Recipes for Candied Orange Peel

Image from: https://www.jesmondfruitbarn.com.au/product/oranges/

"A goodlye secret for to condite or confite Orenges, citrons, and all other fruites in sirrop", a recipe from Thomas Dawson, THE SECOND PART OF THE GOOD HUS-WIVES JEWELL, 1597.

"(1) Take Cytrons and cut them in peeces, taking out of them the iuice or substance, (2) then boyle them in freshe water halfe an hower untill they be tender, and when you take them out, (3) cast them into cold water, leave them there a good while, (4) then set them on the fire againe in other freshe water, (5) doo but heate it a little with a small fire, for it not seeth, but let it simper a little (6) continue thus eight daies together heating them every day inn hot water: (7) some heat the watre but one day, to the end that the citron be not too tender, but change the freshe water at night to take out the bitternesse of the pilles, the which being taken away, (8) you must take suger or Hony clarified, wherein you must the citrons put, (9) having first wel dried them from the water, & in winter you must keep them from the frost, (10) & in the Sommer you shal leave them there all night, and a day and a night in Honie, (11) then boile the Honie or Sugar by it selfe without the orenges or Citrons by the space of halfe an hower or lesse with a little fire, (12) and being colde set it againe to the fire with the Citrons, (13) continuing so two mornings: if you wil put Honnie in water and not suger, you must clarifie it two times, and straine it through a strayner: having thus warmed and clarified it you shall straine and (14) sett it againe to the fire, with Citrons onely, making them to boyle with a soft fire the space of a quarter of an houre, (15) then take it from the fire & let it rest at every time you do it, a day & a night: (16) the next morning you shall boyle it again together the space of half an hower, and (17) doo so two morninges, to the end that the Honie or Suger may be well incorporated with the Citrons. All the cumuing (sic) consisteth in the boyling of this sirrope together with the Citrons, and also the Sirrope by it selfe,and heerein heede must be takken that it take not the smoke, so that it savour not of the fire: In this manner may be drest the Peaches, or lemmons Orenges, Apples, green Malnuts, and (18) other liste being boile more or lesse, according to the nature of the fruits."
Reproduced at: http://damealys.medievalcookery.com/CandiedFruitPeel.html
A transcription of the 1596 edition of The Good Huswifes Jewell can be found here:
http://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/ghj1596.txt

This recipe comes from Le Ménagier de Paris, originally written circa 1393 and reproduced at  http://acrosstheagesblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/candied-orange-peel.html :
"To Make Candied Orange Peel, cut the peel of an orange into five pieces and scrape away the loose skin inside with a knife, then set them to soak in good fresh water for nine days and change the water daily; then boil them, letting them come once to the boil only, in fresh water, and this done, spread them on a cloth and let them dry thoroughly, then put them in a pot of honey until they be quite covered therewith, and boil on a slow fire and skim.  And when you think that the honey is cooked (to try if it be cooked, have some water in a spoon, and pour a drop of the honey into the water and if it spreads it is not done, and if the drop of honey remains in the water without spreading, then it is done), then you must take out your pieces of orange peel and set out a layer in order and sprinkle powered ginger thereon, then another layer and sprinkle, etc., usque in infinitum; and leave them for a month or more and then eat them."

A recipe for Hirchones or Yrchouns - Hedgehog Meatballs

This is a fun recipe that I have made many times. Kids and adults alike get a kick out of these spiky little meatballs.

Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehog#/media/File:Igel.JPG

The original recipe is from Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks c 1430-1450  (Harleian MS 279)
http://www.archive.org/stream/twofifteenthcent00aust/twofifteenthcent00aust_djvu.txt
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/CookBk?rgn=main;view=fulltext

YRCHOUNS

Take Piggis mawys, & skalde hem wel; take groundyn Porke, & knede it with Spicerye, with pouder Gyngere, & Salt & Sugre; do it on þe mawe, but fille it nowt to fulle; þen sewe hem with a fayre þrede, & putte hem in a Spete as men don piggys; take blaunchid Almaundys, & kerf hem long, smal, & scharpe, & frye hem in grece & sugre; take a litel prycke, & prykke þe yrchons, An putte in þe holes þe Almaundys, every hole half, & eche fro oþer; ley hem þen to þe fyre; when þey ben rostid, dore hem sum wyth [leaf 30 bk.] Whete Flowre, & mylke of Almaundys, sum grene, sum blake with Blode, & lat hem nowt browne to moche, & serue forth.

