LIBER CURE COCORUM

Copied and Edited from the Sloane MS. 1986

by

Richard Morris
Author of "The Etymology of local Names",
Member of the Philological Society

Published for the Philological Society
by
A. Asher & Co., Berlin
1862

Liber cure Cocorum

A Modern English Translation with Notes,

Based on Richard Morris' transcription of 1862.

by Cindy Renfrow

{ Morris' printed transcription was transcribed by David Tallan, david.tallan@mbs.gov.on.ca. It was proofread by Cindy Renfrow, and additional markup was done by Greg Lindahl. The thorn character is represend by "Þ" and "þ"; this character is incorrectly rendered by some Macintosh web browsers. The yough character is represented by "3". Comments by David Tallan and Cindy Renfrow are enclosed by {} curly brackets. }

The following curious poem on Cookery is now first printed from a transcript of the Sloane MS. 1986, where it occurs as an appendix to the "Boke of Curtasye"1. It is written in a Northern dialect of the XVth century, probably not much earlier than the time of Henry VI. The author of the poem furnishes us with an appropriate English title in the opening of the work, where he speaks of his subjects as "The Sly3tes of Cure", or, as expressed in more modern English, "The Art of Cookery".

Though the poem professes to be somewhat comprehensive, and treats of a great variety of dishes under the titles of Potages, broths, roasted meats, baked meats, sauces and 'petecure', it is still far from containing an account of all the ancient dishes, upon the preparation of which the cooks of old prided themselves so much, as may be seen upon comparing this poem with the tracts upon Old English Cookery contained in Warner's 'Antiquitates Culinariae' and in the 'Collection of Ordinances and Regulations for the government of the Royal Household'.2

Some knowledge of the composition of these dishes is rendered necessary by the constant allusions to them in our early English Metrical Romances, which give the poem an Archaeological as well as Philological value.

PREFACE

From internal evidence it would seem that the author of this poem was a native of North-West Lancashire, for we find the same pecularities which have been pointed out by Mr. Robson in the Romances edited by him for the Camden Society, viz. the plurals of Nouns in -us and passive participles in -ud, or -ut, to which may be added the forms schyn, schun (= shall) and wyn, wynn, (will) which I have not met with elsewhere.

The usual Northumbrian grammatical forms occur, as tas for takes; tone and tother for that one and that other; -s as the ending of all the persons (Singular and Plural) in the Present Tense Indic. Mood, and as the sign of the 2nd Person, Imperative Mood; and -and as the termination of the Present Participle.

For all words enclosed in brackets I alone am responsible. No alteration has been made in the text of the MS. without some acknowlegement in a foot-note.

July 31, 1862

R.M.

This translation is based on Liber cure Cocorum, as copied and edited from the Sloane MS. 1986 by Richard Morris, author of "The Etymology of Local Names", member of the Philological Society. Published for the Philological Society by A. Asher & Co., Berlin. 1862. This translation is intended to be read in conjuction with Morris' work, and has left uncorrected many of the errors found in that work. A printable facsimile copy of Morris' text may be found at http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/lcc/

This translation is copyright 2002, Cindy Renfrow. You may use this digitized translation for non-commercial and scholarly purposes only without further permissions, provided that this header is included and proper citation is given.

Introduction
Table of Contents
Glossary
Bibliography
Notes

Introduction

This portion of Sloane MS. 1986, transcribed for us by Richard Morris in Liber cure Cocorum (1862), is a cookery book in verse, written in a Northern English dialect circa 1420 - 1440. While not original or important as a cookery manuscript, in the sense that the recipes may be found in other contemporary collections (such as Thomas Austin's Two Fifteenth Century Cookery Books, the Forme of Cury, and A Noble Boke Off Cookry), the use of dialect and verse make this work quite interesting. LCC is frequently cited as an early source, and often the only source, of many obscure words and dialectical spellings in such reference works as the Oxford English Dictionary and The Electronic Middle English Dictionary.

Why did the author trouble to rhyme a cookery book? Did he intend his verses to be a mnemonic aid, since verse is more easily learned than prose? If so, then the intended reader must have been a professional cook with prior experience in preparing the basic recipes, for in many cases our author has sacrificed the length and clarity of his cookery instructions in order to force a rhyme. Similarly, necessary steps or ingredients are omitted and many quaint, meaningless phrases are added, making this work quite difficult to use alone as a cookbook.

In translating this work into modern English, I have attempted to remain as true to Morris' transcription as possible. Sadly, due to changes in pronunciation and spelling over time, it has not been possible to clearly express the meaning of the piece and maintain the original rhyme scheme and meter. (For example, "then" rhymes with "bren", but since "bren" has changed to "burn", the rhyme is lost.) The line breaks, punctuation, and (for the most part) capitalization given here follow Morris' transcription, but the word order within each line may have been altered for the sake of clarity. Thorn has been rendered [th]. Yogh has been rendered [3]. Except where noted, all other words found in brackets have been added by me.

This translation is intended to be read in conjuction with Morris' work. Therefore the page numbers given in this electronic edition refer to those in Morris' transcription. I have included these so that you may more easily compare this text with his. I have also added the folio numbers of the original manuscript in brackets, to facilitate reference to it. A brief glossary is appended; additional glossary terms may be found at http://www.thousandeggs.com/glossary.html. Morris' glossary is available at http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/lcc/. If all goes as planned, a transcription of Morris' work will appear beside this translated text.

I have modified the Table of Contents from the form found in Morris to include recipe numbers, more commonly-found spellings or the name in translation, and a descriptive dish name in this order:

Recipe number / Morris' Table of Contents Spelling / More Commonly Found Spelling or Translation / A brief description of the dish / Morris' Page Number.

You will note that the Table of Contents begins with Frumenty on page 7, but the recipes actually begin on page 5 with six "recipes" that are not listed in the Table. According to the way Morris has presented the recipes, Frumenty is recipe number 7. In order to reflect this, the Table of Contents has been numbered beginning with number 7. However, it should be noted that recipe #6, presented as one recipe by Morris, is actually two recipes; Frumenty should be #8, and all recipe numbers s over #6 are therefore off by one from their sequence in the MS. (Unfortunately I did not discover this numbering error in time to correct it here. ) And since nothing is ever easy, Roo in a sew is listed in the Table out of sequence, the recipe for Mylke of almonde is missing, Pur verde sawce is not listed, and so forth. Therefore, the recipes in the Table have been numbered sequentially following their appearance in Morris' book. Recipes missing from the Table of Contents have been added in brackets. Of Petecure has been counted as a recipe (#106), since one may follow it as such; but others may argue it is merely a laundry list of potherbs. As a consequence of these corrections, our tally of recipes numbers 135, while others may have counted only 127 recipes.

In his introductory paragraph, our author includes a promise to list each of the recipes in a table, and to number them:

[th]o names in tabulle I schalle sete
[th]o number in augrym above, with outen lete,
In augrim [th]at schalle wryten be,
An [th]o tytels with in on [th]o same degre.

He has marked out each new subject in the text with paragraph marks, "¶", and the headings are indented and underlined, leaving sufficient space for the numbers to be written in afterward. But, for whatever reason, these numbers were never added. I have fulfilled his intention by adding recipe numbers to the text.

In his transcription, Richard Morris expanded the abbreviations found in the original manuscript, but did not indicate which letters he added. He often wrote "v" where the MS. has "u", and used thorn in many places where the MS. has "th", and so forth. Also, Morris added the punctuation. This occasionally led him into error, as, for example, where he inserted a comma between ote and strey in #133, leading him to gloss strey as strain, when it should be read as "oat straw". (See endnotes.) Many important corrections, found by comparison of the transcription with the original manuscript, have been noted, but many have not due to time constraints. Also, it would be too tedious for the reader if I were to list the hundreds of minor errors found in the transcription. Suffice it to say that Morris' transcription of Liber cure Cocorum, and therefore this translation based upon it, are flawed. I find it disheartening that these mistakes have gone unchallenged and uncorrected for 140 years. I have therefore begun work on a new diplomatic transcription of Liber cure Cocorum based on a copy of B.L. Sloane MS. 1986, and hope to have it, and a translation with in-depth commentary, ready for publication within the next year. The numbering error noted above will be corrected in this new edition.

Cindy Renfrow, 2002.






[TABLE OF CONTENTS]1

Now speke I wele a lytul more
Of craft, iwys, þat tase grete lore
In court, þat men calles cure,
Þat most be don in þrinne degre;
Þis hasteler, pasteler, and potagere,
And 3et þo scoler þat foloes in fere,
Fyrst to 3ow I wylle schawe
Þo poyntes of cure, al by rawe1,
Of Potage, hastery, and bakun mete,
And petecure, I nylle for3ete.
Þo names in tabulle I schalle sete
Þo number in augrym above, with outen lete,
In augrim þat schalle wryten be,
An þo tytels with in on þo same degre.

[Page 1, not numbered]

Now speak I will a little more [folio 27]
Of craft, truly, that takes great lore
In court; that men call cookery,
That must be done in three degrees;
This meat roaster, pastry-cook, and potager,2
And even the scholar that follows in company,
First to you I will show
The points of cookery, all by row,3
Of Pottage, roasted meat, and bake-meat,
And small cookery, I won't forget.
The names in table I shall set
The number in algorism4 above, without let,
In algorism that shall be written,
And the titles within on the same row.

Incipit tabula cure, primo, de potagiis:-

Jam finitur tab[u]la per manus ut vocabula complete testantur.

Here begins the table of cookery, first, the pottages: --

[left-hand column]

7. Pur Furmente / For Frumenty / Cracked-wheat pudding garnished with candy comfits ...7

8. Amydoune / Amidon / Wheat starch ...7

9. Conyngus in grave / Coneys (young rabbits) in gravy ...8

10. Chekyns in cretene / Chickens in cretoneé / Chickens in thickened, spiced, milk-based sauce ...8

11. Vyande de cypur / Meat of Cyprus / Parboiled capon or hen, pounded small, mixed with thickened almond milk, and spiced ...8

12. Mortrews de chare / Mortrews of flesh / A thick pottage of ground hen and pork ...9

13. Blanke maunger / / Rice cooked in almond milk with teased chicken flesh ...9

14. [Th]andon for swannus, wylde gese and pyggus / Chaudwyne [entrails] for swans, wild geese and pigs / Entrails of swans, chopped small, and cooked in spiced broth ...9

[right-hand column]

15. Nombuls / Numbles / Entrails in ale sauce with cinnamon ...10

16. Ano[th]er maner of nombuls / Another manner of numbles / Entrails of venison in ale sauce...10

17. Charlet de force / Seasoned Charlette / Pottage of pork with egg curds ...11

18. For charlet icoloured / For colored charlette / Spiced almond pottage with pine nuts, garnished with candied anise ...11

19. Iussell / Jussell or Guissell / Herb stuffing ...11

20. Bruet de almonde / Broth of almonds / Spiced thickened almond milk, served with boiled partridges and chickens ...12

21. Blanke de sorre / Blandissorye / Pottage of chicken and rice, garnished with fried almonds ...12

22. Bucnade / Bukenade / Thick almond milk pottage enriched with pork fat and spices ...12

23. Rosse / Rose / Spiced pottage of chicken and thickened almond milk, dyed red ...13

[Page 2, left-hand column]

24. Letlardus / Leche lardes or Larded milk / Egg curds, pressed, sliced, and fried ...13

25. For blanched mortrews / For white mortrews / Thick pottage with hens, pork, almond milk, and ginger ...13

26. Peions istued / Stewed Pigeons / Pigeons stewed with garlic and herbs ...14

27. Sowpes dorre / Glazed Sops / Toast with spiced almond milk and wine sauce ...14

28. Gruel of almonde / Gruel of almonds / Pottage of almonds and oatmeal, colored with saffron ...14

29. Joutes of almonde / Joutes of almonds / Herbs with sweetened almond milk ...14

30. Caudelle of almonde / Caudle of almonds / Almond milk spiced with wine, ginger, sugar, and saffron ...15

31. Buttur of mylke of almonde / Butter of milk of almonds / Almond butter ...15

Mylke of almonde[This recipe is missing from the text.]5

32. Rise / Rice / Rice cooked in almond milk, garnished with fried almonds ...16

33. Caudel Ferre / Caudel Ferry / Thickened spiced almond milk garnished with whole mace blades ...16

34. For to make a rape / Rapeye / A spiced pottage with currants ...16

35. Mylke rostyd / Roasted Milk / Fried sliced curds ...17

36. For to make a potage of welkys / For to make a pottage of whelks / Pottage of chopped whelks in a thickened milk sauce with ...17

37. For to make potage of oysturs / For to make pottage of oysters / Pottage of chopped oysters with almond milk and onions ...17

38. Sauge Seynes / Sage Seynes / Pig's feet in sage sauce ...18

39. For to make a compost / For to make a compote / Chicken stewed in herbs, honey, and broth ...18

54. Roo in a sew / Venison in a broth / Venison cooked in herbs and wine, colored red with sandalwood ...23 [Note: this is listed out of sequence.]

