Tagged ‘sugar’

Another May pie

May 15th, 2013 by KM Wall

Prunes are very sexy. William Shakespeare says so. More then once, so it must be true.

 

Prunus domestica - ordinary plum, the fruit that, when dried, is a prune.

Prunus domestica – ordinary plum, the fruit that, when dried, is a prune.

“THE USE OF PLUMS”

“The great Damaske or Damson Plummes are dryed in France in great quantities, and are brought to us here [London] in Hogs-heads, and other great vessels, and are those Prunes that are usually sold at the Grocers, under the name of Damaske Prunes: the blacke Bulleis are also these (being dryed in the same manner) that they call French Prunes, and by their tartnesse are thought to binde, as the other, being sweet, to loosen the body.”

John Parkinson, Paridisum in Sole, 1629, p.573.

”There’s no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune.”says Falstaff  in Henry IV, First Part, act 3, sc 3, l 12-3. Is he talking about fruit, the fruit that is (reputed) to be often served in brothels and there associated with ill-repute? Or is stewed another way to say inebriated? Or is the analogy merely to a lumped thing?

Prune - not stewed

Prune – not stewed

 

A Pruen Tart

Take of the fairest damaske pruens you can get, and put them in a cleane pipkin with faire water, suger, vnbruised cinamon, and a branch or two of Rosemarie; and if you have bread to bake, stew them in the ouen with your bread; if otherwise, stew them on the fire: when they are stewed, then bruise them all to mash in their sirrop, and straine them into a cleane dish; then boyle it ouer againe with suger, sinamon, and rosewater till it bee as thicke as Marmalad; then set it to coole, then make a reasonable tuffe paste with fine flower, water, and a little butter, and rowle it out very thin; then having patterns of paper cut in diuers proportions, as Beasts, Birds, Armes, Knots, Flowers, and such like; lay the patterns on the paste, and so cut them accordingly; then with your fingers pinch vp the edges of the paste, and set the worke in good proportion: then prick it well all ouer for rising, and set it on a cleane sheete of large paper, and so set it into the Oven, and bake it hard: then draw it, and set it by to coole: …..then against the time of services comes, take off the cofection of pruens before rehearsed, and with your knife, or a spoone fill the coffin according to the thickness of the verge: then strow it ouer all with caraway comfets, and pricke long comfets vpright in it, and so taking the paper from the bottome, serve it on a plate in a dish or charger, according to the bignesse of the tarte, and at the seconde course, and this carrieth the colour blacke. .

- 1623.  Gervase Markham. Covntry Contentments or The  English Huswife. p. 108

 

 

Pretty pre-prune plums

Pretty pre-prune plums

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Three Rice tarts

May 14th, 2013 by KM Wall

Three tarts of rice, each a little different. They were in three columns to compare and contrast, but they don’t want to seem to stay that way. Sigh.

But the line divisions did remain, so compare away.

BTW – Oranges are pretty unlikely for New England in 1627, but rice is a common commodity on ships; eggs easy to come by in May; and milk – from goats, if not from cows – would be new enough to New England, and still scarce enough to be special .

To make a Tart of Ryce.

Boyle your Rice,

and put in the yolkes of two or three Egges into the Rice,

and when it is boyled, put it into a dish,

and season it with Suger, Sinamon

and Ginger,

and butter,

and the juyce of two or three Orenges,

and set it on the fire againe.

1596. T. Dawson. The Good Housewifes Jewell

 

 

To make a Tart of Rice.

Boyle your Rice, and pour it into a Cullender, then season it with Cinnamon,

Nutmeg,

Ginger,

and Pepper,

and Sugar,

the yolkes of three or four Eggs,

then put it into your Tart with the juyce of an Orange,

then close it, bake it, and ice it,

scrape on Sugar,

and serve it.

1653. W.I. A True Gentlewomans Delight.: 1991.p. 51.

 

To make a Tart of Rice.

Boil the rice in milk or cream, being tender boil’d pour it into a dish, & season it with nutmeg,

ginger,

cinnamon,

pepper,

salt,

sugar,

and the yolks of six eggs, put it in the tart with some juyce of orange; close it up and bake it, being baked scrape on sugar,

and so serve it up.

1671. Robert May. The Accomplist Cook (third edition). p.245.

pies

Now we tend to think of tarts as being open, and pies being closed, even though there are pies without a top crust….think lemon meringue, coconut cream, tarte tartin ,….

Thomas Dawson doesn’t mention pastry or baking, yet both W.I and Robert May have an upper crust as in, “close it, bake, it, ice it” and “close it up and bake it”.

There are clearly tarts with tops on.

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Pies for the month of May

May 13th, 2013 by KM Wall

If the 1627  Winslows had wanted to celebrate their six years of marriage with six pies, they had some spring-time options, based on what is available in May and in New England.

