Tagged ‘salt’

A Plaice, the yuce of Sorrel and more sops

April 30th, 2013 by KM Wall

Hippoglossoides platessoides – American Plaice

A Plaice

Sole Meunière is a classic French treatment of flatfish with a lovely, lemony sauce, and worth noting if only for the Julia Child in Rouen moment (pause and praise Julia), and Poisson à l’oseille – Fish with Sorrel Sauce au francais – was my sorrel moment. A different flatfish, a different French city, a different decade, but in one mouthful I knew I’d been wasting sorrel and it was time to make up for lost time. And this recipe calls for sorrel juice – that is, yuce. Don’t be afraid – the fish should be more poached then boiled, and if you can get a whole one, and not just a fillet….heaven on a plate.

20. To butter Plaice vpon Sorrell sops.

Boyle your Plaice in faire water and Salt, and a fewe sweete Hearbes and Vinegar, then take them vp and dry them in a faire cloath, then dish them in sippets in the bottom of a dish then power vpon it a quarter of a pint of the yuce of Sorrell, and set it vpoon a chafindish of coales, and when you bee ready to serve it, poure vpon it a little butter drawne thicke with the yuce of Sorrell, then strowe grose Pepper and Salt, put sippets about it and serve it then to the table hotte, your sauce will looke very green and the fish east pleasant and short.

- 1621. John Murrell. A Delightfull daily exercise for Ladies and Gentlewomen. Falconwood Press: 1990. p. 38.

Biblical bread

More sops

John 13:21-26 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)

²¹When Jesus had said these things, he was troubled in the Spirit, and ^[a]testified, and said, Verily, verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

²²Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.

²³Now there was one of his disciples, which ^[b]leaned on Jesus’ bosom, whom Jesus loved.

²⁴To him beckoned therefore Simon Peter, that he should ask who it was of whom he spake.

²⁵He then as he leaned on Jesus’ breast, said unto him, Lord, who is it?

²⁶Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it: and he wet a sop, and gave it to Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son.

Tags: 17th century recipe, A Delightful daily exercise for Ladies and Gentlewomen, butter, chafing dish of coals, cooking, green sauce, John Murrell, pepper, plaice, salt, sops, sweet herbs, vinegar, yuce of sorrell
Posted in Fish and Fishing, Recipes. 17th century | No Comments

Rice puddings

April 24th, 2013 by KM Wall

Rice

Spring is a season where things change fast. One minute it’s all about dragons, the next there’s an abundance of milk and eggs to use. Rice was a common commodity to take to sea, but also a special treat when made into puddings.

Pudding funnel (these are white puddings or boudin blanc) from Ivan Day's site

Pudding funnel (these are white puddings or boudin blanc) from Ivan Day’s Historic Food site

Rice puddings

Take half a pound of Rice, and steepe it inn new milke a whole night and in the morning drain it, and let the Milke drop away; then take a quart of the best sweetest and thickest Creame, and put the Rice into it, and boyle it a little; then set it to cool an hower or two, & after put in the Yelkes of half a dozzen Egges, a little Pepper, Cloves, Mace, Currants, Dates, Sugar and Salt; and having mixt them well together, so serve it into the farms[1], and boil them as before shewed, and serve them after a day old.

1631. Gervase Markham, Best ed. English Housewife. p. 72.

[1] ‘farms’ or forms a/k/a guts or puddings

To make Rice Puddings.

Boyle halfe a pound of Rice with three pintes of Milke, a little beaten Mace, boyle it untill your Rice be drie, but never stirre it, then you must stirre it continually or else it will burne: powre your Rice in a Collinder, or else into a strainer, that the moisture may runne cleane from it: then put to it sixe Egges, and put away the whites of three, halfe a pound of Sugar, a quarter of a pinte of Rose-water, a pound of Currans, a pound of Beefe suet shred small, season it with Nutmeg, Sinamon, and a little Salt, stirre all this together with a spoone thinne, drie the smallest guts of a Hog in a faire cloth being watered and scoured fir for the Puddings, and fill them three quarters full, and tie both ends together, let them boyle softly a quarter of an houre or scarce so much, and let the water boyle before you put them in, and doe as the other Puddings last spoken of.

Note: the previous puddings were Liverie Pudding and the notes are:

…cut the small guts of a Hogge about a foot long, fill them three quarters full of the aforesaid stuffe, tie both ends together and boyle them in a kettle of faire water, with a pewter Dish under them, with the bottome upward, and it will keepe your Puddings from breaking:…(p. 26)

1638. John Murrell. The Second Booke of Cookerie. Stuart Press: 1993.p. 27.

A Ryce Pudding.