My Recipe
Several of the people in my SCA group don't like pork, so I used beef this time around. (I find using pork results in a tastier, more moist meatball.) I omitted the pig stomach due to modern sensibilities. I used raisins cut in half instead of currants because they were what I had to hand. I decided not to colour the hedgehogs; I like them brown.

1.5 Kg beef mince
1.5 tsp ginger
1.5 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
50 slivered almonds
raisins cut in half

I added spices to the mince mixture and worked it with my hands until it became very sticky. I shaped the mixture into oval 'hedgehog' shapes and added raisin pieces for eyes. I studded the balls with almond 'spines'. In the past I have pre-toasted the almonds, and they get a bit over-browned in the oven. This time I left them un-toasted and stuck them in the meatballs. Use your own judgement based on your oven.
I cooked the meatballs in a moderate oven (180 degrees C) on a lightly greased tray for 20 mins until brown.

Some of the comments I received included:
"The texture of the beef worked nicely, but more spice would be appreciated. Otherwise fabulous."
"I liked the crispy almonds and the raisins were a delightful addition to the flavour"
"Was a little dry but was well spiced and seasoned"

Adjust the spices to your (and your audience's taste). If I make these for my family or people I don't know, I use small amounts of spice. People who are used to medieval food will probably want more spice. I have also experimented with the texture of the mince. Mince from the supermarket tends to be quite coarse, but if you can get finely ground mince it produces a remarkably different texture and mouth-feel in the finished meatball. I have even tried these with chicken mince.

Recipe for 'A Tarte of Rice'

This recipe comes from the Good Huswifes' Jewell-

A Tarte of Rice
Boyle your Rice and put in the yolkes of two or three Egges into the Rice and when it is boyled, put it into a dish, and season it with Suger, Sinamon and Ginger and butter and the iuyce of 2 or 3 orenges, and set it on the fire again.
From The Good Huswifes' Jewell by Thomas Dawson, 1596

My recipe
1C Arborio rice - well rinsed
1.5 C water plus 200ml extra
50g butter
5 tsp sugar
1 heaped tsp cinnamon
1 heaped tsp ginger
3 egg yolks, small to medium eggs

Method: 
Cook rice until al dente. Lightly beat the egg yolks and add the spices. Stir.
Add the egg yolk/spice mix to the rice and stir. Add sugar and mix well.
Cook the mixture on moderate heat until rice is nice and soft and the mix starts to fuse together with the individual grains looking less defined. (I  cooked it is the microwave due to time constraints, but a a small saucepan on the stove top would be ideal.) You may need to add extra water here if the mix looks too dry.
When the mixture is cooked and the rice is very soft, put into a serving dish and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the top. Caster sugar would be best here.
Next time I will add more spice. Cooking in the microwave meant that the dish didn't have  a lovely crust like you get when you put it in the oven to brown after cooking.

I have made this recipe with and without the orange juice. I liked the recipe above (without the orange juice) better; it was less acidic.

Some of the comments I received included:
'Delightful! Lovely as a dessert or between courses. I think the addition of cream over the top would be great'.
'I really like this, it is nice and I want to eat more!'
'Loved it- delicious. The flavours are well balanced and really liked the kick of ginger on the tongue. It was a little dry but arborio rice left overnight does that. Would recommend almond milk as a substitute for the water or orange juice. If you reduced the sugar it would be a good accompaniment to a fatty strong flavoured meat.'
'Nice texture, well cooked. Good spice.'

Recipe for An Italian Pudding

Here's another recipe from the Revel that I cooked for late in 2018. The original comes from The Newwe Booke of Cookerie and which I found reproduced on Steffan's Florilegium and also here http://medievalcookery.com/search/display.html?nevvb:84  from a later print edition

This is an excerpt from A NEVV BOOKE of Cookerie (England, 1615)
The original source can be found at Thomas Gloning's website

To make an Italian Pudding. Take a Penny white Loafe, pare off the crust, and cut it in square pieces like vnto great Dyes, mince a pound of Beefe Suit small: take halfe a pound of Razins of the Sunne, stone them and mingle them together, and season them with Sugar, Rosewater, and Nutmegge, wet these things in foure Egges, and stirre them very tenderly for breaking the Bread: then put it into a Dish, and pricke three or foure pieces of Marrow, and some sliced Dates: put it into an Ouen hot enough for a Chewet: if your Ouen be too hot, it will burne: if too colde, it will be heauy: when it is bakte scrape on Sugar, and serue it hot at dinner, but not at Supper.

My recipe redaction:
1/2 tsp rosewater
1/2 tsp nutmeg
5 small-med eggs
1 loaf of white bread with crusts cut off
2/3 cup of sugar
250g dried dates, chopped small
1 cup of extra dried fruit of choice (eg. raisins, currants, sultanas)
1/2C to 3/4C of cream, depending on the dryness of the bread.