Pie the first:

An herb tart

Take sorrel, spinach, parsley, and boil them in water till they be very soft as pap; then take them up, press the water clean from them, then take good store of eggs boiled very hard, and, chopping them with the herbs exceedingly small, then put in good store of currants, sugar, cinnamon, and stir all well together; then put them into a deep tart coffin with a good store of sweet butter, and cover it, and bake it like a pippin tart*, and adorn the lid after the baking in that manner also, and so serve it up.

-         Markham, Best ed. p. 109

 

Pippin Tart design from Robert May

Pippin Tart design from Robert May

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Sorrell syster is euer in season.

May 4th, 2013 by KM Wall

Sorrel is an herb, sorrel is a color for a horse, and sorrel is a syster.

‘Syster’  as in sister? More like syster as in deer. Doe a deer….in this case a fallow deer.

Fallow Deer

Fallow Deer

Am I the only one humming “Sorrell Syster” to the tune of “Soul Sister” ? Now that your earworm is in place, let’s see what William Harrison has to say:

“Other pernicious beasts we have not, except you repute the great plenty of red and fallow deer, whose colors are oft gnarled white and black, all white, or all black, …..The young males which our fallow deer do bring forth are commonly named according to their several ages: for the first year it is a fawn, the second a pucket [pricket], the third a sorrel, the fourth a sore, the fifth a buck of the first head, not bearing the name of buck till he be five years old, and from henceforth his age is commonly known by his head or horns. Howbeit, this notice of his years is not so certain but that the best woodsman may now and then be deceived in that account, for in some grounds a buck of the first head will be so well headed as another in a high rowty soil will be in the fourth. It is also much to be marveled at that, whereas they do yearly mew and cast their horns, yet in fighting they do never break off where they do grife or mew. Furthermore, in examination the condition of our red deer, I find that the young male is called in the first year a calf, in the second a brocket, the third a spay [spade], the fourth a stagon [staggard] or stag, the fifth a great stag, the sixth an hart, and so forth unto his death. ”

-1587. William Harrison, Description of England, Georges Edelen, ed. p. 327.

Fallow Deer

Fallow Deer

“Conies be ever good and so is a doo. …A gelded dere whether he be falowe or readde, is ever in season. A Pollard is speciall good in maye, at Midsommer he is a Bucke, and is verye good tyll holye Rood daye before Mighelmas so lykewyse is a stagge, but but he is principal in Maye. A barren doo is best in wynter. A pricked and sorrell syster is euer in season.“- A Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye (1545?). Stuart Press, p. 3.

Lucas Cranach -The Stag Hunt of the Elector Frederick the Wise. 1529

Lucas Cranach -The Stag Hunt of the Elector Frederick the Wise. 1529

 

My theory as to why certain horses are called sorrel is that they are the same reddish color as the fallow deer, their sorrell syster, and not that they are the same color as sorrel seed.

Fallow deer in a field - three does and a buck

Fallow deer in a field – three does and a boy who just might be a sorrell

And one more sorrel (the herb, not the deer) recipe:

Another way to boyle them on Sorrell-sops, for him that hath a weak stomacke.

Boyle them in as much faire water as will cover them, with pickt Parsley and sweet Butter stopt in their Bellies: put into the broth, Parsley, Winter-savorie and Time pickt and stript, a blade or two of Mace, one handfull of greene Sorrell, stampt in a wooden Dish, or stone morter: put halfe your broth into the Sorrell from the Chickens, wring in the juyce thorow a Canvas strainer into a pewter Dish, put in as much Butter as a walnut, a little Sugar, then set it on a chafindish of coales, then take a deepe Dish, slice in some Manchet. Cover the bottome of the dish with them, poure the other halfe of the broth from your Chickens upon the sippets, and lay the Chickens on them, then take your Sorrell sawce, and poure it on the Chickens, scrape on Sugar, and serve it hot to the Table.

- 1638. John Murrell. The Second Booke of Cookerie. Stuart Press: 1993, p. 6.

 

I’m going to have to find a way to work the phrase ‘pickt and stript’ into my casual conversation, not to mention the classic  ‘ as much Butter as a walnut’ .

 

 

 

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Sop Stories

April 29th, 2013 by KM Wall

That’s sop, as in bigger then a sippet,  stories. No tears here.Unless they are tears of joy, of the re-discovery of what’s been lost.

Sops of sorrel are very good. The real question is – how did we lose them?

Today story – sops and chickens and sorrel. Two recipes, both English. One hundred and eight years apart. Both use sorrel sops and chicken. Boiled chicken by the by, which is a lovely thing to do to a chicken that we don’t do enough these days.

Remember Henri of Navarre? Stories of him?

Si Dieu me prête vie, je ferai qu’il n’y aura point de laboureur en mon royaume qui n’ait les moyens d’avoir le dimanche une poule dans son pot!

(If God keeps me, I will make sure that no peasant in my realm will lack the means to have a chicken in the pot on Sunday!)