40. Blanke maunger of fysshe / Blancmange of fish / Boiled tench or lamprey, with rice and almond milk ...19

41. Mortrews of fysshe / Mortrews of fish / Thick pottage of fish roe and livers ...19

42. For to make rose de almayne6 / For to make rose of Germany / White peas in almond milk with saffron ...19

43. For a kolys / For a cullis / Broth of chicken thickened with oat groats ...20

44. Gruel of Porke / Gruel of Pork / Pottage of ground pork mixed with egg yolks and spices ...20

45. Conyngus in cyne / Coneys (young rabbits) in onion sauce ...20

46. Harus in cyne / Hares in onion sauce ...21

47. Harus in a sewe / Hares in a broth / Hares in a broth made of pan drippings and breadcrumbs ...21

48. Harus in albrotetus / Hares in a broth / Hares cooked with almond milk and onions ...21

49. Harus in a pardolyce / Hares in a pardolyce / Hares in egg-thickened broth served atop wafers ...22 [fol. 28]

50. Hennes in a browet / Hens in a broth / Hens boiled with pork, seasoned with ale and cumin ...22

51. Chekens in browet [MS. - Chekens in [th]o broth.] / Chickens in broth / Chickens stuffed with grapes, cooked in broth with saffron ...22

52. Chekens in [th]o brothe [MS. - Chekens in caudell.] / Chickens in the broth / Chickens in thickened broth with ginger, rue, and saffron ...23

53. For to boyle fesawntes and pertrykes / For to boil pheasants and partridges / Pheasants and partridges boiled in spicy ale sauce ... 23

[54. Roo in a Sewe follows this recipe in the text.]

55. Hennes in gravé / Hens in gravy / Hens roasted and fried, ground to paste with wine or vinegar, and thickened with egg yolks ...24

[Page 2, right-hand column]

56. Capons in covuse7 / Boiled capons in a thickened broth, mixed with chopped egg white, and garnished with whole cooked egg yolks ...24

57. Hennes in gauncel / Hens in [sauce] gauncely / Roasted hens in a thickened milk-based sauce with garlic ...24

58. Lamprays in browet / Lampreys in broth / Lampreys roasted and served with a pepper and saffron sauce ...25

59. Lamprays in galantine / Lampreys in [sauce] galentine / Roasted lampreys served with spicy galantine sauce ...25

60. For tenches in grave / For tenches in gravy / Tench, boiled and then roasted on a griddle, served with ale sauce ...25

61. Chawdewyne de boyce / Chaundron [entrails] of the woods / A dish of nuts cooked in almond milk, garnished with fried nuts ...25

[#62. Capons in Cassolyce follows this recipe in the text.]

63. For to make momene / For to make malmeny / Capons in spicy syrup ...26

64. Lange de boef / Tongues of beef / Ox tongue, boiled, larded, studded with cloves and roasted, endored with egg yolk, and served with a spicy broth thickened with blood ...26

[Introductory paragraph Pro Salsamentis.--To make sawce, and recipe #65. Pur verde sawce, follow recipe #64 in the text.]

66. Sauce for maulardys rostedde / Sauce for roasted mallards / Onion sauce with ale, mustard and honey ...27

67. Sawce for wele and venyson / Sauce for veal and venison / Thickened vinegar sauce with ginger and pepper ...28

68. Blaunche sawce for capons / White sauce for capons / Almond sauce with ginger ...28

69. Sawce best for capons rostedde / Best Sauce for roasted capons / Liver sauce with anise and spices ...28

70. Sawce syrer for mawdelardys / Sauce syrer for mallards / Thickened vinegar sauce with ginger ...28

71. Gawncel for [th]e gose / [Sauce] Gauncely for the goose / Thickened milk sauce with garlic ...29

72. Sawce for swannes, cranes, and herons / Sauce for swans, cranes, and herons / Spicy giblet sauce for swans ...29

[In the text this is two recipes, #72. Sawce for swannus is followed by #73. [Sawce] For cranys and herons.]

74. For pekokes and pertrykes / For peacocks and partridges / Roasted peacocks and partridges with spicy bread sauce ...29

75. Galentine / Thickened vinegar sauce with galingale and ginger ...30

76. Sawce comelyne, kervelettes and o[th]er [th]yngis / Sauce cameline, kervelettes and other things / Vinegar sauce with currants, nuts, and spices ...30

77. For lumbardis mustard / For lombardy mustard / Thick mustard sauce ...30

78. For Pyculle / For Pickle / Sauce made of wine, mustard, onions and pan drippings ...31

79. Filettes in Galentine / Fillets in [Sauce] Galentine / Pork fillets half-roasted and finished in a spiced vinegar sauce ...31

80. Piggus in sawce / Pigs in sauce / Boiled suckling pigs served with thick herb sauce ...31

81. Sawce Madame / Sauce Madame / Herb-stuffed roasted goose with spiced herb and wine sauce ...32

82. Gose in Hogge pot / Goose in Hotch-pot / Goose boiled with wine, herbs, and onions ...32

83. For to save venyson fresshe over [th]e [3]er / To save venison fresh over the year / Venison preserved in honey ...33

84. To save venysone fro restyng / To save venison from becoming rancid / How to salt venison ...33

85. To keep herbis over [th]o wyntur / To keep herbs over the winter / Herbs dried in pastry coffins ...34

86. For lyour best / For the best thickening / Baked flour used to thicken sauces, etc.

[ In the text this is followed by an introductory paragraph to roasted foods, De cibis assatis.]...34

[Page 3, left-hand column]

87. For [th]e crane / For the crane / Roasted crane ...35

[#88. For heroun rostyd follows this recipe in the text.]

89. For wodcock, snyte, and curlu / For woodcock, snipe, and curlew / How to roast all manner of birds ...35

90. For pygges farsed / For stuffed pigs / Stuffed roasted suckling pigs ...36

91. For franche mele / For franchemyle / Haggis served sliced and broiled...36

92. For bouris / For bowres / Salt-cured pork or goose ...37

93. For pome dorres / For pome-dorry / Pork meatballs, boiled, roasted, and glazed with colored batter ...37

94. Hastelettes on fysshe dayes / Haslets on fish days / Dried fruits and nuts, skewered, and batter-roasted to resemble entrails ...37

[This is followed in the text by an introductory paragraph to bake-meats.]

95. For lamprayes / For lampreys / Baked lampreys with spices, wine, and dates ...38

96. For dareals / For darioles / Spiced almond custard tart with diced duck and blanched almond garnish ...38

97. For flawnes / For tarts / Baked cheese pies with saffron ...39

98. For custon [MS. - For costons.] / For crustades / Pork pie thickened with eggs, garnished with an egg yolk "knob"...39

99. For rysshens / For rissoles / Ground pork encased in raised dough and fried ...39

100. For freture / For fritters / Apple fritters ...39

101. Crustate of flesshe / Crustade of flesh / Pie filled with boiled chickens, pigeons and other birds, currants and spices, and thickened with eggs ...40

102. Loysens / Lozenges / Noodles boiled in broth, served with cheese and spices ...40

103. Tartelettes / Tartlets / Pork pies with currants ...41

104. Chewetes on fysshe dayes / Chewets on fish days / Fried fish and fruit pies, served with sugar and wine ...41

105. Chewettes on flesshe da[yes] / Chewets on flesh days / Fried pies filled with hen, pork liver, cooked egg yolks, and ginger ...41

[This is followed by an introduction to petecure[small cookery], that contains a pottage recipe, #106.]

107. For stondande fignade / For thick figgy / Fig pudding ...42

108. For a surupe / For a syrup [allows of beef] / Rolls of thinly-sliced beef, stuffed and roasted, served sliced with thick onion gravy ...43

109. For a tusken / For a tusken / Pork meatballs cooked in herb broth with saffron ...44

110. For blanchet porray / For white porray / Leeks cooked in almond milk ...44

111. Porray of white pese / Porray of white peas / White peas cooked to mush with onions and ale, served with bread croutons ...44

112. For white pese after porray / For white peas after porray / White peas cooked with honey and onions, served with either whale, sturgeon, or porpoise, or with bacon ...45

113. For gray pese / For gray peas / Gray peas with bacon ...46

[Page 3, right-hand column]

114. For cole / For cabbage / Cabbage and parsley boiled in meat broth with groats, served with salt pork and gravy ...46

115. For mustul bree / For mussel broth / Mussels cooked with onions and saffron, served with thickened broth ...46

116. For porray of mustuls / For porray of mussels / Ground mussels served with porray of leeks and groats ...47

117. For gruelle of fors / For seasoned gruel / Oat groats cooked with pork and saffron, served with chopped pork ...47

118. For Ioutes / For Joutes / Herb pottage served with meat ...47

119. For capons in herbes / For capons in herbs / Capon, and pudding of capon's neck, simmered with herbs and bacon ...48

120. For o[th]er Ioutes / For other Ioutes / Cabbage cooked in beef broth ...48

121. For honge cole / For hung cabbage / Boiled cabbage served with butter ...49

122. For hennes in brothe / For hens in broth / Hen's flesh cooked in thickened spiced broth, served with hard-cooked egg yolks ...49

123. For a comyne sewe / For a cumin broth / Veal, pork, and mutton simmered with onions and saffron, served in a broth thickened with brown bread ...49

124. For tansay cake / For tansy cake / A fritter of eggs with tansy juice, served with meat or haggis ...50

125. For a froyse / For a fritter / An egg fritter with pork, veal, or trout ...50

126. For a brothe of elys / For a broth of eels / Eel broth with saffron ...50

127. For a pye / For a pie / An elaborate pie filled with beef, capon, woodcocks, mallard, dates, currants, and hard-cooked egg yolks ...51

128. For a cawdalle / For a caudle / A thick drink of egg yolks slowly cooked in ale ...51

129. For sawce gynger / For ginger sauce ...52

130. For wesels / For wesels / Batter-coated puddings of capon's neck, or pig's stomach, with pork filling ...52

131. For a hagese / For a haggis / Sheep's heart and kidneys, cooked with herbs ...52

132. For seke menne / For sick men / Four recipes: Ale broth; water gruel; milksops; and sugared sops ...53

133. For to sethe ray / For to seethe ray / Ray boiled in ale, and served with a sauce of liver and garlic ...53

134. Oysturs in brewette / Oysters in broth / Oysters cooked in ale and broth, with saffron ...53

For a service on fyssh day / For a service on fish day / A fish day menu ...54

[This is followed in the text by For a servise on flesshe day, a flesh day menu.]

For ano[th]er maner of service apon a flesshe day / For another manner of service upon a flesh day / Another flesh day menu ...54

For a comyn rewle in cure / For a common rule in cookery ...55

Now ends by hand the table of names as you can perfectly attest.

[Page break. There is no Page 4. ]

[Page 5, not numbered]

Now sly3tes of cure wylle I preche,
How somme mete schalle seme raw I teche;
Take harus blode, or kyddus ful fayre,
And dry hit in powder and kepe hit fro ayre;
When flesshe or fysshe his served wele hote,
Cast on þe powder of hare I wot;
Hit is so frym6, ren hyt wylle
An malt as sugur, by ry3t good skylle
And make þo flesshe to seme, iwys,
As hit were raw, and 3yt hit nys.
And þagh þou sethe hit alle day,
Hit wolde seme rawe by any kyn way.

1. Now arts of cookery will I preach, 8 [fol. 29]
How some meat shall seem raw I teach;
Take hare's blood, or kid's full fair,
And dry it in[to] powder and keep it from air;
When flesh or fish is served very hot,
Cast on the powder of hare I know;
It is so soluble9, it will run
And melt as sugar, by very good skill
And make the flesh to seem, truly,
As it were raw, and yet it is not.
And though you seethe it all day,
It would seem raw by any kind [of] way.

Anoþer sotelté I wylle telle.
Take harpe strynges made of bowel,
In brede of stoe, þou cut hom þenne;
Kast hom on fysshe or flesshe, I kenne,
Þat sothyn is hote or rostyd, iwys,
Þat wynne seme wormes, so I have blys.

2. Another sotelty I will tell.
Take harp strings made of bowel,
In [the] breadth of [a] straw10, you cut them then;
Cast them on fish or flesh, I know,
That seethed is hot or roasted, truly,
That will seem worms, so have I bliss.

And 3if7 anoþer I telle con;
Yf þe coke be croked or soward mane
Take sope, cast in hys potage;
Þenne wylle þe pot begyn to rage
And welle on alle, and lepe in.*
Þat licoure is made, noþer thykke ne thynne;
And henne-ban sede duckys wylle kylle,
And hennes also hit wille spylle;
And cast this to hom opon grene;
Who wylle assay hit, þo sothe may sene.

3. And if11 another I can tell;
If the cook be [a] crooked or froward12 man
Take soap, cast [it] in his pottage;
Then will the pot begin to rage
And boil [over] on all, and leap in .
That liquor is made, neither thick nor thin;
And hen-bane seeds ducks will kill, [Henbane is poisonous. Do not use it.]
And hens also it will spill;
And cast this to them upon green[s];
Who will assay it, then truth may [be] seen.

[ Page 6 ]

To make venegur manede;
Take a gad of stele I wot in dede;
In strong venegur þou schalt hit seke
ix sythes in venegur, þerof þou reke,
A bere with þe hete hit þou may,
And in goode wyne sleck hit I say;
Hit shalle be venegur I wot hit wele,
To serve at a tyme at fest or mele.
And rosted benes, þat steped han bene,
Goode wyne schalle turne to venegur be dene.

4. To make vinegar in a need 13;

Take a goad of steel I know indeed;
In strong vinegar you shall soak it
9 times in vinegar, thereof you take care,
[Make] it scream 14 with the heat you may,
And in good wine slake it I say;
It shall be vinegar I know it well,
To serve at a time at feast or meal.
And roasted beans, that have been steeped15,
Good wine shall turn to vinegar anon16.

To preve venegur, weþer hit be fyne.
Þou take hys knyve or ellis myne,
In harde drye flore a hole to make;
Put in þo venegur, I undurtake,
If hit be good, welle, syr, hit schalle,
Yf hit be no3t, downe wylle hit falle.
Þis se3e I preved, so I have I blys;
Þerfore I wot þat hit sothe is.

5. To prove vinegar, whether it is fine.

You take his knife or else mine,
In hard dry flour16b a hole to make;
Put in the vinegar, I undertake,
If it is good, boil, sir, it shall,
If it is not, down will it fall.
This assay17 I proved, so have I bliss;
Therefore I know that truth it is.

