Recipes from John Crophill's Commonplace Book - 65 Brewet of Elys

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

This manuscript is dated before 1485.

The 69 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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[65.] Brewet of Elys
Lye it with bred force it with poudre colour it with saffron.

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There are recipes for brewet of eels in both Liber and Noble, though the ingredients differ and the instructions have significantly more detail than the Crophill version.

To mak eles in bruet tak eles culpond and boile them with mynced onyons padley and saige and draw it with whit bred and wyne put ther to pouder of pepper canelle and salt and serue it.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

For a brothe of elys. Fyrst flyghe þyn elys, in pese hom smyte, Put hom in pot, þagh þay ben lyte, With clene water. þen take þou schalle Alle powder of peper, coloure hit with alle With safroune and alyed þenne With floure, and cast alle in, I kenne, At þe fyrst boylyng þat may falle Soth hote, and serve hit in to þe halle.  [Liber cure cocorum (England, 1430)]