Henri IV of France - also know as 'the Green Gallent"

Henri IV of France – also know as ‘le vert galant’  – The Green Gallant – Nice suit

He’s also the father of Henrietta Maria, the Queen Consort of Charles I of England, who is the king in 1627 (among other years).

cooking

Is there a chicken in that pot? We can only hope…

1545

Chekins upon Soppes

Take sorel sauce a good quantitie and put in Cinomone and Suger, and let it boyle and powre it upon the soppes, and then laye on the chekins.

(1545?) A proper Newe Booke of Cokerye. Stuart Press: 1995. ed.p.7.

 

1653

To boil Chickens, and Sorrel Sops.

Trusse your Chickens, and boil them in water and salt very tender, then take a good handful of Sorrel, and beat it stalks and all, then strain it, and take a Manchet,[1] and cut it in Sippets[2], and dry them before the fire, then put your green broth upon the coals, season it with Sugar, and grated Nutmeg, and let it stand untill it be hot, then put your sippets into a dish, put your Chickens upon them, and pour your sauce upon it, and serve it.

– 1653, WI, True Gentlewomans Delight, p. 39.

[1]Manchet is fine white bread.

[2]A sippet is a small sop.

 

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Otherwise take sorrel,…

April 28th, 2013 by KM Wall

sorrel

sorrel

If you love sorrel (and once you’ve tried it, you’ll probably like it) you’ll need to figure out how to grow it. It is seldom available in markets because once it’s cut, it’s ready to use – a very short shelf life.  But it’s very easy to grow, and once it’s established, it’s good for years. Unless the chickens find it and love it….or wild turkeys…but it keeps coming back all summer long and into the fall as the ultimate cut-and-come again garden herb.

 

To make green sauce

Take a handful, or greater quantity of sorrel, beat it in a mortar with pippins pared and quartered, add thereto a little vinegar and sugar, put it into saucers. Otherwise take sorrel, beat it and stamp it well in a mortar, squeeze out the juice of it, put thereto a little vinegar, sugar and two hard eggs minced small, a little butter and grated nutmeg, set this upon the coals till it is hot, and pour it into the dish on the sippets. This is sauce for hen or veal and bacon.

- 1664. Mrs Cromwells Cookery Book. p. 48.

This is a great sauce, and easy to make and easy to use.

So

  1. Take a handful of sorrel, wash it, remove the stems. Peel, core and quarter two small apples (pippins).  You can beat them in a mortar with a pestle OR give them a whirl in a food processor….and a little vinegar and sugar to adjust the flavor – this should be a sharp and bright sauce.
  2. OR Squeeze the juice out of several handfuls of sorrel (with whatever method you prefer)mix again with sugar and vinegar, butter and nutmeg. If you put the hard boiled egg through the blender or the food processor, the whole sauce will be thick, very rich and the flavor a little muted(which is good to keep in mind for the heat of summer, when the sorrel is not only sharp, but a little bitter). On the other hand, if you chop the eggs coarsely,the yolks thicken and enrich and the whites provide texture and contrast…..heat it, put it over sippets (that’s lovely little toasts of bread) and serve with hen or veal or pork  – bacon is sometimes fresh pork in the seventeenth century, although putting this sauce over toast and bacon for a Spring to Summer brunch….

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Rice puddings

April 24th, 2013 by KM Wall
Rice

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…..

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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

Herring monger

herring in not quite a hoghead

 

“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.

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Paling

April 7th, 2013 by KM Wall

 

Gerookte paling - smoked eel

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

 

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Tart of Ryce

April 1st, 2013 by KM Wall

 

rice

rice

 

1596. T. Dawson. The Good Housewifes Jewell.

To make a Tart of Ryce.

Boyle your Rice, and put in the yolkes of two or three Egges into the Rice, and when it is boyled, put it into a dish, and season it with Suger, Sinamon and Ginger, and butter, and the juyce of two or three Orenges, and set it on the fire againe.

 

1653. W.I. A True Gentlewomans Delight. Falconwood Press: 1991.p. 51.

Still Life of a roast chicken blah blah blah and an ORANGE

Still Life of a roast bird blah blah blah and an ORANGE

To make a Tart of Rice.

Boyle your Rice, and pour it into a Cullender, then season it with Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, and Pepper, and Sugar, the yolkes of three or four Eggs, then put it into your Tart with the juyce of an Orange, then close it, bake it, and ice it, scrape on Sugar, and serve it.

1654. Jos. Cooper. The Art of Cookery. London. p. 138.

Portuguese baked rice pudding

Portuguese baked rice pudding

How to make a Rice–pudding baked.

Boyle the Rice tender with Milke, and season it with Nutmeg or Mace, Rosewater, Sugar, yolks of Eggs, with half the whites, with grated Bread, and Marrow minced, with Ambergriece (if you please) temper them well together, and bake it in a dish buttered.

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