To powder befe with in a ny3t
Þou welle þo salt, in water bry3t;
Malt hit in bryne, set doun to kele,
Put in þy flesshe fayre and wele,
And in a ny3t hit poudert schalle be,
Grene powdert þorogh, so mot I þe.
Yf þy dysshe metes dere ben to salt,
kerve a grene sod, I wot, þou schalt,
And kover þy pot with þo gresse done,
Þo salt on þo gresse shalle barke fulle sone.
With þy honde smyte of, I say;
Þo salt lay on anew þou may;
Þys schalt þou gedur hit, yche a dele,
And make hit fresshe unto þe mele.
If I schalle of þese potage spelle
A whyle þeron þen most I dwelle;
Fyrste, to speke of furmenté,
How hit is made in yche degre.

6. To salt beef within a night,

You boil the salt, in water bright;
Melt it in[to] brine, set down to cool,
Put in your flesh fair and well,
And in a night it shall be salted,
Freshly18 salted through, so may I thrive.
If your dish meats dear are too salty,
Carve a green sod, I know, you shall,
And cover your pot with the grass down,
Then salt on the grass shall [form a] bark quite soon.
With your hand smite [it] off, I say; [fol. 30]
The salt lay on anew you may;
Thus shall you gather it, each bit,
And make it fresh unto the mixture19.
If I shall of these pottages spell
A while thereon then must I dwell;
First, to speak of frumenty,
How it is made in each degree.

[ Page 7 ]

Furmente.

Take wete and pyke hit fayre [and clene]
And do hit in a morter shene;
Bray hit a lytelle, with water hit spryng
Tyl hit hulle, with-oute lesyng.
Þen wyndo hit wele, nede þou mot;
Wasshe hit fayre, put hit in pot;
Boyle hit tylle hit brest, þen
Let hit doun, as I þe kenne.
Take know mylke, and play hit up
To hit be thykkerede to sup.
Lye hit up with 3olkes of eyren,
And kepe hit wele, lest hit berne.
Coloure hit with safron and salt hit wele,
And servyd8 hit forthe, Syr, at þe mele;
With sugur candy, þou may hit dowce,
If hit be served in grete lordys howce.
Take black sugur for mener menne;
Be ware þer with, for hit wylle brenne.

7. Frumenty

Take wheat, and pick it fair [and clean - Added by Richard Morris]
And put it in a shining mortar;
Pound it a little, sprinkle it with water
Till it [casts off its] husks, without picking.
Then winnow it well, needs you must;
Wash it fair, put it in [a] pot;
Boil it till it bursts, then
Let it down, as I teach you.
Take cow's milk20, and boil it up
Till it is thickened [enough] to sup.
Mix it up with yolks of eggs,
And keep it well, lest it burn.
Color it with saffron and salt it well,
And serve it forth, Sir, at the meal;
With sugar candy21, you may sweeten it,
If it is served in [a] great lord's house.
Take black sugar for meaner men;
Beware therewith, for it will burn.

Amydone.

Take wete and stepe hit dayes ix;
Þus chaunge þy water yche day be dene.
Brys hit in a morter ry3t smalle,
Sethe hit with mylke and water with alle.
Þorowgh a herseve loke þou hit sye9,
And let hit stonde and setel bye;
Poure oute þe water, in clothe hit lay,
Tyl hit be drye þou turne hit ay.
Þys is a lycour as men sayn,
Þer of I schalle speke more in playn.

8. Amidon [wheat starch]

Take wheat and steep it 9 days;
Thus change your water each day anon.
Bruise it quite small in a mortar,
Seethe it with milk and water withal.
Through a hair sieve look you strain it,
And let it stand and settle by;
Pour out the water, in cloth it lay,
Till it is dry you turn it aye.
This is a thickening22 as men say,
Thereof I shall speak more plainly.

[ Page 8 ]

Conyngus in gravé.

Sethe welle þy conyngus in water clere,
After, in water colde þou wasshe hom sere,
Take mylke of almondes, lay hit anone
With myed bred or amydone;
Fors hit with cloves or gode gyngere;
Boyle hit over þo fyre,
Hew þo conyngus, do hom þer to,
Seson hit with wyn or sugur þo.

9. Coneys in gravy.

Seethe well your coneys in clear water,
After, in cold water you wash them separately,
Take milk of almonds, mix it anon
With grated bread or amidon;
Season it with cloves or good ginger;
Boil it over the fire,
Hew the coneys, put them thereto,
Season it with wine or sugar then.

Chekyns in cretene.

Take cow mylke, lye hit anone
With flowre, or ellis with amydone;
Fors hit with galyngale and gode gyngere,
With canel and comyn, alle in fere,
Coloure hit with safron þo;
Þe chekyns by hom selfe þo sethe þer to,
Hew hom in quarteres and lay hom inne,
Boyle hom up with alle, no more ne mynne;
But seson hit with sugur suete,
And serve hom forthe for þay ben sete.

10. Chickens in cretoneé.

Take cow's milk, mix it anon
With flour, or else with amidon;
Season it with galingale and good ginger,
With cinnamon and cumin, all together,
Color it with saffron then;
The chickens by themselves then seethe thereto,
Hew them in quarters and lay them in,
Boil them up withal, no more nor less;
But season it with sugar sweet, [fol. 31]
And serve them forth for they are wholesome.

Viande de Cipur.

Take braunne of capons or hennes þou shalle;
Parboyle and drye hit with alle;
Hew hom smalle, bray in mortere,
As smalle as bred, þat myed were;
Take good almonde mylke anone
And lye hit up with amydone
Or with floure of ryse, þou may;
Coloure hit with safron, I þe say;
Boyle hit after yche adele,
Charge hit with flesshe brayed wele;
Seson hit with sugur and þen þy dysshe
With almondes set þou schalle florysshe10.

11. Meat of Cyprus.

Take flesh of capons or hens you shall;
Parboil and dry it withal;
Hew them small, pound in mortar,
As small as bread, that was grated;
Take good almond milk anon
And mix it up with amidon
Or with flour of rice, you may;
Color it with saffron, I say [to] you;
Boil it after each part,
Thicken it with flesh pounded well; [ Page 9 ]
Season it with sugar and then your dish
With almonds set you shall garnish.

Mortrews de chare.

Take hennes and fresshe porke, y þe kenne,
Sethe hom togedur alwayes þenne;
Take hem up, pyke out þe bonys,
Enbande þe porke, Syr, for þo nonys;
Hew hit smalle and grynde hit wele,
Cast it agayne, so have þou cele,
In to þe brothe, and charge hit þenne
With myed wastelle, as I þe kenne;
Colour hit with safron, at þat tyde;
Boyle hit and set hit doune be syde;
Lye hit with 3olkes or eren ry3t,
And florysshe þy dysshe with pouder þou my3t.

12. Mortrews of flesh.

Take hens and fresh pork, I teach you,
Seethe them together always then;
Take them up, pick out the bones,
Slice thin24 the pork,Sir, for the nonce;
Hew it small and grind it well,
Cast it again, so have you bliss,
Into the broth, and thicken it then
With grated wastel [bread], as I teach you;
Color it with saffron, at that time;
Boil it and set it down to one side;
Mix it with yolks of eggs right,
And garnish your dish with [spice] powder you might.

Blonc Manger.

Take ryse and loke þou wasshe hom clene,
And þorowgh a strynour þou hom strene;
Temper hom with almonde mylke anon.
Take brawne of capons or henne good won11,
Tese hit smalle, as I þe lere;
Do þe ryse in þo mylke over þe fyre,
Let hit boyle for ony nede;
Charge hit with tesyd flesshe in dede;
Seson hit with sugur, and floresshe
With fryud almondes þo lordes dysshe.

13. Blancmange.

Take rice and look you wash them clean,
And through a strainer you strain them;
Mix them with almond milk anon.
Take flesh of capons or hen [a] good quantity,
Tease it small, as I teach you;
Put the rice in the milk over the fire,
Let it boil of necessity
Thicken it with teased flesh indeed;
Season it with sugar, and garnish
With fried almonds the lord's dish.

Þandon for wylde digges, swannus, and piggus.

Take, wasshe þo isues of swannes anon,
And skoure þo guttus with salt ichon;
Sethe alle to gedur and hew hit smalle,
Þe flesshe and eke þo guttus with alle;
Take galingale and gode gyngere
And canel, and grynd hom al in fere;
And myude bred þou take þerto,
And temper hit up with brothe also;
Coloure hit with brend bred or with blode,
Seson hit with venegur, a lytelle for gode;
Welle alle togedur in a posnet;
In service forthe þou schalt hit sett.

14. Chaudron [Entrails] for wild ducks, swans, and pigs.

Take, wash the entrails of swans anon,
And scour the guts with salt each one; [ Page 10 ]
Seethe all together and hew it small,
The flesh and also the guts withal;
Take galingale and good ginger
And cinnamon, and grind them all together;
And grated bread you take thereto,
And mix it up with broth also;
Color it with burned bread or with blood,25
Season it with vinegar, a little for good;
Boil all together in a little pot;
In service you shall set it forth.

Nombuls.

Take þo hert and þo mydruv and þe kydnere,
And hew hom smalle, as I þe lere;
Presse oute þe blode, wasshe hom þou schalle,
Sethe hom in water and in gode ale;
Coloure hit with brende bred or with blode;
Fors hit with peper and canel gode,
Sett hit to þo fyre, as I þe telle in tale;
Kele hit with a litelle ale,
And set hit downe to serve in sale.

15. Numbles [Entrails].

Take the heart and the suet and the kidneys,
And hew them small, as I teach you;
Press out the blood, wash them you shall,
Seethe them in water and in good ale; [fol. 32]
Color it with burned bread or with blood;
Season it with pepper and good cinnamon,
Set it to the fire, as I tell you in tale;
Cool it with a little ale,
And set it down to serve in hall.

Anoþer maner for noumbuls.

Take þe noumbuls of þe veneson,
In water and salt þo wasshe hom sone,
And in 12 twynne waters, þou schalt hom sethe;
Grynd bred and peper with ale full smethe;
With þe secunde brothe þou temper hit mun,
And hew þy noumbuls alle and sum;
And boyle þy sew, do hom þer inne,
Of þys mater þer, no more ne myn.

16. Another manner for numbles [entrails].

Take the entrails of the venison,
In water and salt then wash them soon,
And in two waters, you shall seethe them;
Grind bread and pepper with ale quite smooth,
With the second broth you must mix it,
And hew your entrails all and some;
And boil your broth, put them therein,
Of this matter there, no more nor less.

[ Page 11 ]

Charlet.

Take swettest mylke, þat þou may have,
Colour hit with safron, so God þe save;
Take fresshe porke and sethe hit wele,
And hew hit smalle every dele;
Swyng eyryn, and do þer to;
Set hit over þe fyre, þenne
Boyle hit and sture lest hit brenne;
Whenne hit welles up, þou schalt hit kele
With a litel ale, so have þou cele;
When hit is ino3e, þou sett hit doune,
And kepe hit lest hit be to broune.

17. Charlet.25A
Take sweetest milk, that you may have,
Color it with saffron, so God you save;
Take fresh pork and seethe it well,
And hew it small every part;
Beat eggs, and put thereto;
Set it over the fire, then
Boil it and stir lest it burn;
When it boils up, you shall cool it
With a little ale, so have you bliss;
When it is enough, you set it down,
And keep it lest it be too brown.

For Charlet icoloured.

Take almondes unblanchyd, wasshe hom and grynd;
Temper hom with rede wyne, þat is so kynd;
Alye hit up with floure of ryce,
Do þer to pynys and saunders for spyce,
For to coloure hit, loke þou do þis,
And oþer goode spyces þou take, iwys,
Bothe strong and swete þou do þer to;
Salt hit, boyle hit, sethe hit forthe þo,
With annes icomfet, florysshe hit þou schalle;
Messe hit in dysshes to be served in halle.

18. For colored Charlet.

Take unblanched almonds, wash them and grind;
Mix them with red wine, that is so kind;
Bind it up with flour of rice,
Add thereto pine nuts and sandalwood for spice,
For to color it, look you do this,
And other good spices you take, truly,
Both strong and sweet you put thereto;
Salt it, boil it, seethe it forth then,
With anise in comfit,25B you shall garnish it;
Portion it in dishes to be served in hall.

Iusselle.

Take myud13 bred, and eyren þou swynge14,
Do hom togeder with out lettyng,
Take fresshe broth of gode befe,
Coloure hit with safron, þat is me lefe,
Boyle hit softly, and in þo boylyng,
Do þer to sage and persely 3oyng.

19. Iussell.

Take grated bread, and eggs you beat;
Put them together without delay,
Take fresh broth of good beef,
Color it with saffron, that is dear to me,
Boil it gently, and in the boiling,
Put thereto sage and young parsley.

[ Page 12 ]

Breuet de almonde.

Take gode almonde mylke anon,
And loke þou lye hit with amydone,
Or with flowre þat is bake;
Coloure hit with safron, I undurtake;
Fors hit with powder of þy male
Of gyngere, canel, and galingale.
Take pertrykes and chykyns and hom wele sethe15;
Hew hom in quarters fayre and smethe;
Do þat mylke over þo fyre þat tyde,
And boyle and sett hit doune besyde,
And florysshe hit with powdur, as I þe kenne,
Þou may have more menske16 emong alle menne.

20. Broth of almonds.

Take good almond milk anon,
And look you mix it with amidon,
Or with flour that is baked26;
Color it with saffron, I undertake;
Season it with powder of your meal
Of ginger, cinnamon, and galingale.
Take partridges and chickens and seethe them well;
Hew them in quarters fair and smooth27;
Put that milk over the fire that time,
And boil and set it down to one side,
And garnish it with [spice] powder, as I teach you, [so that]
You may have more honor among all men.

