Thursday, May 28, 2015

Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 188 Hote Mylke of Almoundys

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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188. Hote Mylke of Almoundys
Blaunch almoundys grynd hem tempyr hem up with fayre watyr do to sygure or hony claryfyd sett hit on the fyre steyr hit well when hit boyleth serve hit forth hote & bredd tostyd yn othir dysches.

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This recipe is a match for recipe 123 from A Noble Boke off Cookry.

To mak hot mylk of almonds tak blanched almonds and grind them and draw them with faire water and sugur or Hony clarified then salt it and boile it and serue it furthe hoot and toisted bred ther in. [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 187 Soupys yn Dorye

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187. Soupys yn Dorye
Blaunch almound grynd hem & tempyr hem up with watyr yn to a good mylke drawyn thorow a streynour yn to a pott put to safron & yf thu wilte thu may colour hit a lytyll therwith & put to sygure & salt sett hit on the fyre stere hit & when hit ys at boylyng do yn a lytyll good wyne take hit fro the fyre stere hit alway fro quellyng have white bredde cut yn shyvys as brues take & tost hit a lytyll on a rost yron that hit be somdell broun dip hit a lytyll on the wyn & ley hit a lytyll aghen on the rost yron & tost hit & do to a lytyll mylke yn disches & couch iij or iiij shyvys yn a dysch & poure on the mylke a bovyn & serve hit forth hote.

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This recipe is a match for recipe 122 from A Noble Boke off Cookry.

To mak soupes in doce grinde blanched almondes and serup them up with water into a faire mylke and draw it into a pot through a strener put ther to sugur saffron and salt set it on the fyere and stirr it welle when it boilith do it to a litill wyn and tak it from the fyere and stirr it well for qualinge then cutt whit bred in shyues and toist it on a gredirne that it be browne then put them in wyne and lay them on the gredirne agayne and lay the toistes iij or iiij in a disshe and put on the mylk and serue it. [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

There are many versions of Soups Dorre in other sources, suggesting that it was a popular dish. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books has two notably different versions.

Soppes Dorre. Take rawe Almondes, And grynde hem in A morter, And temper hem with wyn and drawe hem thorgh a streynour; And lete hem boyle, And cast there-to Saffron, Sugur, and salt; And then take a paynmain, And kut him and tost him, And wete him in wyne, And ley hem in a dissh, and caste the siryppe thereon, and make a dregge of pouder ginger, sugur, Canell, Clowes, and maces, And cast thereon; And whan hit is I-Dressed, serue it forth fore a good potage. [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

Soupes dorroy. Shere Oynonys, an frye hem in oyle; thanne take Wyne, an boyle with Oynonys, toste whyte Brede an do on a dysshe, an caste ther-on gode Almaunde Mylke, and temper it wyth wyne: thanne do the dorry a-bowte, an messe it forth. [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

Both of these types are also present in Forme of Cury, showing that the recipe calling for onions isn't a fluke.

Sowpes Dorry. XX.IIII. II. Take Almaundes brayed, drawe hem up with wyne. ooile it, cast þeruppon safroun and salt, take brede itosted in wyne. lay þerof a leyne and anoþer of þe sewe and alle togydre. florish it with sugur powdour gyngur and serue it forth. [Forme of Cury (England, 1390)]

FOR TO MAKE SOWPYS DORRY. Nym onyons and mynce hem smale and fry hem in oyl dolyf Nym wyn and boyle yt wyth the onyouns roste wyte bred and do yt in dischis and god Almande mylk also and do ther'above and serve yt forthe. [Forme of Cury (England, 1390)]

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 186 Shrympys Boyled

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186. Shrympys Boyled
Take quyke shrympys pike hem clene make thy sauce of watyr & salt cast hem yn let hem boyle but a lytyll poure a wey the watyr ley hem [f.76v] dry when thu shalt serve hem forth ley hem yn disches round all aboughte the sydes of the disches & ley the backesyde outward & eny course till ye come to the mydward of the disches with in eerve hem forth sauce hem with venygger.

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There is a related recipe in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books.

Shrympes. Take Shrympes, and seth hem in water and a litull salt, and lete hem boile ones or a litull more. And serue hem forthe colde; And no maner sauce but vinegre. [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

Maybe it is due to boiled shrimp being such an easy dish to make, but I'm surprised there aren't more of such recipes in contemporary sources.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 185 Fresch Makrell Boyled

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185. Fresch Makrell Boyled
Draw a makrell at the gyll save the bely hole wesch hit make thy sauce of watyr & salt when hit boyleth cast yn percelley & croppys of mynttys & do yn thy fysch ther to & serve hit forth hote & sauce hit with vergeys.

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This recipe is a match for recipe 121 from A Noble Boke off Cookry.

To dight a freche makerelle tak and draw a makerelle at the gil and let the belly be hole and wesche hym and mak the sauce of water and salt and when it boilithe cast in mynt and parsly and put in the fisshe and serue it furthe with sorell sauce. [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Origins 2015 Schedule

June 3-7, 2015
Greater Columbus Convention Center
Columbus, Ohio, 43215, USA

Origins is only a couple of weeks away, and as with the past three years I'm on some panels and selling books as part of The Library. Here’s my schedule for seminars this year:

Thursday

The Short Story and You (C223, 3:00 p.m.) - Short stories aren't "just like novels, but shorter." This panel will teach you the rules of the road for crafting a short story. [with John Helfers, Donald J. Bingle, Steven Saus, and Ronald Garner]

Creating Fictional Languages (C222, 5:00 p.m.) - Creating a fiction language can take your story to the next level, but do you need to be a linguist of Tolkien's caliber to do it?