Make sure all the crust is removed from the bread and dice it small. Beat the eggs and mix in the sugar, cream, rosewater and spices. Mix the bread into the wet mixture gently. The mix should be fairly moist, similar to a bread pudding. Add the dried fruit and mix. Put into a lightly greased dish. Dot butter around on the top if you wish. Cook in moderate oven (about 170 degrees C) until cooked through and golden brown. Serve hot.

I omitted the marrow because so many people would be put off by it and I thought it might make it a bit greasy. Next time I make it I might soak the fruit in port or something similar for a little while before I add it to the mix. I'll have to do some research to see what would be most appropriate.
I am usually not a fan of bread pudding, but I did like this one.

Some of  the comments included:
'I liked it! Would be great with ice cream.''
'This was a generous and delicious dish. Wanted to go back for more. Wonderful texture.'
'I loved everything about this pudding - the taste, presentation and abundance of fruit. A nice pudding.'

This style of recipe appears to have continued to be popular into the next century, as there are several variations in later cook books. Here is an example:

A Baked Pudding after the Italian fashion, corrected
Source: The whole Body of Cookery Dissected, 1661
Take a penny white loaf or two, and cut it in the manner of dice: put to it half a pound of Beef suet minced small, half a pound of Raisins of the sun stoned, a little sugar, six sliced Dates, a grain of Musk, the Marrow of two bones, season it with Cloves, Mace, Nutmeg, salt and Rose-water, then beat three Eggs with about half a pint of Cream, and put it to your bread and other ingredients, and stir it together softly that you break not the bread, nor Marrow: then slice some thin pieces of Apple into the bottom of your dish, that you bake it in, and put your Pudding theron: bake it in an oven not so hot as for Manchet: when its enough, stick it with Cittern and strow it with Sugar.
From: http://www.godecookery.com/engrec/engrec30.html

I am very lucky that I have an adventurous Barony who are very generous with their time and are happy to provide detailed commentary on dishes to help me improve. I thank them all, but I have especial thanks for Baroness Linet and Viscount Aylwin who can always be relied upon to comment and offer detailed suggestions on how specific dishes may have been done in the period.

Recipe for 'Gourdes in Pottage' from Curye on Inglyshe

I decided to try this recipe for a Pumpkin pottage because it was so unusual. I have several vegetarians in my local SCA group, so I omitted the pork meat.

'Take young Gowdres; pare hem and kerue hem on pecys. Cast hem in gode broth, and do perto a gode pertye of oynouns mynced. Take pork soden; grynde it and ayle it perwith and wip yolkes of ayren. Do perto safround and salt, and messe it forthe with powdour douce.'
From: Curye on Inglyshe: English Culinary Manuscripts of the 14th Century {including The Forme of Curye}

Poudre duce recipe

take an (?) of white ginger, a (?) of hand picked cinnamon, half a quarter ounce each of grains and cloves and (?) rock sugar and grind to powder.
From: 'Libro di cucina' reproduced at medievalcuisine.com


My recipe
1 butternut pumpkin, peeled and chopped
4 medium onions, diced
3 Cups of water with 3 boullion cubes
1/2 walnuts chopped
yolks of 3 small eggs, beaten
3 tsp ginger
2 tsp nutmeg
3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
2 tsp salt
7 tsp sugar

I peeled and cut the pumpkin. I cut it into large chunks and added the chunks into a boiling broth made of 3 cups of water and 3 bouillon cubes. Then I added the diced onion. I cooked the mixture until the pumpkin was nearly cooked. Then I added the chopped walnuts and cooked for another five minutes and turned off the heat.

While the pumpkin mix was cooking, I beat three egg yolks with the spices. To prevent the yolks from cooking and thickening due to the hot mixture, I added spoonfuls of the hot broth into the egg and spice mix and stirred through to gradually raise the temperature. Then I gradually added the yolk and spice mix to the main pot, stirring after adding each small amount. When it was all mixed in, I turned the heat back on to medium heat and cooked for another 5-10 minutes.

I used imitation saffron as the real thing was not available. It is inferior to the real thing as it adds colour but not taste or scent. I added chopped walnuts instead of meat to cater to vegetarians. Vegetarian boullion cubes were used instead of meat based cubes.

I found the taste interesting. I don't like walnuts at all, and the texture of pumpkin puts me off.  I could tolerate this dish, and I am glad I made it. I specifically wanted a filling vegetarian dish for the vegetarian members of my Barony, but I think that the addition of fine chicken or pork mix instead of walnuts would really improve this recipe. Adding chopped blanched almonds would add a nice texture too.