Blonk desore.

Take ryse and wasshe hom in a cup,
Grynd hom smalle and temper up
With almonde mylke, so have þou cele17;
Do hit over þo fyre and boyle hit wele;
Take braune of capons or hennes alle,
Hew hit þat hit be ri3t smalle;
And grynd hit wele, as myud brede,
And do þer to, as I þe rede;
Seson hit with sugur grete plenté,
With fryid almondes florysshe so fre.

21. Blonk desore.28 [fol. 33]

Take rice and wash them in a cup,
Grind them small and mix up
With almond milk, so have you bliss;
Put it over the fire and boil it well;
Take flesh of capons or hens all,
Hew it that it be quite small;
And grind it well, as grated bread,
And put thereto, as I advise you;
Season it with sugar [in] great plenty,
With fried almonds garnish so freely.

Bucnade.

Take almonde mylke as I con preche;
Coloure hit with safron as I þe teche;
Fors hit with poudur, þat is gode;
Take larde of porke, wele soþyn, by þo rode;
Hew hit in gobettes wele afyne;
Loke þey ben smale and put hem inne;
Lye hit with floure or amydone,
Boyle hit wele and sett hit done;
Florysshe hit with powdur, as I þe kenne,
Þenne may hit be served, before gode men.

22. Bucnade.27A

Take almond milk as I can preach;
Color it with saffron as I teach you;
Season it with powder, that is good;
Take lard of pork, well seethed, by the Rood;
Hew it in gobbets completely;
Look they are small and put them in; [ Page 13 ]
Mix it with flour or amidon,
Boil it well and set it down;
Garnish it with [spice] powder, as I teach you,
Then it may be served, before good men.

Rose.

Take flour of ryse, as whyte as sylke,
And hit welle, with almond mylke;
Boyle hit tyl hit be chargyd, þenne
Take braune of capone or elle of henne;
Loke þou grynd hit wondur smalle,
And sithen þou charge hit with alle;
Coloure with alkenet, sawnder, or ellys with blode,
Fors hit with clowes or macys gode;
Seson hit with sugur grete plenté,
Þis is a rose, as kokes telle me.

23. Rose.

Take flour of rice, as white as silk,
And boil it, with almond milk;
Boil it till it is thickened, then
Take flesh of capon or else of hen;
Look you grind it very small,
And then you thicken it withal;
Color [it] with alkanet, saunders, or else with blood, 28
Season it with cloves or maces good;
Season it with sugar [in] great plenty,
This is a rose, as cooks tell me.

Lede lardes18 [Leche lardes].

Take eyren and swete mylke of a cow,
Swyng hom togedur, as I byd now;
Take larde of fresshe porke with alle,
Sethe hit and schere hit on peses smalle;
Cast þer in and boyle hit, þenne
Styr hit wele, as I þe kenne,
Tyl hit be gedered on crud harde;
Leche19 hit, and roste hit afterwarde
Apone a gredel, þen serve þou may
Hit forthe, with spit, as I þe say.

24. Larded Milk.28A

Take eggs and sweet milk of a cow,
Beat them together, as I bid now;
Take lard of fresh pork withal,
Seethe it and cut it in pieces small;
Cast therein and boil it, then
Stir it well, as I teach you,
Till it is gathered in hard curds;29
Slice it, and roast it afterward
Upon a griddle, then you may serve
It forth, with fritters30, as I say [to] you.

For blanchyd mortrews.

Sethe hennes and porke, þat is fulle fresshe;
Bray almondes unblanchyd and temper hom nesshe
With clene brothe, and drawe hom þo;
Alay þy flesshe smalle grounden to,
And floure of ryce þou grynd also;
Cast powder of gyngere and sugur þerinne,
But loke þat hit be not to þyn,
But stondand20 and saltid mesurlé
And kepe þy dysshe mete for þo maystré.

25. For white mortrews.

Seethe hens and pork, that are quite fresh;
Pound unblanched almonds and mix them soft
With clean broth, and strain them then; [ Page 14 ]
Mix your finely ground flesh [there]to,
And flour of rice you grind also;
Cast powder of ginger and sugar therein,
But look that it is not too thin,
But thick and salted moderately
And keep your dish meet for the mastery.

Peions istued.

Take peions and hew hom in morselle smalle,
Put hom in a erþyn pot, þou shalle;
Take pilled garlek and herbys anon,
Hack hom smalle er þou more don;
Put hom in þo pot, and þer to take
Gode brothe with wyte grece, þou no3t forsake;
Do powdur þer to and gode verius,
Coloure hit with safron, and salt inow;
Þou put in pote þese þynges alle,
And stue þy peions þus þou schalle.

26. Stewed Pigeons.

Take pigeons and hew them in morsels small,
Put them in an earthen pot, you shall;
Take peeled garlic and herbs anon, [fol. 34]
Hack them small ere you do more;
Put them in the pot, and thereto take
Good broth with white grease, you naught forsake;
Put powder thereto and good verjuice,
Color it with saffron, and salt enough;
You put in [the] pot all these things,
And stew your pigeons thus you shall.

Sowpus dorre.

Take almondes, bray hem, wryng hom up;
Boyle hom with wyn rede to sup;
Þen temper hom with wyn, salt, I rede,
And loke þou tost fyne wete brede,
And lay in dysshes, dubene with wyne;
Do in þis dysshes mete, þat is so fyne;
Messe hit forthe, and florysshe hit þenne
With sugur and gynger, as I þe kenne.

27. Glazed Sops.

Take almonds, pound them, wring them up;31
Boil them with red wine to sup;
Then mix them with wine, salt, I advise,
And look you toast fine wheat bread,
And lay in dishes, baste with wine;
Put in these dishes meat32, that is so fine;
Serve it forth, and garnish it then
With sugar and ginger, as I teach you.

Gruel of almondes.

Take almondes unblanchid and bray hom sone,
Put ote mele to, þenne hase þou done,
And grynde alle sammen21, and draw hit þenne
With water and sethe, as I þe kenne;
Coloure hit with safron and salt hit þenne,
And set in sale byfore gode menne.

28. Gruel of almonds.

Take unblanched almonds and pound them soon,
Put oatmeal [there]to, then have you done,
And grind all together, and strain it then
With water and seethe, as I teach you; [ Page 15 ]
Color it with saffron and salt it then,
And set in hall before good men.

Ioutus de almonde.

Take erbe, perboyle hom, fayre and wele;
Hew hom and grynde hom every dele;
Take almondes unblanched and grynd hom smalle,
Draw3e hom with water, I wote þou schalle;
Set hit over þe fyre, þyn erbis þou sethe
With þo mylke forsayde, þat grounden is smethe;
Cast þerto sugur, and salt anone;
Take þer þy ioutes made dalmone.

29. Pot-herbs with almonds.

Take herbs, parboil them, fair and well;
Hew them and grind them every part;
Take unblanched almonds and grind them small,
Draw them with water, I know you shall;
Set it over the fire, your herbs you seethe
With the milk aforesaid, that is ground smooth;
Cast thereto sugar, and salt anon;
Take there your pot-herbs made with almonds.

Caudel dalmone.

Take almondes unblanchyd and hom þou bray;
Drawe hom up with wyn, I dar wele say;
Þer to do pouder of good gyngere
And sugur, and boyle alle þese in fere,
And coloure hit with safron and salt hit wele,
And serve hit forthe Sir at þo mele.

30. Almond Caudle.

Take unblanched almonds and you pound them;
Draw them up with wine, I dare well say;
Thereto put powder of good ginger
And sugar, and boil all these together,
And color it with saffron and salt it well,
And serve it forth Sir at the meal.

Buttur of Almonde mylke.

Take thykke mylke of almondes clere,
Boyle wele alle in fere;
And in þo boylyng, cast þerinne
Venegur, oþer ellys gode wyne;
Do hit soþenne in a canvas þenne,
In soþun, gar hit on hepe to renne;
In clothe þou henge hit a myle way,
And after in colde water þou hit lay;
Serve hit forthe in þe dysshe,
Þat day þo lorde is servyd with fysshe.

31. Butter of Almond milk.

Take thick milk of almonds clear33,
Boil well all together;
And in the boiling, cast therein
Vinegar, or else good wine;
Put it afterward in a canvas then,
In truth, make it in a heap to curdle;
In cloth you hang it a mile way,34
And after in cold water you lay it;
Serve it forth in the dish,
That day [that] the lord is served with fish.

[ Page 16 ]

Ryse.

Take ryse and wasshe and grynde hem smalle,
Temper hom with almonde mylke þou schalle;
Drau3e hom thorowghe a streynour clene,
Boyle hom and seson hom with sugur schene;
Fors hit with fryude almondes gode,
Þen hase þou done, syr, by þo rode.

32. Rice.

Take rice and wash and grind them small,
Mix them with almond milk you shall;
Strain them through a clean strainer,
Boil them and season them with shining sugar;
Stuff it35 with good fried almonds, [fol. 35]
Then have you done, sir, by the Rood.

Kaudel Ferry.

Take almondes unblanchyd, so have þou cele,
And wasshe hom fayre and grynd home wele;
Temper hom up with wyne so clene,
And drau3e hom þorowgh a canvas shene;
In pot þou coloure hit with safron,
And lye hit up with Amydone,
Or with floure of ryse so fre;
Ry3t thykke loke þou þat be;
Seson hit with sugur grete plenté,
Florysshe hit with maces, I tel þe.

33. Caudle Ferry.

Take unblanched almonds, so have you bliss,
And wash them clean and grind them well;
Mix them up with wine so clean,
And strain them through a fair canvas;
In pot you color it with saffron,
And mix it up with Amidon,
Or with flour of rice so freely;
Quite thick you look that [it] be;
Season it with sugar [in] great plenty,
Garnish it with [blades of] mace, I tell you.

For to make a rape.

Take raysyns of corauns þerto,
And wyte wynne þou take also;
Sethe þenne oþer raysyns grete
In rede wyne, and boyle a lytul with hete;
Do opon a broche, rost hom bydene
A lytel, and take hom fayre and clene
And bray hom in a morter smalle,
A crust of brede þou bray with alle.
Put alle in þe pot with grythe,
Þo raysyns of corauns, þo swete wyne with,
A lytul vengur, and pouder take þo
Of clowes, maces and quibibis22 to;
Boyle alle to geder, and serve hit þenne,
And sett hit forthe before goode men.

34. For to make a rape.

Take dried currants thereto,
And white wine you take also;
Seethe them or great raisins36
In red wine, and boil a little with heat;
Put upon a spit, roast them anon37
A little, and take them fair and clean
And pound them small in a mortar,
A crust of bread you pound with all.
Put all in the pot with speed,
The dried currants, with the sweet wine,
A little vinegar, and powder take then
Of cloves, mace [blades] and cubebs too; [ Page 17 ]
Boil all together, and serve it then,
And set it forth before good men.

Mylke rostyd.

Take swete mylke and put in panne,
Swyng eyren with alle, grynde safron
And do þerto, welle hit þenne,
Tylle hit wax thykke, as I þe kenne;
And sethe and sye hit thorowghe a cloth,
Presse hit, þat leves, withouten othe;
When hit is colde, leche hit with knyves;
Rost hit, and messe hit forthe on schyves23.

35. Roasted Milk.

Take sweet milk and put in [a] pan,
Beat eggs withal, grind saffron
And add thereto; boil it then,
Till it waxes thick, as I teach you;
And seethe and strain it through a cloth,
Press it, that remains, without other;38
When it is cold, slice it with knives;
Roast it and serve it forth in slices.

For to make a potage of welkes.

Take welkes and wasshe fayre, in blythe,
In water, and take whyte salt þerwith
And after hakke hom on a borde,
As smalle as þou may, at a worde,
And bray hom in a morter clere;
Sethe hom in mylke over þe fyre;
Of almondes or of a clow þou take schalle,
Lye hit with amydone þerwith alle;
Coloure hit with safrone, and do þerinne
Poudur of peper, or goode comyne.

36. For to make a pottage of whelks.

Take whelks and wash clean, in mirth,
In water, and take white salt therewith
And after hack them on a board,
As small as you may, at a word,
And pound them in a clean mortar;
Seethe them in milk over the fire;
Of almonds or of a cow39 you shall take,
Mix it with amidon therewith all;
Color it with saffron, and put therein
Powder of pepper, or good cumin.

For to make a potage of oysturs.

Perboyle þyn oysturs and take hom oute;
Kepe welle þy bre with outen doute,
And hakke hem 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.

37. For to make pottage of oysters.

Parboil your oysters and take them out;
Keep well your broth without doubt,
And hack them on a board quite small,
And pound in a mortar you shall;
Put them in their own broth for good,
Add milk of almonds thereto by the Rood,
And mix it up with amidon,
And fry small-minced onions [ Page 18 ] [fol. 36]
In oil, or seethe them in milk you shall;
Add powder thereto of spices withal,
And color it then with good saffron;
It is held [to be] restorative food.

Sauge Seynes.

Take swynes fete and sethe hom clene,
Take 3olkes of eyren þat harde bene,
And sage as mykul as fall þerto,
Gode powdur, and temper with venegur;
When þou hase soþyn þo fete ry3t welle,
Clovyn hom and paryd hom þer tylle,
Lay hom on dysshe with blythe,
Þo sawce on þe 3olkes þerwyth.

38. Sage Seynes. 39A

Take swine's feet and seethe them clean,
Take yolks of eggs that are hard,
And sage as much as belongs thereto,
Good [spice] powder, and mix with vinegar;
When you have seethed the feet quite well, [and have]
Split them [in half] and pared them thereto,
Lay them on [the] dish with mirth,
The sauce on the yolks therewith.

For to make a compost.

