Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 104 Hages of Almayne

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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104. Hages of Almayne
Take eyron draw hem thorow a streynour perboyle percelley in fat broth hew & hard yolkes of eyron to gedyr do ther to poudyr of gynger sigure & salt & marye & put hit in a streynour ende in a boylyng pott perboyle hit take hit up lat hit kele cut hit smal take drawn eyron put hem in a panne loke they pan be moysty of grece lat the bature ren a brod into a foyle cuch ther yn hard yolkes merye & percellye & turne the iiij sydds to gedyr that hit close a bovyn & ley hit square take of the same bature & wete the eggys that hit hold stonch & close ther yn the stuf turne hit upsodown frye hit on both sydys & serve hit forthe.

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This recipe is a close match for recipe 42 from A Noble Boke off Cookry.

To mak an hagges of Almayne tak and draw eggs through a strener and parboile parcely in fat brothe then hew it and hew yolks of eggs to gedure put ther to pouder of guinger sugur and salt. and put mary in a strene and let it honge in the pot boilling and parboille it and tak it upe and let it kele then cutt it smalle and tak egg drawen throughe a strener and put them into a pan and let the pan be moist of grece let the batter ryn abrod into a foile then couche ther in iij hard yolks of eggs and mary and parsly and turn the iiij sides to gedur that they close to gedur aboue that they lie square then tak of the same bater and whit of egge that it hold stanche and close it and serue yt.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

Haggis of Almayn seems to have been a popular recipe as there are nearly identical versions in contemporary sources.

l - Hagas de Almaynne. Take Fayre Eyroun, the 3olke and the Whyte, and draw hem thorw a straynour; than take Fayre Percely, and parboyle it in a potte with boyling brothe; than take the 3olkys of Eyroun hard y-sothe, and hew the 3olkys and the Percely smal to-gederys; than take Sugre, pouder Gyngere, Salt, and caste ther-to; then take merow, and putte it on a straynourys ende, and lat hange in-to a boyling potte; and parboyle it, and take it vppe, and let it kele, and than kytte it in smal pecys; than take the drawyn Eyroun, and put hem in a panne al a-brode, and vnnethe ony grece in the panne, and cowche ye 3olkys and the Percely ther-on in the panne, and than cowche of the Marow pecys ther-on, and than fold vppe eche kake by-nethe eche corner in .iiij. square, as platte, and turne it on the panne one3; let lye a litel whyle; than take it vp and serue forth.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

Hagas de almondes. Take faire yolkes of eyren, and the White, and drawe hem thorgh a Streynour, and take faire parcelly, and parboyle hit in a potte, and parboylingge brothe; And then take yolkes of yren, sodde hard, and hewe the yolkes and the parcely small togidre; And take sugur, pouder of Gynger, and salte, and cast to yolkes and parcelly; And take mary, and put hit in a streynour, And lete hong yn to the boyling potte, and parboile; and take hit vppe, and lette hit kele, And kutte hit then in smale peces; And then take the drawen eyren, and putte hem in a pan al a-brode, (And vnneth eny grece in the pan,) and couche the yolkes and the parcelly there-on in the pan. And then couche the peces of the mary thereon; And then folde vp the kake byneth euery corner, to eche corner foure square al flatte, And turne hit on the pan; And lete hit lye awhile, And then take it vp, and serue hit forth.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

To make a Haggas of Almain. Take two Buts of Mutton, and frye them well from Skinnes and senowes, and mince it with suet as small as you can, then take Dates and mince them smal, then take these Spices which follow, one ounce of Corance clean washed, an ounce of Ginger and asmuch of pepper, and an ounce of Sugar with the yolkes of eight or nine Egs, clean fryed from the whites. Take also fine faire light bread grated, with a little Salt, and a portion of Saffron, and boile al these togither, then row these Corance in Suet of a Calfe or Sheepe, then put them into a frying pan, and so set them into a hot oven, and when they be brown turne them, and when they be baked, take them out and serve three in a dish.  [A Book of Cookrye (England, 1591)] 

While the word "Almayn" in the recipe title is undoubtedly a reference to Germany ("Almagne" in French), one of the recipes in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books takes it to mean "almonds". This is especially amusing seeing that almonds are not included among the ingredients.