Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 123 Crustad lumbard

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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123. Crustad lumbard
Make large cofynys take datys pyke out the skynnys & yf thu wilte thu may cut thy datys or els stop hem with blanch poudyr with yn & do ther to grete gobets of marye & couch ther yn rabets with the marye & small bryddys perboylyd well in fat broth & couch in ther to clovis macys reysons of corauns & fry pynes & strew theron & set hem yn ther own syrip of creme of cowmylke yolkes of eyron & good poudyr sygure saundres safron & salt fyl hem ther with and on fisch days boyle wardons tendyr or othir perys pare hem & hole hem at the crown fil hem full of blaunch poudyr & turne yn the pouydyr of gyngour that the poudyr lese ther yn & set hem in cofyns & the stalkes upward & yf thu wilte thu may turne hem that they be hid yn bature & fry hem or thu couch hem let no flesch come ther to make thy syripe of thicke mylke of almondys make up thu crustardys as thu dedyst on fisch days when they be bake yf thu wilte thy may gylte the stalkys of the perys & syve hem forth.

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This recipe is a match for recipe 62 from A Noble Boke off Cookry.

To mak custad lombard mak a large coffyn then tak dates from the stones tak gobettes of mary and smalle birdes and parboile them in salt brothe and couche ther in then tak clowes mace and raisins of corans and pynes fryed and strawe ther on and sett them in the oven to bak and luk ye haue a coup of cowes creme yolks of eggs good pouderes saffron sanderes and salt then fill the coffins ther with, and on fishe daies boille wardens or other peres paire them and hole them at the crown then fill them full of blaunche poudur and torn them in blaunche poudur and skoche them all about that the pouder may abid ther in then set the stalks upryght and ye may mak your coup of creme of almondes and shak up your custad as ye did of flesche and when they be bak gilt the stalkes of the peres and serue them.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

There is a recipe for "Custard Lombard" in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books, but the wording is significantly different.

Custard lumbarde. Take good creme, and ffoiles of and yolkes And white of egges, and breke hem thereto, and streyne hem all thorgh a straynour till hit be so thik that it woll bere him self; And take faire Mary, And Dates, cutte in ij. or iij. and prunes, and put hem in faire coffyns of paast; And then put the coffyn in an oven, And lete hem bake till thei be hard, And then drawe hem oute, and putte the licoure into the Coffyns, And put hem into the oven ayen, And lete hem bake till they be ynogh, but cast sugur and salt in thi licour whan ye putte hit into the coffyns; And if hit be in lenton, take creme of Almondes, And leve the egges And the Mary.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]