Some comments I received included:
'Nice flavour and texture. Good filling food. Excellent winter fare.'
'Smells nice and spicy, love the texture and crunchiness. Very nice hearty pottage.'
'Really enjoyed it. Nice mix of textures and the spice mix really added to it. Not usually a fan of pumpkin but it really works in this recipe.'

My family (who are unused to medieval food) also tried it and said it was unusual but tasty.

Medieval Cucumber Salad - Cucummen from 'Ein New Kochbuck'

One thing I really enjoy in the SCA is experimenting with medieval and renaissance recipes. Those of you familiar with them will know that measurements are not always listed and there is often a great amount of assumed knowledge (such as 'prepare in the usual way..') which can make it very interesting.

Image from: newfoodmagazine.com

Last year I tried out this cucumber salad recipe from Ein New Kochbuck - A 16th Century Collection of German Recipes by Marx Rumpolt.

Cucummen
"Peel the cucumbers/cut them broad and thin/season them with oil/pepper and salt. But if they are salt preserved/they are also not bad/better than raw/because one can salt it with Fennel and with caraway/that both can be kept over one year. And near the Rhine-stream one calls it cucummen."

I have to say at the beginning that cucumbers are one of my favourite salad items and I love them fresh and raw, so I was predisposed to not like this recipe very much.

My version of the recipe:
2 large cucumbers peeled and chopped
2tb extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

I washed the cucumbers and peeled them and cut them into thin rounds. I poured the oil over and then sprinkled on the salt and pepper and mixed. I omitted the fennel and caraway seeds because I don't like them. The resulting salad was not unpleasant but was not a showstopper (but perhaps my bias against dressed cucumber is showing). I was interested in the comments of the populace after tasting this. I would like to try it with more intense salt flavours as the recipe talks about 'salt preserved cucumbers'. I suspect that the author is referring to some sort of brined pickle, which opens up a whole different arena of flavours, and which would make fennel and caraway more suitable as flavouring agents in a brine.
I would be prepared to try it again chilled, and with a different sort of oil with a less distinct flavour. I'd be interested to see what sort of impact leaving the skin on would make. Similarly, it would be interested to experiment with small cucumbers (like gherkin size) and to find out if cutting length ways with a mandolin would make a difference to the taste.

Some of the comments I received included:
"I found it quite nice, just the right amount of salt and pepper"
"It's good; really nice flavours and not overpowering"
"Nice flavour, would like to try them very cold"
"Nice flavour and texture. Pepper seemed to settle - I liked the stronger pepper flavour on the lower level"
"Good balance - neither the oil nor the other flavours are too dominant, but all of them are clearly present"

Quince Tart

Quinces are in season at the moment here and I was surprised to find that she had never tried them, so I decided to make a tart.
I used spice very lightly as my sister doesn't have a taste for it, and omitted bone marrow (for the same reason). I also cooked the quinces into a puree rather than in slices or hollowed out because they are hard to cut and it was easier on my hands.
It was delicious!

Source [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books, T. Austin (ed.)]: Quynces or Wardones in paast. Take and make rounde coffyns of paast; and take rawe quynces, and pare hem wit a knyfe, and take oute clene the core; And take Sugur ynog, and a litull pouder ginger and stoppe the hole full. And then couche ij. or iij. quynces or wardons in a Coffyn, and keuer hem, And lete hem bake; or elles take clarefied hony in-stede of sugur, if thou maist none sugur; And if thou takest hony put thereto a litull pouder peper, and ginger, and put hit in the same maner in the quynces or wardons, and late hem bake ynog.

Source [The Neapolitan Recipe Collection, Terence Scully (trans.)]: Pastizi de Pome Codogne. Aparaghia la pasta como he dito de li altri pastelli; poi habi pome codogne bene mondate he nette he cacia fora quello duro de mezo, he che lo buso dove haverai cazato fora el duro non passi da banda in banda; et in quello busso ponerai de bona medula de bove cum zucaro he canella assai; et li diti pomi aconzaralli in li ditti pastizi sopragiongendoli de la ditta medula dentro he de fora; he fa ch'el non sia tropo salato; poi mettili de sopra una pasta, facendolo cocere secondo l'ordine de li altri pastelli.

Quince Pie. Prepare the dough as I have said for the other tarts; then get peeled quince and remove the hard part in their centre, and do not let the hole you make to remove it go all the way through; into this hole put good beef marrow with plenty of sugar and cinnamon; and lay the quince in the pies, adding the marrow to them inside and out; mind that it is not too salty; put another crust on top, cooking it as with the other tarts.