Steep it in faire water all night: then boyle it in new Milke, and draine out the Milke, through a Cullinder[1]: mince beefe Suit [2]handsomely, but not too small, and put it into the Rice, and parboyled Currins[3], yolkes of new layd Egges, Nutmeg, sinamon, Sugar, and Barberryes[4]: mingle all together: wash your scoured guttes, and stuffe them with the aforesaid pulp: parboyle them, and let them coole.

1615. John Murrell. A New Booke of Cookerie. Falconwood Press. 1989. p. 18.

[1] colander

[2] that’s suet – a beef/sheep fat

[3] currents

[4] a small, red, sour berry much like a cranberry…..

Tags: 17th century recipe, barberryes, beefe suet, boil, butter, cinnamon, cloves, cooking, cullinder, currants, dates, eggs, formes, funnel, guts, guts of hog, Ivan Day, John Murrell, liverie pudding, mace, Markham, milk, nutmeg, pepper, puddings, rice, rose-water, salt, sugar, white puddings
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And with those they eat……(herring, that is)

April 17th, 2013 by KM Wall

And with those they eat ….,

Herring monger

“To stew Herringes

“Take Ale, and put therin a few Onions small cut, & a spoonful of Mustard, great Mustard, great Raisins and saffron, & thick it with grated bread: if you wil have puddings in them, take the soft rowes of the Herrrings, & stamp them with a little thick Almond milke, and put thereto some dates or figs minced, cloves, Mace, Sugar, saffron, and salt, and some Corrans, and grated bread.”

- Good Huswives Handmaide for the Kitchen. Peachey transcript ed. London, 1594. p.44.

Tags: ale, almond milk, cloves, corrans, currants, dates, figs, Good Housewifes handemaide for the kitchin, grated bread, herring, herring in a barrel, herring in a hogshead, herring monger, herring roe, mace, mustard, onions, raisins, saffron, salt, stew, sugar
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Paling

April 7th, 2013 by KM Wall

smoked eels – gerookte paling

Gerookte paling is (at least according to an on-line translator app) Norwegian for smoked eels.

In March the eels come forth out of places where they lie bedded all winter, into the fresh streams, and there into the sea, and in their passages are taken in pots. In September they run out of the sea into the fresh streams, to bed themselves in the ground all winter, and are taken again in pots as they return homewards. In the winter the inhabitants dig them up, being bedded in gravel not above two or three foot deep, and all the rest of the year they may take them in pots in the salt water of the bay. They are passing sweet, fat and wholesome, having no taste of mud, and are as great as ever I saw any.” 1622/23. Three Visitors (John Pory), p.7.

Christian IV , King of Denmark and Norway and Anne Catherine

Christian IV , King of Denmark and Anne Catherine

Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. He is sometimes referred to as Christian Firtal in Denmark and Christian Kvart or Quart in Norway.

And his sister married the King of England

Anne of Denmark, consort of James I and VI and mother to Charles I

Anne of Denmark, consort of James I and VI of England and Scotland and mother to Charles I

a shilling with the images of Charles I - how most Englishmen see the King

a shilling with the image of Charles I – how most Englishmen see the King

How to make an Eele Pye

“Take two pennyworth of very fat Eeles when they be blead and very faire washed, seeth them in a little faire water, and Salte till they be halfe sodden, that they may slip from the bones, cut awaye the fines on every side, then slip them the bones, and shred them somewhat fine with a knife and take two or three Wardens and shred them very fine to put among them, or Pippins or other apples, if you do want wardens, then take a little Salte, a little Pepper, Sinamon, cloues Mace and Suger, and season it withal put in a quarter of a pound of sweete butter, so put it in paste, and bake it not too rashlye, you maye put in the yolke of an egge and a little verges when it is halfe baked if you will but I think it is better without.”

