Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 165 Petydawe

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 © 2015 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com

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165. Petydawe
Take garbage of yonge goose the heddys the nekkys & the whyngys the geser the hert the lyver boyle hit thorow lay hit on a bord cut the whengges & the ioutes & the feete from the leggys and eny clawe from othir cut the geser the lyver the hert in longe leches have fayre white grece fayre in a fryyng panne & cast yn all the fysch & fry hit a lytyll & put ther to poudyr of pepyr & a lytyll salt have yolkes of eyron drawyn thorow a streynour & poure yn the fryyng pan when hit ys hard a lytyll turne hit fry thorow lat nott to much but as hit may hold to gedyr & serve hit forth.

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This recipe is a match for recipe 99 from A Noble Boke off Cookry.

To stew a capon tak parsly saige ysope rosmary and brek them between your handes and stop the capon ther with and colour it with saffron and couch it in an erthen pot and lay splentes under nethe and about the sides of the pot and straw erbes about the capon and put ther to a quart of wyn and non other licour then couer the pot close that no brothe passe out then set it on a charcole fyere and stew it softly and when it is enoughe set it on a wispe of strawe that it touche not the ground for brekinge then tak out the capon with a prik and luk yf it be enoughe or els stewe it better and mak a ceripe of good wyne mynced dates and canelle anld draw it with the same wyne put ther to raissins of corands sugur saffron and salt and guinger and wyn then lay the capon in a dysshe and put the fat of the sew to the ceripe and poure it on the capon and serue it.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

There is also a related recipe in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books that similar to the Noble version.

To mak apetito tak the garbage of yonge gees heddes nekes wings feet gessern hert and the lever and boille them welle then lay them on a bord and cut the wings the feet and the gesserns the hert the leuer and the lungs and fry them in fair grece then tak pouder of pepper salt and yolks of eggs draw throughe a strener and put them into the frying pan when it is hardenyd turn it and fry it not to myche but that it may hold ethe to gedure and serue it.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

The name of the recipe (petydawe/apetito) is a bit cryptic, but it appears to be related to two French recipes called "small feet" (petits pieds).

Small feet, livers and gizzards [of geese]. Cook them very well in wine and water, and put them on a plate with some parsley and vinegar on top.  [Le Viandier de Taillevent (France, ca. 1380)]

SMALL FEET. Take gizzards and livers and put to cook in wine and water, first the gizzards and last the livers, then put in a dish with minced parsley and vinegar.  [Le Menagier de Paris (France, 1393)]