Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 68 Blaunche de sorre

Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany (Beinecke MS 163)

This manuscript is dated about 1460.

The 200 (approx.) recipes in the Wagstaff miscellany are on pages 56r through 76v.

Images of the original manuscript are freely available on the Yale University Library website.

I have done my best to provide an accurate, but readable transcription. Common abbreviations have been expanded, the letters thorn and yogh have been replaced with their modern equivalents, and some minor punctuation has been added.

Copyright © 2013 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com

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68. Blaunche de sorre
Blaunche almonds grynde heme draw heme withe swete brothe make a thike mylke take brawne of capons tendyre sodyn hewyne smalle & groundene & temper hit up withe sume of the mylke & put ther to sygure y nowghe & boyle hit as mortrus take sume of thy milke boyle hit & cast hit one a clothe as creme & have out clene the watyr & putt hit in to that othire & a ley hit up ther with put ther to a cupfulle of swete wyne loke that hit be salt & serve hit forthe and one fische days take pyke or haddocke wel sodyne or codlynge & do awey the skyne & the bones & make hit in the same maner as thu dedyst the othire & draw thy mylke withe the brothe of fresche congure.

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"Blanc de Syrie" is one of the more popular dishes in medieval cookbooks.  It is usually a dish of capon meat in a sauce of almond milk or rice, thickened to the point that it can be sliced.  There are two versions of this recipe in A Noble Boke off Cookry, but neither one seems to be the source for the recipe above.

To mak bland sorre tak the mylk of almondes blanched mad with capon brothe then tak the braun of a capon and bet it in a mortair and mele the fishe and the mylk to gedur in the mortair with the pestelle and thik it with flour of rise and boile it put ther to sugur or hony and mak it stondinge then lesk it in dyshes and diaper it with turnsole and serue it.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

To mak blank de fire tak ryse and wesshe it and grind it small and temper it up with almond mylk and boile it then tak the braun of capon or henne and hew it small and grind it with myed bred and sesson it with sugur and florishe it with almondes and serue it.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)] 

The closest match appears to be the following recipe from Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books.  It has a bit more detail, which makes it easier to understand the instructions in the Wagstaff version.

xxj - Blandissorye. Take almaundys, an blawnche hem, an grynde hem in a morter, an tempere hem with freysshe brothe of capoun or of beef, an swete wyne; an 3if it be lente or fyssday, take brothe of the freysshe fysshe, an swete wyne, an boyle hem to-gederys a goode whyle; thenne take it up, an caste it on a fayre lynen clothe that is clene an drye, an draw under the clothe, wyth a ladel, alle the water that thow may fynde, ryth as thow makyst cold creme; thanne take owt of the potte, an caste it in-to a fayre potte, an let it boyle; an thanne take brawn of Capoun, an tese it smal an bray it ina morter: or ellys on a fyssday take Pyke or Elys, Codlyng or Haddok, an temper it with almaun mylke, an caste Sugre y-now ther-to; An than caste hem in-to the potte and lete hem boyle to-gederys a goode whyle: thenne take it owt of the potte alle hote, an dresse it in a dysshe, as meni don cold creme, an sette ther-on Red Anys in comfyte, or ellys Allemaundys blaunchid, an thanne serue it forth for a goode potage.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]