Recipes from John Crophill's Commonplace Book - 31 A Gelle

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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[31.] A Gelle
Tak gledes & bronnys & grete elys wel wasche & brothe & do to the fyer to sethen & qwan it is soden tak the broth & do it to the fyer & do to [f.22v] clowes gelofres gingour galingale broken but nouth over muchel & saffron & qwan it is wel soden drawe it thorow a cloth in to a vessel of tre & do the fysch in the broth & cover it let it stonde & kelen the space of anyth for it sal ben served cold & do the fysch in the same maner.

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Recipes for jelly (gelatin) are very common, but also vary widely. The version from Noble is notably different from the Crophill recipe.

To mak a gilly of fleshe take conys and fley them and skald pegions chop them and fley of the skyne skald chekins and chope kiddes and put all to gedur and boile it in red wyne then tak it upe and lay it in a clene clothe dry the peces of the kid pigions and conys and couche them in dishe and chope chekkins and put ther to then set the chekkins in a cold place where it may stand stille then set the brothe to the fyere agayne and luk it be well strened that no fat abid ther on then tak skalded caluys feet and lay them in the same brothe till they be tender and luk the brothe be clene scomed sessen it up with salt and serue it.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]