Merryell Williams' Book of Recipes
Peniarth MS 513D
This is a volume of cooking and medicinal recipes which were collected by Merryell Williams of the Ystumcolwyn Estate, Montgomeryshire, towards the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The manuscript is in English. Within its covers we are given a glimpse of the types of meals created in the kitchens of mid Wales' nobility during this period.
Images of the original manuscript are freely available on the National Library of Wales website.
I have done my best to provide an accurate, but readable transcription. Common abbreviations have been expanded, letters like thorn and yogh have been replaced with their modern equivalents, and some minor punctuation has been added.
Copyright © 2022 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com
[p2]
[3] Pottage of Oysters. Open the oysters carefully, save all the liquor, to a pint of Oysters & their Liquor take a pint of watter, a pint of hard wine, a pint of strong Gravie of Mutton, a whole onion, a race of ginger, a bundle of sweet herbs, a Nutmeg grated, & some Bruised peper, & sault, a few chips of bread, when it hath boyled a while, take out the Onion herbs & spice, thicken it with the yolk of an Egg & a litle more gravie of Mutton. Thou may scrape in a spoonfull of paremes and [parmesan] Cheese, & take some Other Oisters & fri them like fritters to garnish the dish & to lay alover [all over] the Pottage, if you have Crawfish it will make so much the Better.
This is the last of the oyster recipes - at least for a bit. So far the one thing we can tell about Merryell Williams is that she (or someone she liked) really liked oysters, otherwise why would they be the subject of the first three recipes she copied into the book?
We're on slightly stronger ground here that with the previous two as oyster pottage recipes aren't as uncommon. That said, the three recipes from the more common medieval sources aren't much like Williams'.
For to make potage of oysturs. Perboyle þyn oysturs and take hom oute. Kepe welle þy bre with outen doute, And hakke hom on a borde full smalle, And bray in a morter þou schalle. Do hom in hor owne brothe for goode, Do mylke of almondes þer to by þe rode, And lye hit up with amydone, And frye smalle mynsud onyone In oyle, or sethe hom in mylke þou schalle. Do powdur þerto of spyces withalle, And coloure hit þenne with safron gode. Hit is holden restoratyf fode. ["Liber cure cocorum" / Sloane MS 1986 (England, 1430)]
To mak potage of oystirs parboile your oystirs and tak them up and kep the brothe then chap them smale upon a bord and bet them in a mortair then put them in ther own brothe agayne put ther to almond mylk alay it up with amydon and mynced onyons worte or in mylk sethe it and do it to good poudure and colour yt with saffron and serue it. [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]
To make Potage of Ostyrs. Recipe ostyrs & perbole þam in fayr water, þan tak þam oute; þan schop þam small & bray þam in a morter; þan cast þam into þat same broth & put þerto almond mylk & amydon & myncyd onyons & bole all þise togydre; þan put in powdyr of gynger & colour it with saferon, & serof it forth. ["Thomas Awkbarow's Recipes" / MS Harley 5401 (England, 15th century)]
Turning to the later sources I checked in the preceding recipes, the closest I could find were the following:
A Ragoo of Oysters. Put into your Stew-pan a quarter of a pound of Butter, let it boil, then take a quart of Oysters, strain them from their Liquor, and put them to the Butter; let them stew with a bit of Eschalot shred very fine, and some grated Nutmeg, and a little Salt; then beat the yolks of three or four Eggs with the Oyster-liquor and half a pound of Butter, and shake all very well together till 'tis thick, and serve it up with Sippets, and garnish with sliced Lemon. [The Compleat Housewife (England, 1729)]
To make Sause for Wild-Fowl. Take half a Pint of Claret, a little Oyster- liquor, a little Gravy, and three or four Shalots; let it boil a quarter of an Hour, with a little Grated Bread, and put to it two Anchovies minced, and a little Butter, and shake it well together, and put it to your Fowl, being Roasted, and serve them up. [England's Newest Way in All Sorts of Cookery, H. Howard (1708)]
Of course neither of these are quite what we're looking for. So far I'm not doing very well at finding predecessors for the recipes. We'll have to see what comes after the oysters.
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