The Good Hous-wiues Treasurie. Edward Allde: London. 1588

Tags: 17th century recipe, Anne of Dennmark, baking, butter, cinnamon, cloves, eel pie, eel pots, eels, eggs, gerookte paling, John Pory, mace, Norway, paste, pepper, pie, pippins, salt, smoked eels, sodden, sugar, The Good Houswiues Treasurie, verges, wardens
Posted in Fish and Fishing, Recipes. 17th century | 1 Comment

As stout as a Stockefish

April 5th, 2013 by KM Wall

Edward Winslow (this portrait is in Plymouth at Pilgrim Hall)

This his Majesty said was a good and honest motion, and asking what profits might arise in the part we intended (for our eye was upon the most northern parts of Virginia), ’twas answered, ‘Fishing’. To which he replied with his ordinary asseveration, ‘‘So God have my soul, ’tis an honest trade; ’twas the Apostles’ own calling, etc. ’’

Winslow, Edward. Hypocrisy Unmasked (1646)

Does Edward Winslow look as stout as a stockfish, as the proverb goeth?

In English there is salt-fish, poor-John, dry fish, cor-fish, and buck-horn

But there’s more then one way to dry a fish….

they can also be dried without salt. Then they are stockfish (in Dutch: stokvis).

Stockfish (or stockfisch)

From the Oxford English Dictionary…..

1555EDENDecades (Arb.) 303 From hense [Norway] is brought into all Europe a fysshe of the kindes of them whiche we caule haddockes or hakes indurate and dryed with coulde, and beaten with clubbes or stockes, by reason whereof the Germayns caule them stocke~fysshe.

1617MORYSONItin. III. 99 In Norway they catch great store of Stockfish, which they beate with cudgels, and dry with cold.

Norwegians were famous for their stock-fish in the 16th and 17th century. But fame is fleeting. Since we almost never think of stock-fish now, we seldom think of Norway as the place where the excellent dried fish come from.

Fjords, yes. Fish, not so much.

The recipes for stock-fish, for the most part, don’t mention the cudgels, so perhaps it’ s ‘beaten implied’ with this fish.

To seethe Stocke fish.[1]

Take Stockfish and water it well, and put out all the baste[2] from the fishe, then put it into a pipkin, and put no more water then will cover it, then set it on the fire, and as soon as it beginneth to boyle on the one side, then turne the other side to the fyre, and as soone as it beginneth to boyle on the other side, take it off and put it into a Colender, and let the water run out from it, but put in salte in the boyling of it, then take a little faire water and sweete Butter, and let it boyle in a dish until it be somewhat thicke, then poure it on the Stockfish, and so serve it in.”

-1594. Good Housewifes Handemaide for the Kitchen,Stuart Press. p. 43.

To boile Stock Fish.[3]

Take Stock fish when it is well watered, and picke out all the baste[4] cleane from the fish, then put it into a pipkin, and put in no more water than shall cover it, and set it on the fire, and as sone as it beginneth to boyle on the one side, then turne the other side to the fire, and as sone as it beginneth to boile on the other side, take it off, and put it into a Colender, and let the water runne out from it, but put in salt in the boyling of it, then take a little faire water and sweete butter, and let it boyle in a dish untill it bee something thick, then puwre it on the stockfish and serve it.

- Thomas Dawson’s The Good Husewifes Jewell, 1597

[1] stockfish is a member of the cod family dried by air without salt.

[2] baste is, possibly, the bones and skin, of the dried fish

[3] stockfish is a cod family member that has been air dried – not salted.

[4] ‘baste’ in this meaning isn’t in the OED – it seems to be the skin and bones, which have to go any way.

Tags: 17th century recipe, buckhorn, cod, cor-fish, cudgels, Edward Winslow, Good Housewife handmaide for the Kitchen, haddock, hake, Norway, poor john, salt, salt-fish, stockfish, stokvis, The Good Husewifes Jewell, Thomas Dawson
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Creative Cheate I

February 27th, 2013 by KM Wall

Bramer - sacks to the mill

Before bread there is flour; before flour there is the mill; before the mill there is grain.

Sacks to the Mill!

Markham’s cheat bread, redacted

1 # leaven in salt

Soooo – how do you get leaven (which is another name for a starter) if you don’t have some left from the last batch because, just maybe, this is your FIRST batch?

Punt. Hence, Creative Cheate.

I’ve tried lots of different things. Essentially you want a mixture of water and flour and yeast that will help your bread rise give it good sourdough qualities – it’s not just for flavor, but alterations in the pH that improve keeping time, etc.

