Recipes from John Crophill's Commonplace Book - 18 Soppes Dorre

Recipes from John Crophill's Commonplace Book (Harley MS 1735)

This manuscript is dated before 1485.

The 68 recipes in John Crophill's Commonplace Book are on pages 16v through 28v.

Images of the original manuscript are freely available on the British 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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[18.] Soppes Dorre
Tak minced onyowns & oyle de oyle & sethz hem to gidre sithen tak wyn or ale & boille it ther with than tak tosted bred  & poure the sewe ther on & melk of almondys above.

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While recipes for Soppes Dorry ("golden sops") are pretty common, it is interesting that the Crophill version is closer to the versions in Forme of Cury and Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books than it is to the expected recipes in Liber and Noble.

Sowpus dorre. Take almondes, bray hem, wryng hom up. Boyle hom with wyn rede to sup. Þen temper hom with wyn, salt, I rede, And loke þou tost fyne wete brede, And lay in dysshes, dubene with wyne. Do in þis dysshes mete, þat is so fyne. Messe hit forthe, and florysshe hit þenne With sugur and gynger, as I þe kenne.  [Liber cure cocorum (England, 1430)]

To mak soupes dorrey tak almondes and bray them asid wring them up and boile them with wyn and temper them with wyne and salt then toost whit bred and lay it in a disshe and enbane it with wyne and pour it ouer the met and florisshe it with sugur and guingere and serue it.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

VI - 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)]

Soupes dorrees. Nym oynons, mynce hem, frie hem in oille de olyue: nym oynons, boille hem with wyn, tost whit bred, and do it in dishes / and cast almand mylke theron, and ye wyn and ye oynons aboue, and gif hit forth.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

One curious note, the Crophill version of the recipe appears to be the only one that suggests using ale instead of wine.