Take þo chekyns and hew hom for þo seke,
All but þe hede and þe legges eke;
Take a handfulle of herb lovache,
And anoþer of persely, als
Of sage þat never was founde fals,
And noþer of lekes and alle hom wasshe
Þose herbes in water, þat rennes so rasshe;
Breke þorowghe þy honde, bothe herbe and leke,
With a pynt of hony enbeny hom eke,
Summe of þese herbes þou shalle laye
In þe pottus bothun24, as I þe say;
Summe of þe chekyns þou put þerto,
And þen of þe herb3 do to also;
So of þo ton so of þat oþer,
Þo herb3 on þe last my dere brother;
Above þese herbus a lytul larde
Smalle myncyd, haldand togeder warde;
Take powder of gynger and canel god wone,
Cast on þese oþer thynges everychon;
Be sle3e and powre in water þenne
To myd þo pot, as I þe kenne;
Opone þo bruys poure hit withinne,
And cover hit þat no hete oute wynne,
And tendurly seyth hit þou do may,
Salt hit, serve hit, as I þe say.

39. For to make a compote.40

Take the chickens and hew them for the soak41,
All but the head and the legs also;
Take a handful of herb lovage, (Caution! See note.)
And another of parsley, also
Of sage that was never found false,
And another of leeks and all them wash
Those herbs in water, that runs so rashly;
Break through your hands, both herbs and leeks,
With a pint of honey baste them also,
Some of these herbs you shall lay
In the pot's bottom, as I say [to] you;
Some of the chickens you put thereto;
And then of the herbs add [there]to also;
So of the one so of that other,
The herbs on the last my dear brother;
Above these herbs a little lard
Small-minced, holding togetherward;
Take powder of ginger and cinnamon [a] good quantity,
Cast on these other things every one; [ Page 19 ]
Be clever and pour in water then
Into [the] midst [of] the pot, as I teach you;
Upon the broth pour it within,
And cover it that no heat comes out,
And tenderly seethe it you may do,
Salt it, serve it, as I say [to] you.

Blanc maungere of fysshe.

Take a pownde of ryse and sethe hom wele,
Tyl þat þay brostene; and lete hom kele.
Mylke of almondes þerto þou cast,
Þo tenche or lampray do to on last;
Welle alle togeder, as I þe kenne,
And messe hit forthe before godde men.

40. Blancmange of fish.

Take a pound of rice and seethe them well,
Till that they burst; and let them cool.
Milk of almonds thereto you cast,
Then tench or lamprey add [there]to in last;
Boil all together, as I teach you,
And serve it forth before good men.

Mortrews of fysshe.

Take þo kelkes25 of fysshe anon,
And þo lyver of þo fysshe, sethe hom alon;
Þen take brede and peper and ale,
And temper þo brothe fulle welle þou schalle,
And welle hit togeder and serve hit þenne,
And set in sale26 before good mene.

41. Mortrews of fish.

Take the roe of fish anon,
And the livers of the fish, seethe them alone;
Then take bread and pepper and ale,
And mix the broth quite well you shall,
And boil it together and serve it then,
And set in hall before good men.

For to make rose dalmoyne.

Take whyte pese and wasshe hom wele,
Tylle þat þey hulle, sethe yche adele,
And bene clene of þam, þen schalle þou caste
In to þo pot and cover in hast;
And loke no brethe þer passe oute,
But boyle hom wele with owtyn dowte;
Of almonde mylke þou kest þerto,
Of floure of ryse and salt also;
Coloure hit with safrone and messe hit, þenne
Set hit in sale before goode men.

42. For to make rose of Germany.42

Take white peas and wash them well,
Till that they [cast off their] shell[s], seethe each part, [fol. 37]
And are clean of them, then shall you cast
Into the pot and cover in haste;
And look no breath there passes out,
But boil them well without doubt;
Of almond milk you cast thereto,
Of flour of rice and salt also; [ Page 20 ]
Color it with saffron and serve it, then
Set it in hall before good men.

For a kolys.

Þe brawne take of sothun henne or chekyne,
And hew hit smalle and bray þen with wyne,
With ote grotis, and whyte brede eke;
With þe brothe of henne þou temper hit meke;
Take oute þe bonys and grynd hit smalle,
In to þe brothe þou kast hit alle,
And sye hit thurgh a clothe clene;
Dose hit, and serve hit forthe bydene.

43. For a cullis.

The flesh take of seethed hen or chicken,
And hew it small and pound then with labor43,
With oat groats, and white bread also;
With the broth of hen you mix it gently;
Take out the bones and grind it44 small,
Into the broth you cast it all,
And strain it through a clean cloth;
Portion it, and serve it forth anon.

Gruel of Porke.

Take brawne of swyne, perboyle hit wele,
And grynde hit smalle, Syr, everydele;
With 3olkes of eyren þou schalle hit lye,
Set hit over þe fyre for-þye,
Put whyte grece þerto, bewar, iwys,
Let hit not sethe lest þou mys.
Do þer to powder and safron þenne
And messe hit forthe before goode menne;
Powder dowce þeron þou kast
Stondande at dressore on þe last.

44. Gruel of Pork.

Take flesh of swine, parboil it well,
And grind it small, Sir, every part;
With yolks of eggs you shall mix it,
Set it over the fire therefore,
Put white grease thereto, beware, truly,
Let it not seethe lest you err.
Add thereto [spice] powder and saffron then
And serve it forth before good men;
Powder douce thereon you cast
Standing at [the] dresser at the last [moment].

Conyngus in cyne27.

Smyte þe conyngus in pese smalle;
And sethe hom in brothe gode þou shalle;
Mynsyn onyons in grece þou sethe,
And in good brothe, þat is so smethe
Walle togeder; and drau3e alioure
Of blode and brede sumdele sowre,
Sesonut with venegur and good brothe eke,
Kast salt þerto and powder fulle meke.

45. Coneys in onion sauce.

Smite the coneys in small pieces;
And seethe them in good broth you shall;
You fry Minced onions in grease,
And in good broth, that is so smooth
Boil together; and strain a mixture
Of blood and bread somewhat sour, [ Page 21 ]
Season it with vinegar and good broth also,
Cast salt thereto and [spice] powder full meek45.

Harus in cyne.

Perboyle þe hare and larde hit wele,
Sethyn loke þou rost hir everydele;
Take onyons and loke þou hew hom smalle,
Frye hom in grece, take peper and ale,
And grynde togeder þo onyons also;
Coloure hit with safrone and welle hit þo;
Lay þe hare in charioure, as I þe kenne;
Powre on þe sewe and serve hit þenne.

46. Hares in onion sauce.

Parboil the hare and lard it well,
Then look you roast her every part;
Take onions and look you hew them small,
Fry them in grease, take pepper and ale,
And grind together the onions also;
Color it with saffron and boil it then;
Lay the hare in [a] platter, as I teach you;
Pour on the broth and serve it then.

Harus in a sewe.

Alle rawe þo hare schalle hacked be,
In gobettis smalle, Syr, levys me;
In hir owne blode seyn or sylud28 clene,
Grynde brede and peper withalle bydene;
Þenne temper hit with þe same bre,
Þenne boyled and salted hit servyd schalle be.

47. Hares in a stew.

All raw the hare shall hackéd be,
In gobbets small, Sir, believe me;
In her own blood strained or sieved clean,
Grind bread and pepper withal anon;
Then mix it with the same broth,
Then boiled and salted it shall be served.

Harus in abrotet29.

Hew smalle þy hare in gobetus gode,
Sethe hom in brothe with alle his blode;
When hit is soþun wondur wele,
Draw3h thurgh a streynour, so have þou cele;
Take almondes unblanchid, wasshe hom and grynde;
With self brothe temper hom by kynde;
Take onyons and perboyle hom þou mot,
And dresshe hom smalle, kest hom in pot
With alle oþer thyngus, and cast þer to
With venegur and salt, þen has þou doo.

48. Hares in a broth.45A

Hew small your hares in gobbets good,
Seethe them in broth with all his blood; [fol. 38]
When it is seethed very well,
Draw through a strainer, so have you bliss;
Take unblanched almonds, wash them and grind;
With [the] same broth mix them by kind46;
Take onions and parboil them you must,
And dress them small, cast them in pot
With all other things, and cast thereto
With vinegar and salt, then have you done.

[ Page 22 ]

Harus in Perdoylyse.

Take harys and perboyle hom, I rede,
In goode brothe, kele hit for drede,
And hew þy flesshe and cast þerinne.
Take swongen eggus, no more ne myn,
And cast þy sewe and sethe hit þenne.
Take obles and wafrons, as I þe kenne,
Close hom in dysshes fare and wele;
Salt þe sewe, so have þou cele,
And lay hit above as gode men done,
And messe hit forthe, Syr, at þo none.

49. Hares in Perdoylyse.47

Take hares and parboil them, I advise,
In good broth, cool it for dread
And hew your flesh and cast therein.
Take beaten eggs, no more nor less,
And cast in your broth and seethe it then.
Take obleys and wafers, as I teach you,
Close them in dishes completely;
Salt the broth, so have you bliss,
And lay it above as good men do,
And serve it forth, Sir, at the nones.

Hennes in brewes.

With porke þou sethe þo henne fatte,
Grynde brede and peper and be not batte30;
And comyne also þou schalle grynde,
Seson hom with ale, þat is hor kynde;
With þo brothe of hennes þou temper hit schalle,
Boyle hit, coloure hit, salt hit withalle;
Serve hom forthe, as þou may see,
Þese er hennes in browet, levys þou me.

50. Hens in broth.

With pork you seethe the fat hens,
Grind bread and pepper and be not hasty;
And cumin also you shall grind,
Season them with ale, that is their kind;
With the broth of hens you shall mix it,
Boil it, color it, salt it withal;
Serve them forth, as you may see,
These are hens in broth, believe you me.

Chekyns in browet.

Take chekyns, scalde hom fayre and clene;
Take persole, sauge, oþer herb3, grene
Grapus, and stope þy chekyns with wynne;
Take goode brothe, sethe hom þerinne,
So þat þay sone boyled may be;
Coloure þe brothe with safrone fre,
And cast þeron powder dowce,
For to be served in goode mennys howse.

51. Chickens in broth.

Take chickens, scald them fair and clean;
Take parsley, sage, other herbs, green
Grapes, and stuff your chickens with will48;
Take good broth, seethe them therein,
So that they may soon be boiled;
Color the broth freely with saffron,
And cast thereon powder douce,
For to be served in good men's house.

[ Page 23 ]

Chekyns in Cawdel.

In broth þou boyle þy chekyns gode;
Take 3olkes of eyren, Syr, for þo rode,
Alye hom up with brothe forsayde;
Take powder gynger, abrayde,
And sugur, and rew, and safron clere,
And salt, and set hit over þo fyre;
With owtyn boylyng messe hit forthe þenne;
Þy chekyns hole take, I þe kenne,
Of31 þay be brokyn, on dysshe hom lay,
Helde32 hom þe sewe, as I þe say.

52. Chickens in Caudle.

In broth you boil your chickens good;
Take yolks of eggs, Sir, for the Rood,
Mix them up with broth aforesaid;
Take ginger powder, pounded49,
And sugar, and rue50, and saffron clear51,
And salt, and set it over the fire.
Without boiling52 serve it forth then;
Your whole chickens take, I teach you,
If they are broken, on [a] dish them lay,
Pour the broth [over] them, as I say [to] you.

For to boyle fesawantes and pertryks.

Take good brothe, þerin þou pyt
Þy fesauntes and þy pertryks, þat men may wyt.
Do þerto ale, floure, peper fre,
Of hole canel, good quantité;
And let alle sethe þerwyth fulle wele,
And messe hit forthe, Syr, at þe mele.
Powder dowce þerin þou cast,
When hit [is] servyd on þe last.

53. For to boil pheasants and partridges.

Take good broth, therein you put
Your pheasants and your partridges, that men may know.
Add thereto ale, flour, pepper free,
Of whole cinnamon, [a] good quantity;
And let all seethe therewith quite well,
And serve it forth, Sir, at the meal.
Powder douce therein you cast, [fol. 39]
When it [is] served at the last.

Roo in a Sewe.

Take þo roo, pyke hit clene forthy;
Boyle hit þou shalt and after hit drye;
Hew hit on gobettis, þat ben smalle,
Do hit in pot withalle;
Kest wyn þerto, if þou do ry3t,
Take persole and sawge and ysope bry3t,
Wasshe hom and hew hom wondur smalle,
And do þerto hit þou schalle,
Coloure hit with blode or sawnders hors33.

54. Venison in a broth.

Take the venison, pick it clean therefore;
You shall Boil it and after dry it;
Hew it in gobbets, that are small,
Put it in [a] pot withal;
Cast wine thereto, if you do right,
Take parsley and sage and hyssop bright,
Wash them and hew them very small,
And put it thereto you shall,
Color it with blood or coarse saunders.53

[ Page 24 ]

Hennes in gravé

Take hennes and rost, as I þe kenne,
Sithinn, hew hom smalle and frye hom; þenne
Take wyne or peper or venegur to,
Grynd hit togeder with hennes þo;
Lye hit with 3olkes of eyren wele,
Coloure hit with safrone everydele,
And messe hit forthe withoutene ony more,
And loke þou for3ete no3t þys lore.

55. Hens in gravy.

Take hens and roast, as I teach you,
Then, hew them small and fry them; then
Take wine or pepper or vinegar [there]to,
Grind it together with the hens;54
Mix it well with yolks of eggs,
Color it with saffron every part,
And serve it forth without any more,
And look you forget not this lore.

Capons in Covisye.

Take capons and sethe hom wele,
And hew hom smalle ilkadele;
Take peper and brede, and grynde hit smalle,
And temper hit up with capon alle;
Take why3te of eyren harde soþun þo,
And hake hom smalle and do þerto,
And boyle þe capon and coloure hit þenne
With safrone, and do as I kenne;
Þo 3olkes of eggus, I telle þe,
Alle hole þou put in disshe so fre.

