Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 114 Sauce Madam

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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114. Sauce Madam
Take the yarmazs of a gose flat hem wesch hem skinyn hem clene and the gessez and the lyne & the lefe of the gose & the soule do al in a pot to gedyr boyle hit tendyr take hit up lay hit on a bord pyke a wey the bonys of the whengys & hew hit smal do hit in a pott do ther to onyons mynsyd smal clovys macys & fars the gose with onyons & herbys hewyb wardons mynsyd grapys rose hepe smyte here in pecys lay here in a chargeour & do the farsour in a pott to that othir & wyn & sesyn hit up with poudr salt & venyger and yf thu wilt thu may take yolkes of eyron sodyn hard & ground small & do ther to like hit be salt & pure hit on the perys.

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This recipe is a close match for recipe 52 from A Noble Boke off Cookry.

To mak sauce madame tak the tharmes of a gose and slit them and shave them clene then tak the gossern the wings the skyn and the soule of the gose and put them all in a pot with mynced onyons mynced wardens and grapes rostid then rost hir and smyt hir in peces and lay here in a chargiour and put the farser in a pot put ther to wyn and sesson it up with pouder and salt and venygar and thou wilt thou may tak yolks of egges sodene herd and cromyd smalle and put ther to and let it be salt and pour it on the peces and serue it.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

The wording is surprisingly similar. Not only do both use of the word "tharmes/yarmazs" (entrails), but they also feature the unusual use of the pronoun "her" to describe the food in place of the more common "him" or "it".

There are versions of Sauce Madame in other surviving cookbooks, but their wording is significantly different.

Sawse Madame. XXX. Take sawge. persel. ysope. and saueray. quinces. and peeres, garlek and Grapes. and fylle the gees þerwith. and sowe the hole þat no grece come out. and roost hem wel. and kepe the grece þat fallith þerof. take galytyne and grece and do in a possynet, whan the gees buth rosted ynowh; take an smyte hem on pecys. and þat tat is withinne and do it in a possynet and put þerinne wyne if it be to thyk. do þerto powdour of galyngale. powdour douce and salt and boyle the sawse and dresse þe Gees in disshes and lay þe sowe onoward.  [Forme of Cury (England, 1390)]

Sawce madame. Take sawge, persoly, ysope, saveray, Onyons gode, peres, garlek, I say, And grapes. go fille þy gose þenne And sew þy hole, no grece oute renne. Lay hur to fyre and rost hyr browne, And kepe þo grece þat falles doune. Take galingale and þo grece þat renne, Do hit in posnet, as I þe kenne. Whenne þo gose is rostyd, take hir away, Smyte hir in pesys, I þe pray. Þat is within, þou schalle take oute, Kest in þy posnet with outene doute. 3if hit is thyke do þerto wyne, And powder of galingale þat is fyne, And powder dowce and salt also. Boyle alle togeder er þou fyr go, In a dysshe þy gose þou close Þe sawce abofe, as I suppose.  [Liber cure cocorum (England, 1430)]

Sauce Madame. Take sauge and parsel, ysope, and saveray, and qwynses (quinces), and gode percs pared, and cut hom and garlyk and grapes; then take gees clene wasshen, and fyl the gees therwythe, and sowe wel the hole that no grees go oute, and rost horn wel, and kepe the gresc clene that droppes in the rostynge ; then take galentyne and the grees of the gees, and do hit in a postenet (pipkin); and when the gees byn ynough, take hom of the fpitte and smyte hom on peces, and take that that is within smal hewen, and do it in the postenet; and do therto a litel wyn and raisynges of corance, and pouder of gynger and of canel, and let hit boyle, then dresse thi gees in platers, and poure the sauce above, and serve hit forthe.  [Ancient Cookery (England, 1425)]