Showing posts with label late middle ages. Show all posts

To make cherry pie and berry pie (c. 15th - 16th century) ★★★


Finally, a recipe! I've been busy the past few weeks with work and renovations on our house. I've had this recipe as a draft for probably months now, but when I saw bags of fresh cherries in the grocery store I decided that I would buy a bag, thus forcing myself to make this pie or else lose $13 of cherries!

I found this recipe in a Dutch cookbook, known as Gent KANTL 15. I found the translated version at Coquinaria, and there is a great introduction to the cookbook there as well. This cookbook is actually a number of manuscripts bound together, written around the 15th to 16th centuries, likely in the same household.

In the medieval period, most pies were still filled with savory foods, and on top of that modern ideas of taste did not apply. Therefore this recipe for berry pie with only sugar and cinnamon is actually pretty rare. Many of the other recipes in the cookbook include interesting combinations such as berries and chicken, a cake made with pike's roe, and an omelette stuffed with spiced apples.

Original Recipe:


[Original Dutch]
2.78. Om kersentaart en bessentaart te maken
Neem kersen en ontpit sommige wel en andere niet. Neem veel kaneel en suiker, en vul het brood. Kleur de bovenkant met zwarte kersen. Hetzelfde met aardbeien, vossebessen en aalbessen. Om fijn brood hiervoor te maken: neem tarwebloem en wat raapolie, niet veel, en eiwit.


[Translation]
2.78. To make cherry pie and berry pie
Take cherries and stone some of them, and others not. Take a lot of cinnamon and sugar, stuff the bread. Colour on top with black cherries. The same with strawberries, lingonberries and redcurrants. To make fine bread for this: take wheat flour and some rape oil, not much, and egg white.



The Verdict:

Well, to be honest the crust sucked. This was probably because the recipe was pretty vague and also because silly Mr.Man put the pie in the fridge and I had used coconut oil, which gets pretty hard in cool temperatures. So yes, I was going to use canola oil, since I assumed that's what the recipe called for. I don't know anything else called "rape oil", and the first known use of the word dates back to the 14th century, interestingly enough from the Latin word for turnip (rapa or rapum). But, after I mixed the egg into the flour I discovered that I didn't have any canola oil, so I decided to use coconut instead. I mean, the crust is definitely edible, but its not the best ever. It wasn't flaky at all and basically just snapped into pieces like a cookie or something.

The filling, on the other hand, was delicious! The cinnamon and sugar paired perfectly with the cherries, and somehow I got the perfect balance of flavours. The only issue was that the filling was ridiculously runny. Probably close to a cup of liquid spurted out when I cut the pie. A little cornstarch would easily fix the problem. Oh, and having some cherries un-pitted was a huge pain, both in eating and in cutting. Don't do it. Lastly, as you can see, the top doesn't really come out very colored. It was a bit brighter when it first came out of the oven, but I think my paltry attempt at coloring combined with heat just didn't make for a bright red pie.

So overall Mr. Man and I gave this recipe three stars for average, but I think if you adapted the recipe a bit it could be 4 stars. Changes that would need to be made are: 1) use your favourite pastry recipe; 2) add some sort of thickener to the filling; and 3) pit all the cherries.


Modernized Recipe:

(Adapted from Gent KANTL 15)

FLOUR
CANOLA OIL
2 EGG WHITES
BERRIES (strawberries, cherries, lingonberries, or red currants), plus extras for coloring the top
CINNAMON
SUGAR

1. In a mixing bowl, mix 2 eggs whites with about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of flour. Add enough oil to get a workable dough. Blend it together in a food processor, with a pastry blender, or with your hands (my preferred method). Knead into a ball and divide into two disks. Roll out both disks. Place the first one in a pie pan.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, mix the cherries with cinnamon and sugar to taste (I used about a tablespoon of cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar). Mix together well and pour into the prepared bottom crust.
3. Place the second crust on top, crimp down the edges, and make slices or holes in the top to let out steam. To color the top of the pie, I tried to rub a cut cherry on the pastry, but it didn't make much juice, so I would suggest pureeing or mashing some berries, straining them, and brushing the juice on with a pastry brush. Or even mix some juice with an egg white or butter and then brush it on.
4. Bake the pie in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes.
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Pokerounce (c.1420) ★★★

I just love the names of medieval recipes! They're always so strange and interesting.
By the way, I had no idea what Galangal was, but I was able to find it easily in my local Asian grocery store.


Original Recipe:
.xxxvj. Pokerounce. Take Hony, & caste it in a potte tyl it wexe chargeaunt y-now; take & skeme it clene. Take Gyngere, Canel, & Galyngale, & caste þer-to; take whyte Brede, & kytte to trenchours, & toste ham; take þin paste whyle it is hot, & sprede it vppe-on þin trenchourys with a spone, & plante it with Pynes, & serue forth.

