Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 102 Gely of flesch

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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102. Gely of flesch
Take conyngys fle hem scalle pyggys chopp hem fre of the here scale chikenys draw hem & yf thu wilt thu may chopp kede also the conynge & the pygge couch hit in dyschys in a cold place ther they may stond styll set thy broth a gen ovir the fyre loke hit be wel skemyd that no fat be ther on take calvys feete clene scaldyd clene hem set hem in the same broth tyl they be tendyr loke thy brothe be clene skemyd sesyn hit in al maner as thy dose thy fysch & fill thy disches ther with & do ther to in al maner as thy dost to fysch.

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This recipe appears to be a match to recipe 40 in A Noble Boke off Cookry, though the Wagstaff version is missing some of the detail.

To mak a gilly of fleshe take conys and fley them and skald pegions chop them and fley of the skyne skald chekins and chope kiddes and put all to gedur and boile it in red wyne then tak it upe and lay it in a clene clothe dry the peces of the kid pigions and conys and couche them in dishe and chope chekkins and put ther to then set the chekkins in a cold place where it may stand stille then set the brothe to the fyere agayne and luk it be well strened that no fat abid ther on then tak skalded caluys feet and lay them in the same brothe till they be tender and luk the brothe be clene scomed sessen it up with salt and serue it.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

It is worth noting that, of all the surviving recipes for meat gelatin, these two appear to be the only ones that call for such a variety of meat but do not call for adding spices like saffron or cinnamon.