Recipes reproduced from http://medievalcookery.com/recipes/quinces.html with thanks.

Baked Lumbarde Custard

I tried this recipe last year. I have had a few attempts at it. The taste is good, but the texture needs tweaking. My family (who generally don't eat medieval food) enjoyed it. I will keep working on it and post my final recipe when I am happy with it.

Custard lumbarde Recipe from A Boke of Kokery (Book of Cookery) c 1440
from: http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item126388.html

Take good creme, and leuys of Percely, and yolkes and white of egges, and breke hem thereto, and streyne hem all þorg a straynour till hit be so thik that it woll bere him self. And take faire Mary and Dates, cutte in ij. or iij. and prunes, and put hem in faire coffyns of paast. And then put þe coffyn in an oven, And lete hem bake till thei be hard. And then drawe hem oute and putte the licoure into þe coffyns. And put hem into þe oven ayen. And lete hem bake til they be ynogh, but cast sugur and salt into þi licour whan ye putte hit into þe coffyns. And if hit be in lenton, take creme of Almondes and leve the egges. And the Mary.

 In present day English: Take good cream, and mix in leaves of parsley. Break the yolks and whites of eggs into the mixture. Strain through a strainer, till it is so stiff that it will bear (support) itself. Then take good marrow, and dates cut in 2 or 3 pieces, and prunes, and put them in nice coffins (pastry cases). Put the pies in the oven, and let them bake until they are hard. Then take them out and put the liquid into them, and put them back in the oven. Let them bake together until done, but add sugar and salt to the liquid when you put it into the coffins. And if it is in Lent, take cream of almonds and leave out the egg and the marrow.

Wardens in Sirrop

I am hoping soon to have more time to spend cooking medieval recipes. A glut of ripe pears inspired me to investigate different recipes for lightly stewed pears that might appeal to my family's very modern palate.

Stock footage from https://www.medieval-recipes.com/recipes/desserts/

Here are some  medieval recipes:

"To conserve wardens all the yeere in sirrop. Take your wardens and put them into a great earthenware pot, and cover them close. Set them in an oven where you have set in your white bread. and when you have drawn your white bread, and your pot, and they are so cold that you may handle them, then peel the thin skin from them over a pewter dish so that you may save all the syrup that falls from them. add to them a quart of the same syrup, and a pint of rosewater, and boil them together with a few cloves and cinnamon. When it is reasonably thick and cold, put your wardens and syrup into a galley pot and see always that the syrup is above the wardens, or any other thing that you conserve."
From The Good Huswife's Jewell (Second Part) 1597 - Thomas Dawson


The original recipe: 96 Peris in Syrippe. Take Wardons, and cast hem in a faire potte, And boile hem til ei ben tendre; and take hem vppe, and pare hem in ij. or in iij. And take powder of Canell, a good quantite, and cast hit in good red wyne, And cast sugur thereto, and put hit in an erthen potte, And lete boile; And then cast the peris thereto, And late hem boile togidre awhile; take powder of ginger, And a litell saffron to colloure hit with, And loke that hit be poynante/ And also Doucet/

A modern English translation: 96 Pears in Syrup. Take Wardons, and cast them in a fair pot, And boil them till they are tender; and take them up, and pare them in two or in three. And take powder of Cinnamon, a good quantity, and cast it in good red wine, And cast sugar thereto, and put it in an earthenware pot, And let boil; And then cast the pears thereto, And let them boil together awhile; take powder of ginger, And a little saffron to color it with, And look that it is poignant/ And also Sweet/

From  1450 Harleian MS. 4016 available at https://cheftalk.com/ams/pears-in-syrup.6638/

88.  Perys in Syrup

Boyle wardons that they be somdell tendyr pare hem cut hem yn pecys take canell a grete dele draw hit thorow a streynour iij or iiij tymys with good wyn in a pott do ther to sygure a grete dele poudyr of gynger anneys clovis & macys and yf thu wilte datys mynsyd & reysons of coraunce set hit on the fyre when hit boyleth cast yn the perys lete hem boyle to gedyr when hit ys boyled y nowghe loke hit be broun of canell & put ther to poudyr of gynger a grete dele loke hit be somdele doucet & serve hit forth.