The Verdict:
Well, I wasn't a huge fan. I really didn't like the pine nuts, but the honey spread was okay. I overcooked it so it kept sticking to my teeth, which was kind of gross. I also added a bit too much galangal, so it was quite peppery. I also feel like maybe it would've been nicer to spread the honey on the bread before toasting. On the other hand, Little Y gobbled up both pieces, so I guess she liked it! In this case, I feel that it's really all about personal preferences, so I give it an average rating.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books)

HONEY
GINGER
CINNAMON
GALANGAL
WHITE BREAD
PINE NUTS

1. Cut slices of white bread into rectangles, removing the crusts. Toast.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the honey until thickened. It will thicken as it cools; mine only took a minute.
3. Add ginger, cinnamon, and galangal to the honey to taste.
4. Spread the thickened honey on the toast and top it with pine nuts.
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Benes y fryed (c. 1390) ★★★

Today's recipe comes from The Forme of Cury, one of Europe's earliest English cookbooks. Unfortunately, this is not a Medieval tome of curry recipes - "cury" is actually the Middle English word for "cookery".

Modern recipes would specify what type of bean is called for in the ingredients, however this Medieval recipe neglects to do so. Luckily, history can help us here. Green (string) beans were not originally native to Europe and didn't arrive there until the Conquistadors brought them to France in the late 1590s. Even so, green beans, much like green peas, weren't commonly eaten until the 19th century. We can also deduce that this recipe is likely calling for fava beans, because that is the Old World variety (New World varieties include kidney, pinto, black, etc.).

Original Recipe: 


 Modern Transcription:
Take beans and boil them until they are almost burst. Drain them and wring out the excess liquid. Add to them boiled and minced onions and garlic. Fry them in oil or in grease and mix in powder douce and serve it forth.

The Verdict:
So I've seen some versions of this recipe that are just, well, fried beans, but the Celtnet version calls for mashing the beans. I decided to go the frying route. The taste was different, but actually not as bad as I thought it would be. However, I don't like beans unless they are cooked IN something, like chili or casseroles. Mr. Man thought it was gross and was very unimpressed. I wouldn't make this again, but for someone who likes beans on their own and who likes cinnamon and those spices in savory dishes, this would probably be a nice dish.



Modernized Recipe: 

2 cups FAVA BEANS
4 cups BEEF STOCK
2 ONIONS, diced
2 cloves GARLIC, diced
BUTTER
2 tabelspoons POWDER DOUCE*

1. Soak the beans overnight in cold water. This will soften them and reduce their...flatulent properties.
2. After soaking, drain the beans. To fry beans, simmer the beans, garlic, and onion in beef stock until soft and then drain and fry in butter. To make mashed beans, cook the beans in the stock, fry the onions and garlic separately, and then combine everything to simmer for 30 minutes before mashing.
3. Mix in the powder douce.

*Powder douce is a Medieval spice mix, which varied by region and taste, but consisted of sugar and sweet spices. Find a recipe here, or simply sprinkle on a little of this and that. After all, there was no specific formula.
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Rys (c.1420) ★★★

This recipe comes from a book called Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books, which was published in 1888. This book contains recipes which were copied from manuscripts in the British Museum, so even though the recipes come from a book published in the late nineteenth century, they are still written in Middle English. This recipe for "Rys" is taken from the manuscript Harleian MS. 279. I've seen dates ranging from circa 1420 to 1439, so I just went with the earliest one.


Original Recipe:
.lxxxvj. Rys. Take a porcyoun of Rys, & pyke hem clene, & sethe hem welle, & late hem kele; þen take gode Mylke of Almaundys & do þer-to, & seþe & stere wyl; & do þer-to Sugre an hony, & serue forth.


The Verdict:
This was not as bad as I thought it would be! I've never had rice pudding before, so to me this recipe sounded a bit weird. I'm also not a huge fan of almonds (sometimes I wonder why I pick these recipes). To my surprise, I didn't mind this. I probably wouldn't eat this by choice, but I'm sure people who like rice pudding would like this. After the initial tasting I added some powder douce, which improved the taste considerably.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books)

COOKED RICE
UNSWEETENED ALMOND MILK
SUGAR
HONEY

1. Add the rice to a saucepan (I used my medium one for about 1 cup of rice). Just cover with almond milk and bring to a boil, stirring often.
2. Once boiling, add the sugar and honey to taste. Let simmer for a few minutes until the desired consistency is reached. Serve forth!
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