Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 97 Dyvers desyre

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 © 2014 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com

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97. Dyvers desyre
Grynd reysons draw hem up with osey othir with swete wyn that hit ve somdele thyn do hit in a pott mynse datys & do ther to & reysons of coraunse clovys macys poudyr of pepyr & poudyr lombard & sigure take pyggez clene y schallyd or kede or lomb or konyng or chikenes choppyd small in pecys & frye hit & do hit to gedyr boyle hit & sesyn hit up with poudyr of gynger & salt & yf thu wilt take venyger & make hit egyr & serve hit forth & yf thu wylt grynd almondes & do in the same maner & coloure hit with turnesole othir let hit be white whethir thu wilt and yf thu may make past of eyron & paryd floure make yn thy foyle & boyle hit in small pelets or els in pelys & fry hem in white grece lat the flesch be out & when the sew boyleth do hit ther to & serve hit forth or yf thu wylt make foyles of past & couche ther yn foyl flesch of capons & porke sodyn & groundyn & seson hit up with poudres & salt make pelets ther of eche [f.67v] pelet as grete as a fynger loke hit be well y closyd & frydd put hit in dysches & poure the syrip abovyn & let no venyger come ther yn yf thu wilt have a stondyng potage ther of draw hit more chargeaunt & draw hit forth as mortrewys that thu makyst of reysons & of the same colour as that othir ys before & do parte the othir in the dysches and yf thu wylt make ther of a bakyn thu may put everych of them by hem sylf or els depart that on with that othir & serve hit forth whethir thy wylt hote or cold & strew ther on a dragge of paryd gynger mynsyd & anys in confite & blaunch poudyr & serve hit forth whetyr hit be in the forme of potage or of bakyn mete in what kind that thu wylt thu may hit & a ley hit with yolkes of eyron yf thu lyst aftyr the boylyng take som of the same & set hit on the fyre yn a pott & at the boylyng have yolkes of eyron drawn thorow a streynour in to a bolle & poure yn the wyn softely & rennyng & stere hit s fast in the bolle for quellyng & loke that hit be ryght chargeaunt of yolkes & put hit in to that other sewe that ys made by fore ster hit well to gedyr do hit forth loke no venyger come ther on loke hit be doucet & som dele bytyng of the poudres and yf thu wilt make hit of fisch thu mayse in the same maner as thu dedist the flesch take calvour samon base & melet splattyd & choppyd in pecys & frydd & do ther with as thu dost with the flesch or take a perch or els haddok or base sodyn pike out the bonys grynd hit & medyll hit with good poudres & salt & make hit in rounde pelets than have a batire of mylke of almondys put the pelets ther yn take hem up & frye hem yn hole rolle hem rounde ley hem in disches & poure the syrip a bovyn and yf thu lyst thu maist do with flesch yn the same maner.

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This monster of a recipe appears to be several (ten?) recipes in one, and while individual pieces are similar to recipes in other sources the recipe as a whole seems to be unique.