From the Wagstaff Miscellany c 1460

This recipe is most like the following one for wardens in syrup from Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books.  The basic ingredients, steps, and spicing are all there.  The Wagstaff recipe's optional addition of dates and currants makes it more like the "pears in compost" recipes.

x - Wardonys in syryp. Take wardonys, an caste on a potte, and boyle hem till they ben tender; than take hem vp and pare hem, an kytte hem in to pecys; take y-now of powder of canel, a good quantyte, an caste it on red wyne, an draw it thorw a straynour; caste sugre ther-to, an put it in an erthen pot, an let it boyle: an thanne caste the perys ther-to, an let boyle to-gederys, an whan they haue boyle a whyle, take pouder of gyngere an caste therto, an a lytil venegre, an a lytil safron; an loke that it be poynaunt an dowcet.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

From http://medievalcookery.blogspot.com/2014/01/recipes-from-wagstaff-miscellany-88.html

Since I wasn't actually preserving hard pears, but just cooking ripe pears for dessert, they didn't require much cooking.

The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight has a recipe for Preserved Wardens which is very similar and uses red wine. I had white wine available, and felt that it might be more appealing to my family who are not very used to or comfortable with medieval food. I took aspects from all these recipes and created something that has medieval elements but would also be appealing to the modern palate.

I added about 750g of peeled and trimmed pear pieces to a heavy splash (probably 1/2 cup) of sweet white wine. The pears were juicy and I had saved and added the juice when cutting as suggested in the Good Huswife recipe. I added 100g of sugar, 2 tsp of cinnamon powder, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, some cloves, 2 tsp of rosewater and let it simmer gently til the pears were soft and warmed through. 

The simmering liquor was absolutely fragrant and delicious and would make a wonderful mulled white wine.

Just before serving, I stirred through a little cream.

The dish was lovely, and very well received with requests to do it again. I might add an egg or two next time and turn it into a sort of baked custard. 

Making 'Fine Cakes' - Attempt 1

I have an event coming up at the end of the month where I will be sharing food with my household. I wanted to take the opportunity to try some new recipes in my favourite area - desserts. While I was preparing dinner, I had the crazy idea to give this one a try:

TO MAKE FINE CAKES  (actually little biscuits)

From 'The Widow's Treasury' by John Partridge, 1585

To make fine Cakes. Take a quantity of fine wheate Flower, and put it in an earthen pot. Stop it close and set it in an Oven, and bake it as long as you would a Pasty of Venison, and when it is baked it will be full of clods. Then searce your flower through a fine sercer. Then take clouted Creame or sweet butter, but Creame is best: then take your sugar, cloves, Mace, saffron and yolks of eggs, so much as wil seeme to season your flower. Then put these things into the Creame, temper all together. Then put thereto your flower. So make your cakes. The paste will be very short; therefore make them very little. Lay paper under them.

Because this baking session was unplanned, there were a few things that were not ideal. My butter was too cold, making the creaming process inadequate. I couldn't find my mace in the spice cupboard, and I only had imitation saffron (which is fine for colour but adds no real flavour.) My egg was quite cold and I didn't have time to cook my flour. I also forgot to sieve it because I was trying to do too many things at once! Next time I would wrap the kneaded dough in cling film and refrigerate it for half an hour before rolling it out. Also, I couldn't find a round cookie cutter (hence the heart shape.) Castor sugar would probably work better than normal white sugar.

150g butter
1 cup of plain white flour
almost 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch artificial saffron
1 slight pinch salt
a few drops of water to moisten if needed

Cut the butter into small pieces, and cream with the sugar. Mix the egg yolk in. Mix the spices and salt with the flour. Mix all together, adding a few drops of water if needed. The dough will be quite stiff. Roll out to about 0.5cm thick and cut into circles. Put on a tray with baking paper (I sprayed with a little cooking spray.) Cook for 15-18 minutes at about 180 degrees Celsius. Cool on the baking paper on a wire rack. Try not to eat them all at once! (The recipe makes about 30 cookies.)

 the raw cookies

 the finished product

The second batch got over cooked. I would cook for 12-15 minutes at about 180 degrees Celsius, but monitor as they cook to see if the oven needs to be turned down a bit after the first tray is cooked.

These are really delicious and buttery with a mild spice flavour. I will experiment with amping up the spice a bit and I think I will invest in some real saffron and cook some flour to see how the taste is affected.

Pine Nut Candy - Pynade

I recently made a subteltie for a big event, and I wanted some toffee to accompany it. I have made pynade before, and it has been very popular.


Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books gives the following recipe:
 Pynade

Take Hony & gode pouder Gyngere, & Galyngale, & Canelle, Pouder pepir, & graynys of parys, & boyle y-fere; than take kyrnelys of Pynotys & caste ther-to; & take chyconys y-sothe, & hew hem in grece, & caste ther-to, & lat sethe y-fere; & then lat droppe ther-of on a knyf; & if it cleuyth & wexyth hard, it ys y-now; & then putte it on a chargere tyl it be cold, & mace lechys, & serue with other metys; & if thou wolt make it in spycery, then putte non chykonys ther-to.

There are other variations on this recipe in various Medieval and Renaissance cookbooks. Once sugar began to be regularly imported and was considered a sign of wealth and status, the level of sweetness in many foods (especially desserts) really increased. This recipe is one that will have your teeth curling from the sweetness, particularly if you experiment with substituting sugar for the honey.

My most recent redaction:
2 cups honey
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
200 grams pine nuts in 3 lots
1/4 teaspoon allspice
I mixed all the ingredients together in a saucepan and brought it all to a boil. I  boiled it until it reached 300 degrees F on a candy thermometer. This can take a long time depending on the type of stovetop you have and also the type of honey and any water or impurities it may contain. As with any toffee-type sweet, the mixture is scaldingly hot and sticky, so be extremely careful when cooking and don't be tempted to step away from the pot for a moment. It can boil over in an instant and you will at the very least have a horribly hot and sticky mess to clean up and at the worst an extremely bad burn.

The candy made with sugar instead of honey

 I used a generic honey blend this time and found that the colour was much more pale than the last couple of times I made this recipe. It was also much softer than the last couple of times I have made it. This may have been due to the type of honey I used, and also due to the fact that it was quite humid.

I added about half the pine nuts at the beginning of the process, and put the rest in in two batches. I did this because I wanted a bit of variety in the colour of the nuts and also how cooked they tasted. The result was pleasing, if a little bit too sticky. I dusted the toffee in castor sugar after breaking it up and then kept it in the fridge to reduce the stickiness. My family are not used to much medieval food, but they all enjoyed this candy.

The toffee cooling and drying on waxed paper

I cut back a lot of the spices because several people with specific spice allergies were going to be attending the event. I personally like a more spiced candy because I think that the spices help to cut through the sweetness. Powdered galangal and grains of paradise are really hard to find where I live but I would have included them if I could have. I have also tried coriander root in the past, which added a pleasant element to the recipe.

You can vary the spices according to taste and what you have available. I have experimented with substituting sugar instead of honey and also used raw pine nuts and almonds (both peeled and with the skins on.) All these variations make the candy change in taste, texture and colour, but it is always popular with people who have a sweet tooth!




Medieval cooking - Recipe fore Broad Bean Fritata

This recipe for a Bean Omelette or Friger la Fava comes from Libro de arte coquinaria as reproduced in The Original Mediterranean Cuisine. I wanted to try this recipe because I had never eaten broad beans before and wasn't sure if I would like them. (Turns out that I do!)

The recipe in the book is:
1 cup of fresh or frozen broad beans
half an onion finely chopped
1 tb olive oil
1-2 slices of pancetta, cut into strips
1 tb chopped parsley
4-6 sage leaves, finely chopped
3 eggs
salt and freshly ground pepper

The original recipe also adds chopped figs. I couldn't get fresh figs or get any pancetta, so I substituted prosciutto and omitted the figs altogether. If I did this recipe again I would use a greater amount of prosciutto or possibly bacon (just because it has a strong flavour and is easy to obtain.)

I used

1.5 cups of broad beans (frozen and thawed)
1 onion
100 g prosciutto
6 fresh sage leaves
1 apple
12 eggs
one quarter teaspoon of paprika
one quarter teaspoon of nutmeg
1-2 tb dried parsley
pepper and salt to taste
small amount of olive oil

I cooked the broad beans on salted water. I diced the onion and cooked it until it was soft in a little bit of olive oil. Then I added the diced prosciutto. I added the diced apple. I finely sliced the sage and added it to the pan. I removed one third of the bean 'skins' and chopped the beans, adding them to the pan right at the end (as they were already cooked.

In a separate dish, I beat the 12 eggs and added sweet smoked paprika, nutmeg, pepper and salt and the dried parsley. I added the apple, onion and prosciutto mix from the other pan and mixed it all together. I decided to cook this dish as a frittata for ease of serving, so lightly sprayed a frittata dish with olive oil spray and added the eggy mix. I cooked the dish for about 20 minutes at 170 degrees C. When the top was golden and the centre was firm, I took it out and cooled it on a cooling rack.

I prefer my egg dishes quite firm, but this could be cooked less to make it a little more gooey. The amounts of ingredients I used made a small and large frittata.

This dish would be really delicious with garlic and cheese added.