My latest? 1 bottle of beer (any kind); 1 Tablespoon of yeast or a packet (I buy it by the pound, so I’m not sure how many teaspoons are in the packet, but close enough for this)

2 Q H2O
flour for dough:
2# each corn, rye, wheat
OR 3# corn, 3# wheat

1TBL yeast
salt

Dissolve starter in 3 Q H20 ; Add 3# flour (I like to start with corn – the longer it soaks, the better it is)
Cover and fridge overnight
Next morning
Add salt to taste (1 tsp/# – the starter adds some)
The yeast
The rest of the flour
Form into rough dough
Let sit at least 10 minutes and then knead until as smooth as a babies bottom
Let rise in clean greased bowl (with cover – flour and towel – to keep crust from forming on top)
Knock down and cut into 8 – 2# loaves and 1# new starter
Mould loaves, let rise
Bake 500° convection oven 1/2 hour ; put oven to 350 and keep in for another half hour. It will sound hollow when knocked on bottom. It smells different, too, but I’m not in your kitchen to tell you when.
Cool on racks
Cover with towel or freeze.

And what if you don’t need this much bread? The saga continues……

Tags: baking, beer, Bramer, bread, cheate, corn, dough, flour, Markham, recipe, redaction, rye, sacks to the Mill, salt, sour leaven, starter, water, yeast
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Cheate Bread

January 23rd, 2013 by KM Wall

Pieter de Hooch - Boy Bringing Bread

Of baking cheat bread

“To bake the best cheat bread, which is also simply of wheat only, you shall, after your meal is dressed and bolted through a more coarse bolter than was used for your manchets, and put also into a clean tub, trough, or kimmel, take a sour leaven, that is piece of such leaven saved from a former batch, and well filled with salt, and so laid up to sour, and this sour leaven you shall break into small pieces into warm water, and then strain it; which done, make a deep hollow hole, as was before said, in the midst of your flour, and therein pour your strained liquor; then with your hand mix some part of the flour therewith, till the liquor be as thick as pancake batter, then cover it all over with meal, and so let all that lie that night; the next morning stir it, and all the rest of the meal well together, and with a little more warm water, barm, and salt to season it with, bring it to a perfect leaven, stiff and firm; then knead it, break it, and tread it, as was before said in the manchets, and so mould it up in reasonable big loaves, and then bake it with and indifferent good heat: and thus according to these two examples before showed, you may bake any bread leavened or unleavened whatsoever, whether it be simple corn, as wheat or rye of itself, or compound grain as wheat and rye, or wheat, rye, and barley, or rye and barley, or any other mixed white corn; only, because rye is a little stronger grain than wheat, it shall be good for you to put to your water a little hotter than you did to your wheat.”

- Gervase Markham, The English Housewife, (1617). Best ed. p. 210.

Tags: 17th century recipe, baking, barley, barm, bolter, bread, cheate, compound corn, flour, kimmel, knead, leaven, liquor, manchet, Markham, mould, pancake batter, rye, salt, simple corn, sour leaven, trough, tub, water, wheat
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Seals

January 8th, 2013 by KM Wall

“Monday, the 8^th day of January[1620/1], was a very fair day, and we went betimes to work. Master Jones sent the shallop, as he had formerly done, to see where fish could be got. They had a great storm at sea, and were in some danger; at night they returned with three great seals and an excellent good cod, which did assure us that we should have plenty of fish shortly.”

- Mourt’s, Applewood ed, p. 44

Betimes is early.

A shallop is a boat.

Seals are not endangered and would be taken for their meat as well as their fur.

Cod is the reason they were forming a plantation.

Harbor seal

Common Seal

Cod - Gadus morhua

For white Peas Pottage.

Take a quart of white Pease (1) or more & seeth them in faire water close, until they doe cast their huskes, the which cast away, as long as any wil come up to the topp, and when they be gon, then put into the peaze two dishes of butter, and a little vergious(2), with pepper and salt, and a little fine powder of March(3) , and so let it stand till you will occupy it, and then serve it upon sops.(4) You may seethe Porpose and Seale in your pease, serving it forth two peeces in a dish.

- 1597 Dawson, Thomas. The Second part of the good Hus-wives Iewell. London. p. 26.

[1] white pea are dried or old (not fresh ‘green’) pease

[2] verjuice is the unripe juice of grapes or apples(f. vert green, unripe + jus JUICE.]) use vinegar instead

[3 powder of march is ground spices, usually ginger and something else

[4] sops are pieces of bread soaked in something

photo of dried peas from USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council - Dry peas and Lentils have their very own council!