56. Capons in Covisye.55

Take capons and seethe them well,
And hew them small each part;
Take pepper and bread, and grind it small,
And mix it up with capon all;
Take white of eggs hard seethed then,
And hack them small and add thereto,
And boil the capon and color it then
With saffron, and do as I teach;
The yolks of eggs, I tell you,
All whole you put in dishes so freely.

Hennes in gauncel.

Take first and rost welle þy henne,
Take garlek by hit selfe and grynd; þenne
Blonde hit with mylke and put alle in panne,
And hew þyn henne and do þer to þenne
Þy henne and 3olkes of eyren imelle34;
Coloure hit with safron and let hit welle,
And messe hit forthe, I telle þe;
But þou wille alye hit with floure so fre.

57. Hens in [Sauce] gauncely.

Take first and roast well your hen,
Take garlic by itself and grind; then
Mix56 it with milk and put all in pan,
And hew your hen and put thereto then
Mix Your hen and yolks of eggs56A;
Color it with saffron and let it boil,
And serve it forth, I tell you;
But you will bind it with flour so freely.

[ Page 25 ]

Lamprayes in browet.

Take lamprayes and scalde hom by kynde,
Sythyn, rost hom on gredyl, and grynde
Peper and safrone; welle hit with alle,
Do þo lampreyes and serve hit in sale.

58. Lampreys in broth.

Take lampreys and scald them by kind,
Then, roast them on griddle, and grind
Pepper and saffron; boil it withal,
Add the lampreys and serve it in hall.

Lamprayes in galentine.

Take lamprayes and hom let blode
At þo navel, and scalde hom for gode;
Rost home þenne, and þou hom laye
Alle hole in platere, as I þe saye;
Serve with galentine, made in sale,
With gyngere, canel and galingale.

59. Lampreys in [sauce] galentine.

Take lampreys and them let bleed
At the navel, and scald them for good;
Roast them then, and you lay them
All whole in [a] platter, as I say [to] you;
Serve with galentine, made in hall,
With ginger, cinnamon and galingale.

For tenchis in gravé.

Sethe þy tenchis, and after hom brede,
And rost hom on a gredel, I rede;
Grynd peper and safron with ale, I kenne,
With tenchis brothe, þou temper hit; þenne
Lay þo tenche opon a platere fayre,
Do on þat browet withouten disware.

60. For tenches in gravy.

Seethe your tenches, and after[ward] spread them [out],57
And roast them on a griddle, I advise;
Grind pepper and saffron with ale, I teach, [fol. 40]
With tench's broth, you mix58 it; then
Lay the tenches upon a platter fair,
Add on that broth without doubt.

Chawdewyne de boyce.

Take smalle notes, schale not35 kurnele,
As þou dose of almondes, fayre and wele;
Frye hom in oyle, þen sethe hom ry3t
In almonde mylke þat is bry3t;
Þen þou schalle do in floure of ryce
And also oþer pouder of spyce;
Fry oþer curneles besyde also,
Coloure þou hit with safron, or þou fer goo,
To divers þo mete þou schalt hit set,
With þo fryed curnels with outen let.

61. Entrails of the woods. [A dish of nuts.]59

Take small nuts, shell [the] nut kernels,
As you do of almonds, fair and well;
Fry them in oil, then seethe them right
In almond milk that is bright;
Then you shall add in flour of rice
And also other powder of spice;
Fry other kernels apart also,
You Color it with saffron, before you forget,
To vary the meat you shall set it,
With the fried kernels without let.

[ Page 26 ]

Capons in Cassolyce.

Take capons and schalde and pyke hom þen;
Þe skyn þou opon, as I þe kenne,
Be hynde þo hede, blaw hym with penne;
Þenne ryses þo skyn before,
Rayse up þo skyn alle hole abowte,
Take porke and hen flesshe with outen doute,
And 3olkes of eyren and gode powder;
Of alle þo thynges þou make farsure36,
And farse37 þo skyn and perboyle hit wele;
Þen larde þo capone, rost hym yche dele;
Of almonde mylke and amydone
Make bater, and coloure hit anone
With safron; serve hit at fyre rostande,
Enbene hit wele withe þy ry3t honde.

62. Capons in Cassolyce.60 [How to turn one Capon into two.]

Take capons and scald and pick them then;
The skin you open, as I teach you,
Behind the head, blow him with [a hollow quill] pen;61
Then rises the skin before,62
Raise up the skin all whole about,
Take pork and hen flesh without doubt,
And yolks of eggs and good powder;
Of all those things you make stuffing,
And stuff the skin and parboil it well;
Then lard the capon['s body], roast him each part;
Of almond milk and amidon
Make batter, and color it anon
With saffron; serve it at fire roasting,63
Baste it well with your right hand.

For to make momene.

Take whyte wyne, I telle þe,
And sugur þerto ry3t grete plenté;
Take, bray þo brawne of a3t capon;
To a pot of oyle of on galon,
And of hony a qwharte þou take;
Do hit þer to as ever þou wake,
Take powder þo mountenaunce38 of a pownde,
And galingale ginger and canel rownde,
And cast þer to, and styre hit; þenne
Alle in on pot sethe hit, I kenne.

63. For to make malmeny.

Take white wine, I tell you,
And sugar thereto quite great plenty;
Take, pound the flesh of eight capons;
To a pot of oil of one gallon,
And you take of honey a quart;
Add it thereto as ever you wake;
Take powder the amount of a pound,
And galingale ginger and cinnamon round,
And cast thereto, and stir it; then
All in one pot seethe it, I teach.

Lange de beof.

Take þo ox tonge and schalle hit wele,
Sethe hit, broche hit in larde yche dele,
With cloves of gelofer hit broch þou shalle,
Þen do hit to fyre and rost hit alle;
With 3olkes of eyren enbene39 hit ay
Whille þat hit rostes, as I þe say.
Þen take blode, þat is so lefe,
Welle hit in fresshe brothe of þe befe,
Bray hit fulle wele in on mortere,
Do in fayre grece, þat is so clere;
Fors hit with spicys ry3t gode with alle,
And syrthun, serve hit in to þe halle;
To þe forsayde tonge þis sawce is dy3t,
Here endes oure potage fulle gode ry3t.

64. Tongues of beef.

Take the ox tongue and skin it well,
Seethe it, pierce it with lard each part,
You shall stud it With cloves,
Then put it to [the] fire and roast it all; [ Page 27 ]
With yolks of eggs baste it aye
While that it roasts, as I say [to] you.
Then take blood, that is so dear,
Boil it in fresh broth of the beef,
Pound it quite well in a mortar,
Put in fair grease, that is so clear;
Season it with very good spices withal,
And then, serve it into the hall;
To the aforesaid tongue this sauce is prepared,
Here ends our pottage [by] very good right. [End of Pottages, beginning of Sauces]

Pro Salsamentis. - To make sawce.

Now speke I wylle of sauces sere:
How þay ar made, I wylle 3ow lere,
Next after potage þay servyd schalle be,
As I have lurned in þys cuntreé.

Pro Salsamentis.-- To make sauce. [fol. 41]

Now speak I will of sundry sauces:
How they are made, I will teach you,
Next after pottage they shall be served,
As I have learned in this country.

Pur verde sawce.

Take persole, peletre an oyns, and grynde,
Take whyte bred myude by kynde,
Temper alle up with venegur or wyne,
Force hit with powder of peper fyne.

65. For green sauce.

Take parsley, wild thyme an ounce 64, and grind,
Take white bread grated by kind,
Mix all up with vinegar or wine,
Season it with powder of pepper fine.

Sawce for Mawdelardes rosted.

Take onyons and hew hom wele,
Put sum in þo mawdelarde, so have þou cele,
And hacke mo onyons, as I þe kenne;
With þo grece of þo mawdelarde þou sethe hom, þen
Take ale, mustarde and hony þo,
Boyle alle togeder or þou more do;
For maularde rosted þys sawce is dy3t,
And served in sale by gode ry3t.

66. Sauce for roasted Mallards.

Take onions and hew them well,
Put some in the mallard, so have you bliss,
And hack more onions, as I teach you;
With the grease of the mallard you fry them, then
Take ale, mustard and honey then,
Boil all together before you do more;
For mallard roasted this sauce is prepared,
And served in hall by good right.

[ Page 28 ]

Sawce fore vele and venysone.

Take brede and frye hit in grece þou schalle,
With brothe of venegur draw3e hit withalle,
Kast powder of gynger anon þer to
And peper, and sethe þo
And messe hit forthe; a sawce hit is
For vele and venyson, iwys.

67. Sauce for veal and venison.

Take bread and fry it in grease you shall,
With broth of vinegar 64A strain it withal,
Cast powder of ginger anon thereto
And pepper, and seethe then
And serve it forth; a sauce it is
For veal and venison, truly.

Blaunche sawce for capons.

Take blanchid almondis and smal hom grynde,
Temper hom with verius, þat is hor kynde,
Powder of gynger, and kast þer to,
And messe hit forthe, þen hase þou do.

68. White sauce for capons.

Take blanched almonds and grind them small,
Mix them with verjuice, that is their kind,
Powder of ginger, and cast thereto,
And serve it forth, then have you done.

Sawce best for capons rostyd.

Take lyver of capons and rost hom wele,
Take annes and grynd hit, as have þou cele,
Pare gynger and canel gode þer to,
A lytel crust of brede þou take also;
Grynde al þese þynges wondur smalle,
With verius temper hom up þou schalle;
With grece of capons boyle hit in sy3t
And serve hit forthe fulle wele þou my3t.

69. Best Sauce for roasted capons.

Take liver of capons and roast them well,
Take anise and grind it, as you have bliss,
Pare ginger65 and good cinnamon thereto,
A little crust of bread you take also;
Grind all these things very small,
With verjuice mix them up you shall;
With grease of capons boil it in sight66
And serve it forth quite well you might.

Sawce sirer for mawdelardus

Take bred and blode iboylyd and grynde,
And draw3he hit þorowghe a clothe by kynde,
With venegur gode and sesounabulle,
With powder of gynger, and peper abulle,
And grece of mawdelarde; and boyle alle wele,
And messe hit forthe Syr at þo mele.

70. Sauce sirer for mallards.

Take bread and boiled blood and grind,
And strain it through a cloth by kind,
With vinegar good and tasty,
With powder of ginger, and strong pepper,
And grease of mallard; and boil all well,
And serve it forth Sir at the meal.

[ Page 29 ]

Gawncel for þe gose.

Take garlek and grynde hit wele forþy,
Temper hit with water a lytel, perdy;
Put floure þer to and also salt,
Colour hit with safron I wot þou schalt;
Temper hit up with cow-mylke þo,
And sethe hit and serve hit forthe also.

71. [Sauce] Gauncely for the goose.

Take garlic and grind it well therefore,
Mix it with water a little, by God;
Put flour thereto and also salt,
Color it with saffron I know you shall;
Mix it up with cow's milk then,
And seethe it and serve it forth also.

Sawce for swannus.

Take þo offal and þo lyver of þo swan,
In gode brothe þou sethe hom þan;
When hit is sothyne, take oute þe bonus,
Smalle hew þo flesshe, Syr, for þe nonus;
Make alyoure of crust of brede,
Of blode of swanne, þat soþun is lede,
Caste powdur of gynger and clawes þer to,
Of peper and wyn þou take also,
And salt hit þen and sethe hit wele;
Cast in þy flesshe, hewen yche a dele,
And messe hit forthe, as I þe kenne,
Set hit in sale before goode menne.

72. Sauce for swans.

Take the offal and the liver of the swan,
In good broth you seethe them then;
When it is seethed, take out the bones,
Hew Small the flesh, Sir, for the nonce; [fol. 42]
Make a mixture of crust of bread,
Of blood of swans, that seethed is left,67
Cast powder of ginger and cloves thereto,
Of pepper and wine you take also,
And salt it then and seethe it well;
Cast in your flesh, hewn each part,
And serve it forth, as I teach you,
Set it in hall before good men.

[Sawce] For cranys and herons.

The crane is enarmed ful wele I wot
With larde of porke at on bare mot40,
Rostyd and eten with gode gingere,
Þat is þo sawce þat servis þere;
Þo heroun is rosted, as have I blys,
And eton with gynger as his kynde is.

73. [Sauce] For cranes and herons.

The crane is larded quite well I know
With lard of pork at one horn blast,68
Roasted and eaten with good ginger [sauce],
That is the sauce that serves there;
The heron is roasted, as have I bliss,
And eaten with ginger [sauce] as his kind is.

[Sawce] For pekokys and pertrikis.

Pekokys and pertrikys perboylyd schyn be,
Lardyd, rostyd, eton, levys me,
With gyngere, payndmayn paryd clene
And groundyn in a morter, þat is schene,
Temperid up with venegur gode,
With powder of gyngere and salt, by þo rode,
And draw3en þorowghe a streynour mylde,
Servid forthe with pekok and pertrik wylde.

74. [Sauce] For peacocks and partridges.

Peacocks and partridges shall be parboiled,
Larded, roasted, eaten, believe me, [ Page 30 ]
With ginger [sauce], paindemaine pared clean
And ground in a mortar, that is fair,
Mixed up with good vinegar,
With powder of ginger and salt, by the Rood,
And drawn through a strainer mild,
Served forth with peacock and partridge wild.

Galentyne.

Take crust of brede and grynde hit smalle,
Take powder of galingale and temper with alle
Powder of gyngere and salt also;
Temper hit with venegur er þou more do,
Draw3e hit þurughe a streynour þenne,
And messe hit forthe before gode menne.

75. [Sauce] Galentine.