Medieval cooking - Sauce Galentyne and Powme Dorrys

In the last six months or so, I have become quite interested in medieval and renaissance cooking, and have been trying my hand at a few recipes. I am particularly interested in recipes that I am unfamiliar with or which contain ingredients that I have not tried before.

I made Powme Dorrys and Sauce Galentyne in August. The recipes come from Liber cure cocorum - which can be found online at http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/lcc/


Sauce Galentyne

"Take crust of bread and grind it small, take powder of galingale and mix with all,
Powder of ginger and salt also; Mix it with vinegar ere you do more,
Draw it through a strainer then, And serve it forth before good men."

I used:

1 and a quarter cups of white wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger
1 cup of white wine
70g chopped and pounded fresh galingale
1 and a quarter cups of breadcrumbs
three quarters of a teaspoon powdered cinnamon.

The cinnamon and wine were added because they show up as ingredients in other versions of Sauce Galentyne recipes (e.g. p. 562 of Take a Thousand Eggs or More Vol. 2- from Ashmole MS 1439 and Harleian MS 4016.) I thought these ingredients would make for a richer sauce.

I was unable to obtain powdered galingal, so had to use the fresh root. Pounding fresh galingal is not an easy task. The piece I obtained was quite fibrous and woody. I believe that this sauce is normally a pink colour. Mine turned out beige coloured; I think because of the fresh galingal. Next time I make it, I might reduce the vinegar by a quarter of a cup.

I mixed the ingredients and let them soak, then passed the mixture through a sieve.

The strained sauce.

I wanted to try this sauce because it sounded interesting; I couldn't imagine that it would taste very nice. Although it tended to separate in the serving dish, it was actually a really tasty and piquant sauce that would be great with any meat. My family are unaccustomed to medieval flavours but were really impressed with this sauce as well.

The Powme Dorrys or Glazed Meatballs seemed perfect to go with this sauce.

Powme Dorrys (also from Liber cure cocorum)

"Take pork and grind it raw, I teach,

Mix it with beaten eggs; then

Cast powder to make it in a ball;

In boiling water you shall cast it

To harden, then you take,

Spit it fair for God's sake.

Baste it with yolks of eggs then

With a feather at fire, as I teach you;

Both green and red you may make it.

With juice of herbs I undertake;

Hold under a dish that naught be lost,

More commendable it is

as well you know."

I substituted chicken mince for pork mince as many people in my barony do not eat pork. I added small amounts of salt and pepper, and used rice flour as the powder to "make it in a ball". A wise friend who tasted the dish suggested that the "powder" mentioned in the recipe may have been Powdre Douce or a similar spice/seasoning powder commonly used in medieval cooking. Once she mentioned it, I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of it. Using Powdre Douce or similar would make these meatballs much tastier. On their own they were a little bland (but very good with the sauce above.) I would also like to try this again using pork mince for a richer taste.

I used:

1 kilogram of chicken mince

One quarter cup of rice flour 

salt and pepper to taste

extra rice flour for rolling

2 eggs to bind

2 egg yolks for basting

(makes approximately 55 rum-ball sized balls)

Mix flour, mince, 2 eggs and salt and pepper to an even consistency. Make small balls with hands and roll lightly in the extra rice flour. carefully drop balls into a shallow pan of boiling water and boil for 10-15 minutes (depending on size of ball and whether doing in one or two batches.) When cooked, drain.

Add cooked balls to a bowl containing well beaten egg yolks and coat until all balls are yellow. I fried mine lightly in a small amount of olive oil.

I omitted the herb juice dressing at the end because all I had at the time was spinach and sage, and because I planned to serve them with a sauce anyway. 

These meatballs would also be good with garlic and onion powder added and cooked in chicken stock instead of water.

The boiled meatballs being coated with egg yolk prior to frying.

The fried meatballs showing lovely colour and slightly crisped surfaces.

Medieval gingerbrede and Omelettes

Recently I have been trying out some medieval recipes. A few weeks ago I tried Medieval gingerbrede. The consistency was quite unusual compared to the modern sort. I think that the next time I try the recipe I might use a blender to 'grate' fresh bread rather than use toasted breadcrumbs. The recipe called for the gingerbread to be sliced into pieces, but I rolled it into balls and dipped it in sugar so that it would be easier for people to nibble on.

I also tried a broad bean omelette, which I made in a frittata dish. It wouldn't take much to put me off  eggs, and I had never tried broad beans, but I did enjoy the frittata. My family are not familiar with Medieval food, and they all enjoyed it too. So I was very pleased with that recipe!