Recipes from John Crophill's Commonplace Book - 41 Browet of Sarasynes

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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[41.] Browet of Sarasynes
Tak crustes of qwyt bred & blood & do it in a morter & grynd it & tempre it with swet broth & draw it thorow a cloth & do it in a pot & do ther in red wyn set it on the fyer & lye it & boylle it tak perterkes & wodekokes & other smale brydes & rost hem & qwirter hem & do hem in a pot & do ther to god poudre of clowes & qwybybes & sugre & sethz it do ther in wyth grece & tast it & [f.24v] dresse it.

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There are a variety of surviving recipes for "Brewet of Saracens," but none in Liber or Noble, and none of others are quite like the Crophill version.

FOR TO MAK A BRUET OF SARCYNESSE. Tak the lyre of the fresch Buf and bet it al in pecis and bred and fry yt in fresch gres tak it up and and drye it and do yt in a vessel wyth wyn and sugur and powdre of clowys boyle yt togedere tyl the flesch have drong the liycoure and take the almande mylk and quibibz macis and clowys and boyle hem togedere tak the flesch and do thereto and messe it forth.  [Forme of Cury (England, 1390)]

Bruette Sareson. Take Almaundys and draw a gode mylke and flowre of Rys, and Porke and Brawen of Capoun y-sode, or Hennys smale y-grounde, and boyle it y-fere, and do in-to the mylke; and than take pouder Gyngere, Sugre, and caste a-boue, an serue forth.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

Bruet sarcenes. Take venyson boyle hit trye hit do hit yn a pott take almond mylke drawyn up with the same brothe cast ther yn onyons & a ley hit up withe floure of rye & caste yn cloves aftyr the boylyng take hit don sensyn hit up with poudyr wyn & sygure & coloure hit with alekenet.  [Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany (England, 1460)]