Take crust of bread and grind it small,
Take powder of galingale and mix with all
Powder of ginger and salt also;
Mix it with vinegar ere you do more,
Draw it through a strainer then,
And serve it forth before good men.

Sawce camelyne, kervelettes and oþer thyngus.

Take raysouns of corouns and kyrnels smalle
Of notes, and do away þo schale,
Take crust of brede and clowe in fere,
And powder imaked of gode gyngere,
Flowre of canel þou schalle take, þenne
Bray alle togedur, as I þe kenne,
In a morter and salt þerto;
Temper alle with venegur, þen hase þou do,
And messe hit forthe; þis is sawce fyne,
Þat menne calles camelyne.

76. Sauce cameline, kervelettes69 and other things.

Take dried currants and small kernels
Of nuts, and take away the shells,
Take crust of bread and cloves together,
And powder made of good ginger,
Flour of cinnamon you shall take, then
Pound all together, as I teach you,
In a mortar and salt thereto;
Mix all with vinegar, then have you done,
And serve it forth; this is fine sauce,
That men call cameline.

For lumbardus mustard.

Take mustarde and let hit drye
Anonyn, Sir, wyturlye;
Stomper hit in a morter fyne,
And fars hit þurghe a clothe of lyne;
Do wyne þerto and venegur gode,
Sture hom wele togeder for þe rode,
And make hit þyke inowghe þenne,
Whenne þou hit spendes byfore gode menne,
And make hit thynne with wyne, I say,
With diverse metes þou serve hit may.

77. For lombardy mustard.

Take mustard and let it dry
Anon, Sir, certainly;
Pound it in a mortar fine,
And force it through a cloth of linen;
Add wine thereto and good vinegar,
Stir them well together for the Rood, [ Page 31 ]
And make it thick enough then,
When you serve it before good men,
And make it thin with wine, I say,
With diverse meats you may serve it.

For Pykulle.

Take droppyng of capone rostyd wele
With wyne and mustarde, as I have þou cele,
With onyons smalle schrad and sothun in grece,
Meng alle in fere and forthe hit messe.

78. For Pickle.

Take drippings of capon roasted well
With wine and mustard, as you have bliss,
With onions small-shredded and fried in grease,
Mingle all together and serve it forth. [fol. 43]

Filetus in Galentine.

Take filetes of porke and half hom rost,
Smyte hom in peses with outene bost;
Draw3e a lyoure of blode and brede withalle,
Do venegur þer to, I wot þou schalle;
Fors hit with powder of canel, or gode gynger,
Sethe hit with þo flesshe, alle in fere;
Salt and messe forthe, þenne
Set it in sale before gode menne.

79. Fillets in Galentine.

Take fillets of pork and half-roast them,
Smite them in pieces without boast;
Strain a mixture of blood and bread withal,
Add vinegar thereto, I know you shall;
Season it with powder of cinnamon, or good ginger,
Seethe it with the flesh, all together;
Salt and serve forth, then
Set it in hall before good men.

Pigges in sawce.

Take pigges and scalde hom in water clene,
Sethe hom in water and salt bydene;
Take hom up and lete hom kele;
Take persoley and sage, and grynde hit wele
With þe brothe of pigges with owtene rewarde,
And 3olkes of eggus þat soþun ar harde,
Temper alle wth venegur sumdele stondande;
Lay pigges in a vessayle, with bothe hande,
Held þy sawce a-bofe tolde41 forþy,
And serve hit alle forthe, Syr, wyturly.

80. Pigs in sauce.

Take pigs and scald them in clean water,
Seethe them in water and salt anon;
Take them up and let them cool;
Take parsley and sage, and grind it well
With the broth of pigs without rewarde70,
And yolks of eggs that are seethed hard,
Mix all with vinegar somewhat thick;
Lay pigs in a vessel, with both hands,
Pour over your above-told71 sauce therefore,
And serve it all forth, Sir, certainly.

[ Page 32 ]

Sawce madame.

Take sawge, persoly, ysope, saveray,
Onyons gode, peres, garlek, I say,
And grapes; go fille þy gose þenne
And sew þy hole, no grece oute renne;
Lay hur to fyre and rost hyr browne,
And kepe þo grece þat falles doune.
Take galingale and þo grece þat renne,
Do hit in posnet, as I þe kenne;
Whenne þo gose is rostyd, take hir away,
Smyte hir in pesys, I þe pray;
Þat is within, þou schalle take oute,
Kest in þy posnet with outen doute;
3if hit is thyke do þerto wyne,
And powder of galingale þat is fyne,
And powder dowce and salt also;
Boyle alle togeder er þou fyr go,
In a dysshe þy gose þou close
Þe sawce abofe, as I suppose.

81. Sauce madame.

Take sage, parsley, hyssop, savory,
Good Onions, pears, garlic, I say,
And grapes; go fill your goose then
And sew your hole, [so that] no grease runs out;
Lay her to fire and roast her brown,
And keep the grease that falls down.
Take galingale and the grease that runs,
Put it in [a] pot, as I teach you;
When the goose is roasted, take her away,
Smite her in pieces, I thee pray;
That [which] is within, you shall take out,
Cast in your pot without doubt;
If it is thick add thereto wine,
And powder of galingale that is fine,
And powder douce and salt also;
Boil all together ere you forget,
In a dish your goose you close
The sauce above, as I suppose.

Gose in a Hogge pot.

In pesis þou schalle þy gose stryke,
Take water and wyne bothe ilyke;
Do in þy gose; and onyons þou take
A gode quantité, as I er spake,
And erbus hacked þou take also,
And cast þou in er þou more do;
Þen set þy pot over þo fyre,
And hit wele stir for þe hyre;
And make a lycoure of brede and blode,
And lye hit þerwithe, for hit is gode;
Kast powder þerto and salt anon,
And messe hit, þenne þou hase done.

82. Goose in a Hotchpot.

In pieces you shall strike your goose,
Take water and wine both alike;
Put in your goose; and onions you take
A good quantity, as I ere spake,
And hacked herbs you take also,
And cast therein ere you do more;
Then set your pot over the fire,
And [if] it boils stir for the hire72;
And make a mixture of bread and blood,
And mix it therewith, for it is good;
Cast [spice] powder thereto and salt anon,
And serve it, then you have done.

[ Page 33 ]

To save venysone fresshe over þe 3er.

Yf þou wylle kepe þe tayle of a dere
Fresshe in seson over þo 3ere,
Or oþer venesone yf þat hit nede,
Þus schalt þu do, I wot in dede;
Presse oute þo blode, for anythyng
Þat is cause for grete rotyng;
In erþyne pot þou shalt hit pyt
And feyre hony do into hit;
To þo hony stonde over þo flesshe
Too fyngurs thyke for harde or nesshe;
With leder þo mouthe þen schalt þou bynde,
Kepe hit fro ayre, son or wynde,
In cofer, or huche or seler merke.

83. To save venison fresh over the year.73

If you will keep the tail [end] of a deer
Fresh in season over the year,
Or other venison if that it need,
Thus shall you do, I know indeed;
Press out the blood, for anything [fol. 44]
That is cause for great rotting;
In earthen pot you shall put it
And fair honey put into it;
Till the honey stand over the flesh
Two fingers thick for hard or soft;
With leather the mouth [of the pot] then shall you bind,
Keep it from air, sun or wind,
In coffer, or hutch or cellar dark.

For to save venysone fro restyng42.

Take venesone when hit is new slayn,
And cover hit alle with ferne playn
Þat no wynde enter þer to;
And whenne þou hast covered hit so,
Lede hit home, selor hit lay
Þat wynde ne sone ne ughe43 hit may;
Dresse hit wele and wassh hit clene,
Sythen, lay hit in water alle by dene,
Þer in be half a day to lye;
Þenne take hit oute on flore to drye,
Þenne after take salt a quantité;
Boyle hit in clene water so fre,
And kele hit, þat he be bot lue,
And þerin wasshe þy venesone true,
And let hit lye þerin thre dayes
And thre ny3htes, by any kyns wayes;
Then take hit oute of þat water,
Salt hit wyth drye salt, alle in fere.
And do hit in a barel þenne;
Þe barel staf ful as I þe kenne,
Stop wele þo hede for wynde and sone,
For hit wylle payre þo venysone.

84. For to save venison from becoming rancid.74

Take venison when it is newly slain,
And cover it all with fern plain
That no wind enter thereto;
And when you have covered it so,
Carry it home, [in] sollar it lay
That wind nor sun ne ughe hit may; [may not make it disgusting or loathsome]
Dress it well and wash it clean,
Then, lay it in water all anon,
Therein [it should] be [left] half a day to lie;
Then take it out on floor to dry,
Then after take salt a quantity;
Boil it in clean water so free,
And cool it, that he is but warm,
And therein wash your venison true,
And let it lie therein three days
And three nights, by any kind of ways;
Then take it out of that water,
Salt it with dry salt, all together. [ Page 34 ]
And put it in a barrel then;
The barrel crammed full as I teach you,
Stop well the head for wind and sun,
For it will damage the venison.

To keep herb3 over þe wyntur.

Take floure and rere þo cofyns44 fyne,
Wele stondande withouten stine;
Take tenderons45 of sauge with owte lesyng,
And stop one fulle up to þo ryng;
Þenne close þo lyd fayre and wele,
Þat ayre go not oute never a dele,
Do so with saveray, percil and rewe;
And þenne bake hom harde, wel ne3e brende;
Sythun, kepe hom drye and to hom tent46;
Þis powder schalle be of more vertu,
Þen opone erþe when hit gru.

85. To keep herbs over the winter.

Take flour and then raise fine coffins,
Well-standing without support;75
Take young shoots of sage without picking,
And stop one full up to the ring;
Then close the lid fair and well,
That air goes not out never a part,
Do so with savory, parsley and rue;
And then bake them hard, well nigh burnt;
Then, keep them dry and to them attend;
This powder shall be of more virtue
Than upon earth when it grew.

For lyoure best.

Take drye floure, in cofyne hit close,
And bake hit hard, as I suppose;
Þou may hit kepe alle þys fyve 3ere,
Þere-with alye mony metes sere;
Here endys oure sawce, þat I foretolde.

86. For [the] best thickening.76

Take dry flour, in coffin it close,
And bake it hard, as I suppose;
You may keep it all these five years,
Therewith ally many sundry meats;
Here ends our sauce, that I foretold.

De Cibis assatis.

Of rostyd mete now speke I wolde,
For þer bene bestes þat schyne be rost,
As conyng, pigges, ful wele þou wost,
And foules also þat rostyd schyne be
On diverse manere in her degré;
And kostyf of motone, þat I wele knaw,
Enbrochyd shal be, by ry3t gode law;
And also fysshe þou schalle enbroche,
As porpays þat swymmes by þo see roche;
Þerfore I telle 3ou now, I rede,
What schalle rost with neck and hede.

De cibis assatis.[Of roasted food]

Of roasted meat now would I speak,
For there are beasts that should be roasted,
As coneys, pigs, quite well you know,
And fowls also that should be roasted
In diverse manners in their degree; [fol. 45]
And breast of mutton, that I well know,
Broached shall be, by quite good law; [ Page 35 ]
And also fish you shall broach,
As porpoise that swims by the sea rocks;
Therefore I tell you now, I advise,
What shall roast with neck and head.

For þe crane.

Þe crane schalle fyrst enarmed be,
Scalde and pulde ful warlé,
Dra3un at þo syde as wodcockis,
With legges al hole he rostyd is;
Abowte þo brothe þo necke þou cralle47,
Put in þo bylle at coler þou schalle;
Enarme hym forthe as hit is tolde
Before, and serve þys crane bolde.

87. For the crane.

The crane shall first be larded,77
Scald[ed] and pulled very carefully,
Drawn at the side as woodcock is,
With legs all whole he is roasted;
About the broch78 the neck you curl,
Put in the bill at [the] collar[-bone] you shall;
Lard him forth as it is told
Before, and serve this crane bold.

For heroun rostyd.

Þe heroun is slayn, as I have sene;
Þe herte oute pyke alle bydene,
Under þe lyft wyng þo neck bone steke,
Devoyded, as men me tolde meke;
Þenne under þo wynge þo skyn þou cralle47,
Pyt in þo bylle at coler þou schalle.

88. For heron roasted.

The heron is slain, as I have seen;
The heart pick out all anon,
Under the left wing the neck bone stab,79
Taken away, as men told me meekly;
Then under the wing the skin you curl,
Put in the bill at [the] collar you shall.

For wodcock, sny3t and curlue.

To wodcok, snype, curlue also,
Þe betore in fere with hom schalle goo;
Alle schun be dra3un, Syr, at þo syde,
And honestly rostyd with outene pryde,
With neck and hede suande in fere,
Þo bylle put þurghe þo þe3es sere;
On alle þese fowles þo legges schune bene,
Summe cralled48, sum stre3t, as I have sene.
And gret as heroun rostyd schalle be,
Þat a kny3t is called for gentloré,
A capone also þat comyn is,
Þo pecok wyth his tayle so have I blys,
Þo fesaunt kok, but not þo henne;
Þus have I lurnet at gentil men;
Alle oþer foles þat swymmen in flode,
Þat schun be rostyd, Syr, by þo rode,
With outen necke or hede, I trowe,
And oþer smalle bryddes, þat I wele knaw,
As osel, smityng, laveroc gray49,
Pertryk, werkock, I dayr wele say;
Þo kormorount schalle rost iwys,
With þo bylle opone for grete koyntes.