Harbor porpoise

Tags: 17th century recipe, butter, cod, cooking, fish, harbor seal, Master Jones, Mourt's Relation, pepper, porpoise, pottage, powder of March, salt, seal, shallop, sops, The Second Part of the Good Huswifes Jewell, Thomas Dawson, vergious, white pease
Posted in Fish and Fishing, Recipes. 17th century | No Comments

Three French Hens

December 28th, 2012 by KM Wall

Faverolles cock and hen

One. One French hen…and one handsome boy-chick. But in the recipe you could easily use three.

To boyle Chickens after the French fashion.

Quarter the Chickens in four peeces: then take after the rate of a pinte of wine for two chickens: then take time & parsley as small minced as ye can, and foure or five Dates, with the yolkes of foure hard Egges, and let this boil together, and when you will season your pot, put in salt, sinamon and Ginger, and seve it foorth.

1594. Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin. Stuart Press: p. 65.

Tags: 17th century recipe, chicken, Chickens in the French Fashion, cinnamon, dates, ginger, hard boiled eggs, hen. faverolles, parsley, salt, The Good Huswives Handmaide, thyme, wine
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Two Turtledoves

December 27th, 2012 by KM Wall

Two European Turtle Doves (Streptopelia turtur)

To bake Pigeons wild or tame, Stock-Doves, Turtle-Doves, Quails, Rails, & c. to be eaten cold.

Take six pigeons, pull, truss, and draw them, wash and wipe them dry, and season them with nutmeg, pepper, and salt, the quantity of two ounces of the foresaid spices, and as much of the one as the other, then lay some butter in the bottom of the pye, lay on the pigeons, and put all the seasonings on them in the pye, put butter to it, close it up and bake it, being baked and cold, fill it up with clarified butter.

Make the paste of a pottle of fine flour, and a quarter of a pound of butter boil’d in fair water made up quick and stiff.

If you will bake them to be eaten hot, leave out half the seasoning: Bake them in dish, pie, or patty-pan, and make cold paste of a pottle of flour, six yolks of raw eggs, and a pound of butter, work into flour dry, and being well wrought into it, make it up stiff with a little fair water.

Being bakes to be eaten hot, put into yolks of hard eggs, sweet breads, lamb-stones, sparagus, or bottoms of artichokes, chestnuts, grapes or gooseberries.

Sometimes for variety make a lear of butter, verjuyce, sugar, some sweet marjoram chopped and boil’d up in the liquor, put them in the pye when you serve it up, and dissolve the yolk of an egg into it: then cut up the pye or dish, and put some slic’t lemon, shake it well together, and serve it up hot.

In this mode or fashion you bake larks, black-birds, thrushes, veldifers, sparrows or wheat-ears.

- 1678. Robert May. The Accomplist Cook. Falconwood Press ed. p. 124.

Tags: 17th century recipe, artichoke, asparagus, baking, black-birds, butter, chestnuts, clarifieyed butter, gooseberries, grapes, hard eggs, lamb-stones, larks, lear, lemon, nutmeg, paste, pepper, pie, pigeons, pottle of flour, quails, rails, Robert May, salt, sparagus, sparrows, stockdoves, sugar, sweet breads, sweet marjoram, The Accomplist Cook, thrushes, turtledoves, veldifers, verjuice, wheat-ears
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Tagged ‘salt’

A Plaice, the yuce of Sorrel and more sops

A Plaice

More sops

John 13:21-26 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)

Rice puddings

Rice puddings

To make Rice Puddings.

A Ryce Pudding.

And with those they eat……(herring, that is)

Paling

How to make an Eele Pye

As stout as a Stockefish

To seethe Stocke fish.[1]

To boile Stock Fish.[3]

Creative Cheate I

Markham’s cheat bread, redacted

Cheate Bread

Pieter de Hooch - Boy Bringing Bread

Of baking cheat bread

Seals

For white Peas Pottage.

Three French Hens

Two Turtledoves

To bake Pigeons wild or tame, Stock-Doves, Turtle-Doves, Quails, Rails, & c. to be eaten cold.

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Tagged ‘salt’

A Plaice

More sops

John 13:21-26 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)

Rice puddings

To make Rice Puddings.

A Ryce Pudding.

How to make an Eele Pye

To seethe Stocke fish.[1]

To boile Stock Fish.[3]

Markham’s cheat bread, redacted

Pieter de Hooch - Boy Bringing Bread

Of baking cheat bread

For white Peas Pottage.

To bake Pigeons wild or tame, Stock-Doves, Turtle-Doves, Quails, Rails, & c. to be eaten cold.

Pages

Blogroll

Categories

Archives

Popular Posts

Recent Posts

Recent Comments