Friday

Religion and Science (C222, 3:00 p.m.) - Great speculative fiction makes us think abour our own world, and how better to do that than with religion and science? Our panelists tell you how to make create believable religions and fields of scientific study. 90 minutes. [with Jaym Gates and Tracy Chowdhury]

Food in Speculative Fiction (C222, 5:00 p.m.) - In Fantasy and Science Fiction, any food is usually in the background. Most often it's presented as setting or set decoration and ignored by the viewer. Sometimes though, it seems to take on a life of its own and can even become the center of the plot. This slideshow explores the fictional foods in television and film, highlighting both the good and the bad.

Saturday

Flora and Fauna (C223, 12:00 p.m.) - When you build a world, you need to populate it, not just with people, but with plants and animals too. This panel teaches you how to use biology and science to make them believable. [with Tracy Chowdhury, John Helfers, and Lucy A. Snyder]

I love Origins - it somehow manages to be huge and still small and friendly. The seminar topics are a nice, diverse bunch so it should be lots of fun.

Gen Con 2015 Schedule

Gen Con Indy 2015, July 30 - August 2

The Gen Con website is now allowing people to sign up for events, so I thought it would be a good idea to post the events I'm running.

This year I'm doing two seminars as part of the Writer’s Symposium as well as my regular events for Blackspoon Press and Medieval Cookery.

SEM1580059 – Author Ed: Medieval Food and Cooking Learn all about the reality of medieval food and cooking from medieval cooking expert Daniel Myers. Debunk myths about what people ate and discover culinary tidbits you can use in your stories! 07/30/2015 (Thursday), 4:00 PM, ICC : 241

SEM1569116 – Creating Medieval and Fantasy Cuisines A subterranean culture probably wouldn't eat roast beef and an arboreal one wouldn't eat sushi. A fantasy world should have a cuisine that takes into account the resources and technology of the people that inhabit it. This seminar detail how to make up a consistent, believable cuisine using the workings of medieval European cooking as a template. 07/30/2015 (Thursday), 8:00 PM, Crowne Plaza : Pennsylvania Stn B

SEM1577142 – Not Your Grandfather's Religion A fictional religion can add depth to a story or game setting. This seminar presents a framework for creating a consistent and believable religious system. 07/31/2015 (Friday), 8:00 PM, Crowne Plaza : Pennsylvania Stn A

SEM1577142 – Worldbuilding: Crafting Languages A good fictional language adds depth to your story; a bad one can ruin it. Learn from authors with experience at imaginary languages how to avoid pitfalls & use language to enhance your story. 08/01/2015 (Saturday), 4:00 PM, ICC : 244

The seminar on creating religions is a new one for me, but I think it'll be fun. Hope to see you there!

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 184 Perch Boyled

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184. Perch Boyled
Draw a perche at the gyll lett the bely be hole make a styfe sauce of watyr & salt & yf thu wilt thu may put to ale when hit boyleth scome hit clene & cast yn the perch & let hym boyle well then strip the skyn on both sydys & let the gedde be on and the tayle then ley hym on disches & strew on foyles of percelley serve forth cold & serve hym with venygger.

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This recipe is a match for recipe 120 from A Noble Boke off Cookry.

To boylle a perche draw hym at the gills and let the belly be hole and mak a stiff sauce of water and salt and ale and when it boilithe cast in the perche and let it sethe and scrape of the skyne and lay it in a disshe and let the hed and the taile be on straw on padley and serue it with venyger. [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

There is another version of the same recipe in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books.

Perche boiled. Take a perche, and drawe him in the throte, and make to him sauce of water and salt; And whan hit bigynneth to boile, skeme hit and caste the perche there-in, and seth him; and take him vppe, and pul him, and serue him forth colde, and cast vppon him foiles of parcelly. and the sauce is vinegre or vergeous. [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 183 Welkes Boyled

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183. Welkes Boyled
Do welkes yn a pott with watyr so that they may flete ther yn set hem on a esy fyre let hem seth sokyngly & long then take hem up & poure a wey the watyr & pyke the fisch out of the shill with a pikke & take of the hatte fro the hedde so hem on a vessell with a lytyll cold watyr so that they be unnethe helyd & a grete dele of salt & scoure the welkes well with thyn hond let all the slyme goo of & wesch hem yn othir iiij waters & ley hem yn othir clene water till thu serve hem forth then do hem a brode yn dysches & strew on fayles of percelley.

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This recipe is a match for recipe 119 from A Noble Boke off Cookry.

To boile welks put them in a pot with water so they may flot then set them on the fyer and let them stond longe or they sethe then tak them out of the water and tak out the fisshe with a prik and put away the hulles then wesche them well with watire and salt ij or iij tymes then lay them in clene water till ye serue them with grene parsly. [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

There is another version of the same recipe in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books.

Welkes boyled. Take welkes, and caste hem in colde water, And lete hem boyle but a litull; And caste hem oute of the vessell, And pike hem oute of the shell, and pike awey the horn of hem, and wassh hem and rubbe hem well in colde water and salt, in two or thre waters; And serue hem colde, And caste vppon hem leves of parcelly ywet in vinegre, And sauce to hem is vynegre. [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]