Recipes from John Crophill's Commonplace Book - 19 Blawmanger of Lekys

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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[19.] Blawmanger of Lekys
Tak the whyte of lekys & sethz them longe in water & in vinegre & hony waysch hem in many waterys presse hem in aclothz brest hem in a morter tak rys & skerue hem temper [f.20v] hem up with almonde melk boille it & lye it up with lekys florysch the dysch with myed almondes & sugre.

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This recipe is a bit of an oddity. In spite of its name, it doesn't resemble the blancmanger (rice and chicken) recipes commonly found in other sources. However it does seem to be related to several recipes titled "blanch porry".

For blaunchyd porray. Take thykke mylke of almondes dere And heke hedes þou take with stalk in fere, Þat is in peses þou stryke. Put alle in pot, alye hit ilyke With a lytel floure, and serve hit þenne Wele soþun, in sale, before gode menne.  [Liber cure cocorum (England, 1430)]

xlv - For to make Blawnche Perrye. Take the Whyte of the lekys, an sethe hem in a potte, an presse hem vp, and hacke hem smal on a bord. An nym gode Almaunde Mylke, an a lytil of Rys, an do alle thes to-gederys, an sethe an stere it wyl, an do ther-to Sugre or hony, an dresse it yn; thanne take powderd Elys, an sethe hem in fayre Water, and broyle hem, an kytte hem in long pecys. And ley .ij. or .iij. in a dysshe, and putte thin perrey in a-nother dysshe, an serue the to dysshys to-gederys as Venysoun with Furmenty.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

Blanche porrey. Take blanche almondes, And grinde hem, and drawe hem with sugur water thorgh a streynour into a good stuff mylke into a potte; and then take the white of lekes, and hew hem small, and grynde hem in a morter with brede; and then cast al to the mylke into the potte, and caste therto sugur and salt, and lete boyle; And seth feyre poudrid eles in faire water ynowe, and broile hem on a gredren; and kut hem in faire longe peces, and ley two or thre in a dissh togidre as ye do veneson with ffurmenty, And serue it forthe.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

Blaunche pore. Take thyke melke of almondys do yt in a potte perboyle the whyte of lekys tendour presse out the watyre hew hem smalle grynd hem temper hem with the same mylke do to gedyr with sygure and salt boyle hit up yf thu wilte thu mayste alay with payndemayn othir with cromys of white brede draw hem with the same mylke and serve hit forth with salte ele yf thu have hit.  [Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany (England, 1460)]