.pistilsnursery.com/products/moon-vase-marimo-set Marimo balls will be part of the table decorations at feast.  With Luck, the tables will have a zen garden, with a light feature containing a netted candle holder that will resemble a Japanese float, a flameless candle, and as a water feature, a small aquarium containing marimo balls.  Marimo Balls - Marimo balls symbolize love, luck and prosperity. The story begins as a tale of star-crossed lovers, Senato, the daughter of the Ainu Tribal Chief and her lover Manibe, a commoner. Senato, daughter of the chieftain of the Ainu tribe, had long wavy black hair down to her shoulders and was tall and strong. She was the jewel of the Ainu tribe. Beautiful as she was she wouldn't have her days sitting around so she went out foraging with the tribal women. She went to fish for salmon one day with a small group of women, when out of nowhere a herd of galloping deer crash into the waters scaring away all the fish an

Blast from the Past--after the event was held I attempted to get all of the recipes compiled, but was unsuccessful. Sep 11, 2015 at 6 PM – Sep 13, 2015 at 12 PM Indian Hills 4-H Camp Come join the Barony of Flaming Gryphon as the forces of the Baronies of Flaming Gryphon, Middle Marches, Brendoken, and Red Spears battle to protect their lands from the forces of Duke Edmund of Lozengia. The Duke claims to possess a document granting him sovereignty over lands currently held in fief from the Crown by the Barons. This disagreement over points of law will be settled, and bragging rights awarded, during this very special Battle of Five Armies at Harvest Days. All comers can enjoy heavy and rapier combat, archery competitions, a populace choice A&S competition, classes, youth activities, and a feast cooked outdoors. And, yes, the Tavern Brawl is on! First - Lozengia -On the table: Bread, cheese, butter. Hors d'oeuvres: Tarts of Coneys in Sauce, Loseyns (Cheese Lasagna), fresh cherri

When I first came across the instructions for creating Noteye, in  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 Thomas Austin   I was intrigued.  The instructions call for using hazel leaves, most likely the eaves of the European Hazel or Filbert (Corylus avellana) in addition to nuts (notys) that have been fried in grease.  From previous research   Cxlij. Vyande Ryalle. - A Royal Dish (incomplete recipe) , I had learned that hazel leaves are considered a forage food .  It appears that you are using them to not only color the dish, but also to impart a specific flavor. I do not have access to the leaves, so unfortunately am unable to adequately recreate the recipe 😞. My first thoughts on interpretation are below. I do hope that someone who does have access does try it and remarks upon it. .Cxlj. Noteye. —Take a gret porcyoun of Haselle leuys, & grynd in

What have I been up to lately? I know the blog gets "quiet" so I thought I would share some of the newer things I have been learning.  I have put together three proposals because menu planning is something I do for fun.  The site has a few challenges, the first of which is very primitive (which is polite for non-existent) kitchen facilities. Challenge 1: Put together a meal that can be served cool, room temperature or warm at best-no hot food. Challenge 2: Clean up after the fact is going to be a challenge --wherever possible use disposable dishwear. Challenge 3: Distance to site -- the facilities are about an hour away and I have a smallish car which will make transporting food to site interesting without multiple trips. Challenge 3 was the easiest to resolve..I'm borrowing a truck..look out world. For food transport I am getting multiple coolers.  Ta-Dah. So the menu.  Italian & Roman menus lend themselves best to this kind of cooking. Italian cooking spec

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .lxxxxiiij. Tenche in bruette After some debate, I placed both interpretations from  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  Thomas Austin  for tench in sauce or broth on the same blog post.  My reasoning for this is that there is more similarities than differences between the two.  The Tenche in Cyueye includes onions which the Tenche in Bruette does not. The  Glossary of Medieval & Renaissance Culinary Terms  defines cyueye in the following way: cive, civey(e), ciuey, cyuey, ceue, cyueye  = Ragout or stew (possibly derived from a word meaning 'onion' (Plouvier). (Viandier)  - Among other modern usages, this is probably a derivative of civey, which was at one time named for, and characterized by, the possibility of thickening a sauce with finely chopped onion, cooked till very soft. Some medieval rec