Recipes from John Crophill's Commonplace Book - 40 Mawmene

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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[40.] Mawmene
Tak a pond of sugre & a qwart of water & an half & do it in a pot with sugre & tak amydoun & lye it ther with & tak a tendre chese & grynd it in a morter & tempre it up with almounde melk & do it in a pot & set it on the fyer & styre it wele & tak fleysch of chykenys & hew & grynd it & tempre it up with almaunde melk wel thykke & qwan thi pot is wel boylled tak it of the fyer & lye it up with fleysch & do ther to god poudre of ginger or of canel & wyth grece & dresse it & plant it.

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Mawmany recipes are not uncommon, and there are versions in both Liber and Noble that are somewhat similar. It is worth noting that the Crophill recipe is unique in leaving out the wine.

For to make momene. Take whyte wyne, I telle þe, And sugur þerto ryȝt grete plenté. Take, bray þo brawne of aȝt capon. To a pot of oyle of on galon, And of hony a qwharte þou take. Do hit þer to as ever þou wake, Take powder þo mountenaunce of a pownde, And galingale ginger and canel rownde, And cast þer to, and styre hit. þenne Alle in on pot sethe hit, I kenne.  [Liber cure cocorum (England, 1430)]

To mak mamony, tak whit wyne and sugur then bray the braun of viii capons with a gal on of oile and a quart of hony put ther to poudur of pepper galingalle guingere and canelle and stirre it welle and serue it.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

On a side note, the only mawmany recipe I found to specify the amount of sugar to be use is the following one from Forme of Cury, though the rest of the recipe is very unlike the Crophill verison.

Mawmenee. XX. Take a pottel of wyne greke. and ii. pounde of sugur take and clarifye the sugur with a qantite of wyne an drawe it thurgh a straynour in to a pot of erthe take flour of Canell. and medle with sum of the wyne an cast to gydre. take pynes with Dates and frye hem a litell in grece oþer in oyle and cast hem to gydre. take clowes an flour of canel hool and cast þerto. take powdour gyngur. canel. clower, colour it with saundres a lytel yf hit be nede cast salt þerto. and lat it seeþ; warly with a slowe fyre and not to thyk, take brawn of Capouns yteysed. oþer of Fesauntes teysed small and cast þerto.  [Forme of Cury (England, 1390)]