89. For woodcock, snipe and curlew.

To woodcock, snipe, curlew also,
The bittern together with them shall go;
All shall be drawn, Sir, at the side
And properly roasted without pride,
With neck and head following together,
The bill put through the pieces severally;
In all these fowls the legs shall be,
Some curled, some straight, as I have seen.
And great as roasted heron shall be,
That a knight is called for gentlehood80, [ Page 36 ]
A capon also that is common,
The peacock with his tail so have I bliss,
The pheasant cock, but not the hen;
Thus have I learned from gentlemen;
All other fowls that swim in flood,
That shall be roasted, Sir, by the Rood,
Without neck or head, I trust,
And other small birds, that I well know,
As blackbird, snipe, skylark gray,
Partridge, pheasant, I dare well say;
The cormorant shall roast certainly,
With the bill open for great elegance.

For pygges farsyd.

Take swongen50 eyrene and floure þer to,
And powder of peper er þou more do;
Blend alle togeder and salt þerwith;
Coloure hit with safrone, so have þou blythe;
Put alle in body of þo pygge,
Rost hit on broche of irne bygge
Enfarsed; þo cle51 of pygge schalle be
Festened in þe cheke so mot þou þe;
Þo hender legges enoynt52 þou schalle,
Þo cles by þo sydes þou festun withalle.

90. For stuffed pigs.

Take beaten eggs and flour thereto,
And powder of pepper ere you do more;
Blend all together and salt therewith;
Color it with saffron, so have you delight;
Put all in [the] body of the pig,
Roast it on [a] big spit of iron
Stuffed; the hoof of [the] pig shall be
Fastened in the cheek so may you thrive;
The hinder legs you shall join81,
The hooves by the sides you fasten withal. [fol. 46]

For fraunche mele.

Take swongene50 eyrene in bassyne clene,
And kreme of mylke þat is so schene,
And myyd bred, þou put þer to,
And powder of peper er þou more do;
Coloure hit with safrone in hast,
And kremelyd sewet of schepe on last,
And fylle þy bagge þat is so gode,
And sew hit fast, Syr, for þo rode;
Whenne hit is soþun, þou schalt hit leche,
And broyle hit on gredel, as I þe teche.

91. For fraunche mele. [Haggis.]

Take beaten eggs in basin clean,
And cream of milk that is so fair,
And grated bread, you put thereto,
And powder of pepper ere you do more;
Color it with saffron in haste,
And crumbled suet of sheep in last,
And fill your bag [sheep's stomach] that is so good,
And sew it fast, Sir, for the Rood; [ Page 37 ]
When it is seethed, you shall cut it,
And broil it on griddle, as I teach you.

For bours.

Take porke and gese, hew hom þou schalle
On gobetes, with powder of peper withalle;
Hom sethe in pot þat is so clene,
With oute any water, with salt, I wene;
Fro Martyn messe to gode tyde evyne,
Þys mete wylle serve, þou may me lene,
At dyner or soper, if þat hit nede
Þou take gode ale, þat is not quede53,
Þer in þou boyle þo forsayde mete
Þo more worship þou may gete.

92. For bours.81A

Take pork and geese, hew them you shall
In gobbets, with powder of pepper withal;
Seethe Them in [a] pot that is so clean,
Without any water, with salt, I believe;
From Martinmas to Good Tide Eve'n,81B
This meat will serve, you may trust me,
At dinner or supper, if that it need;
You take good ale, that is not bad,
Therein you boil the aforesaid meat
The more worship you may get.

For powme dorrys.

Take porke and grynde hit rawe, I kenne,
Temper hit with swongen50 egges; þenne
Kast powder to make hit on a balle;
In playand54 water þou kast hit schalle
To harden, þenne up þou take,
Enbroche hit fayre for goddes sake.
Endore hit with 3olkes of egges þen
With a fedyr at fyre, as I þe kenne;
Bothe grene and rede þow may hit make
With ius of herb3 I undertake;
Halde under a dysshe þat no3t be lost,
More honest hit is as þou wele wost.

93. For powme dorrys. [Glazed meatballs.]

Take pork and grind it raw, I teach,
Mix it with beaten eggs; then
Cast powder to make it in a ball;
In boiling water you shall cast it
To harden, then up you take,
Spit it fair for God's sake.
Baste it with yolks of eggs then
With a feather at [the] fire, as I teach you;
Both green and red you may make it 81C
With juice of herbs I undertake;
Hold under a dish that naught be lost,
More commendable it is as you well know.

Hasteletes on fysshe day.

Take fyggus quartle, and raysyns, þo
Hole dates, almondes, rine hom also
On broche of irne, and rost hom sone;
Endore hom with 3olkes of egges anone.
Here endys oure hastere þat I of spake;
To speke of bakun mete I wolde clake,
For lamprays, darials and flaunes also,
And oþer metes mony and moo.

94. [Mock] Entrails on fish day.82

Take figs quartered, and raisins, then
Whole dates, almonds, run them also
On spit of iron, and roast them soon;
Baste them with yolks of eggs anon.

[ Page 38 ]

Here ends our roasted meat that I [have] spoken of;
To speak of bake-meat I would clack,
For lampreys, darioles and tarts also,
And other meats many and more.

For lamprays bakun.

Fyrst scalde þy lamprays fayre and wele,
As I tolde byfore, so have þou cele;
Soþun, rere a cofyne of flowre so fre,
Rolle in þo lampray, as hit may be;
Take mynsud onyons þer to, gode wonne,
But fyrst take powder of peper, anon
Of maces, cloves and graynys also,
And dates al hole þou take þerto,
Poure rede wyne þerto þou schalle,
Coloure hit with safrone and closen alle.
In myddes þo lydde an tuel55 þou make,
Set hit in þo ovyn for to bake;
3ete take hit oute, fede hit with wyne,
Lay on þo tuel a past fulle fyne,
And bake hit forthe, as I þe kenne,
To serve in sale before gode menne.

95. For baked lampreys.

First scald your lampreys fair and well,
As I told before, so have you bliss;
Then, raise a coffin of flour so free,
Roll in the lamprey, as it may be;
Take minced onions thereto, [a] good quantity,
But first take powder of pepper, anon
Of maces, cloves and grains [of paradise] also,
And dates all whole you take thereto,
Pour red wine thereto you shall, [fol. 47]
Color it with saffron and close all.
In [the] middle [of] the lid an opening82A you make,
Set it in the oven for to bake;
Carefully take it out, feed it with wine,
Lay on the opening a very fine paste,
And bake it forth, as I teach you,
To serve in hall before good men.

For darials.

Take creme of almonde mylke iwys,
And 3olkes of eyren, so have þou blys,
And make a batere þat is ful gode,
And rere a cofyne with mylde mode;
And sethe a mawdelarde56, þat fat is þenne,
And cut in peses, as I þe kenne;
Square as dises þou shalt hit make,
Kast hit in batere, and powder þou take
Of gynger, of kanel, þat gode is, þo
Enfors hit wele er þou more do,
And loke þy cofyne be hardened wele,
Powre in þy batere, so have þou cele,
With a disshe hit florysshe þou may,
With blanchyd almondes, as I þe say.

96. For darioles.

Take cream of almond milk truly,
And yolks of eggs, so have you bliss,
And make a batter that is quite good,
And raise a coffin with mild mode;83
And seethe a mallard, that is fat then,
And cut [it] in pieces, as I teach you;
Square as dice you shall make it,
Cast it in batter, and powder you take
Of ginger, of cinnamon, that is good, then
Season it well ere you do more, [ Page 39 ]
And look your coffin is hardened well,
Pour in your batter, so have you bliss,84
With a dish garnish it you may,
With blanched almonds, as I say [to] you.

For flaunes.

Take new chese and grynde hit fayre,
In morter with egges, with out dysware;
Put powder þer to of sugur, I say,
Coloure hit with safrone ful wele þou may;
Put hit in cofyns þat bene fayre,
And bake hit forthe, I þe pray.

97. For tarts.

Take new cheese and grind it fair,
In [a] mortar with eggs, without doubt;
Put powder thereto of sugar, I say,
Color it with saffron quite well you may;
Put it in coffins that are fair,
And bake it forth, I thee pray.

For custanes.

Grynde porke, brek eyren þer to anon,
With powder of peper er þou more done;
Put hit in cofyn, þat harde is bake,
And 3olke of egge þen schalt þou take,
That harde is soþun, lay in to þo top
As hit were a gyldene knop.

98. For crustades.

Grind pork, break eggs thereto anon,
With powder of pepper ere you [have] done more;
Put it in [a] coffin, that is baked hard,
And yolk of egg then shall you take,
That is seethed hard, lay in to the top
As it were a golden knob.

For risshens.

Take grounden porke þat soþun hase bene
With peper and swongen egges clene;
Put berme þer to, I undertake,
As tome57 as belle hit wille hit make;
Lay hit in a roller as sparlyng fysshe,
Frye hit in grece, lay hit in dysshe.

99. For rissoles.

Take ground pork that has been seethed
With pepper and beaten eggs clean;
Put barm thereto, I undertake,
As light as [a] bubble it will it make;85
Lay it in a roller as smelt fish,86
Fry it in grease, lay it in dish.

For freture.

Wih egges and floure in batere þou make,
Put berme þer to, I undertake;
Coloure hit with safrone er þou more do;
Take powder of peper and cast þer to,
Kerve appuls overtwert and cast þerin,
Frye hom in grece, no more ne mynne.

100. For fritters.

With eggs and flour in batter you make,
Put barm thereto, I undertake; [ Page 40 ]
Color it with saffron ere you do more;
Take powder of pepper and cast thereto,
Carve apples overthwart and cast therein,
Fry them in grease, no more nor less.

Crustate of flesshe.

Take peiuns and smalle chekuns with alle
And oþer smale bryddes, and hew hom smalle;
And sethe hom alle togedur þoo
In brothe and in white grece, also
In verius, and do þer to safroune;
Fyrst make a fole58 trap59 þou mun,
Pynche hym, cowche60 hym þy flesshe þerby;
Kast þerin raysyns of corouns forthy,
And powder dowce and salt gode won;
Breke eyren and streyne hom thorowghe a clothe anone,
And swynge þy sewe þerwyth þenne,
And helde hit onne þe flesshe I kenne,
And kover þy trap and hele hit wele,
And serve hit forthe, Syr, at þe mele.

101. Crustade of flesh.

Take pigeons and small chickens withal
And other small birds, and hew them small;
And seethe them all together then
In broth and in white grease, also
In verjuice, and add thereto saffron;
First you must make a pastry crust,87
Pinch him, place your flesh [in] him thereby; [fol. 48]
Cast therein dried currants therefore,
And powder douce and salt [a] good quantity.
Break eggs and strain them through a cloth anon,
And beat your broth therewith then,
And pour it on the flesh I teach,
And cover your crust and cover it well,
And serve it forth, Sir, at the meal.

Loysyns.

In erthen pot put brothe for hast;
Take floure of payndemayn, and make þy past
With water, þer of þy fele þou make
With a roller, and drye hit, I undurtake
A3ayne þo sonne þat hit be harde;
Kast þerin brothe and make rewarde;
To sethe hom take rawe chese anone
And grate hit in disshes mony on
With powder dowce; and lay þer in
Þy loseyns abofe þe chese with wynne,
And powder on last spryngil hit þou may;
Þose loysyns er harde to make in fay.

102. Lozenges.88

In earthen pot put broth for haste;
Take flour of paindemaine, and make your paste
With water, thereof your paste89 you make
With a roller, and dry it, I undertake
Against the sun that it be hard;
Cast therein 90 broth and take heed;
To seethe them [.] take raw cheese anon
And grate it into many dishes
With powder douce; and lay therein
Your lozenges above the cheese with labor91,
And you may sprinkle [spice] powder on it last;
Those lozenges are hard to make in truth.

[ Page 41 ]

Tartlotes.

Take porke sothun, and grynde hit wele
With safroune, and medel hit ylkadel
With egges and raysyns of corouns; þo
Take powder and salt, and do þerto;
Make a fole of doghe, and close þis fast,
This flesshe þat hewene was opon þo last
Kover hit with lyddes, and pynche hit fayre,
Korven in þe myddes two loyseyns a payr,
Set hit with fryed almondes sere,
And coloure þe past with safroune dere,
And bake hit forthe, as I þe kenne,
And set in sale before gode menne.

103. Tartlets.

Take seethed pork, and grind it well
With saffron, and mix it completely
With eggs and dried currants; then
Take powder and salt, and add thereto;
Make a sheet of dough, and close this fast,
This flesh that was hewn upon the last
Cover it with lids, and pinch it fair,
Carved in the middle two lozenges satisfy,92
Set it with fried almonds sundry,
And color the pastry with saffron dear,
And bake it forth, as I teach you,
And set in hall before good men.

Chewetes on fysshe day.

Take turbut, haddok, and gode codlyng,
Hacke hit, sethe hit, with owte lesyng,
And grynde hit smale, do dates þerto
Igroundene, and raysyns and prunus also,
With gode powder and salt on last;
Make a cofyne, close hit fast,
Frye hit in oyle, sethe hit þou schalle
And sugur and wyne ry3t gode with alle.

104. Chewets on fish day.

Take turbot, haddock, and good codling,
Hack it, seethe it, without picking,
And grind it small, add dates thereto
Ground, and raisins and prunes also,
With good powder and salt on last;
Make a coffin, close it fast,
Fry it in oil, seethe it you shall
And sugar and wine quite good withal.

Chewetes on flesshe daye.

Take lyver of porke and kerve hit smalle.
As to a pye be hewen hit schalle,
And hennes þerwith do alle in a panne,
And frye hit wele as þou wele kanne;
Make a cofyne as to smalle pye,
Do þat þerin; and 3olkes þerby
Of harde egges sothun, and eke þou take
Powder of gynger and salt to bake;
Kerve hit and frye hit in grece ful gode,
Wel pynchyd serve on last by þo rode.
Here endes oure cure, þat I of spake,
Of potage, hasteletes, and mete [ibake]
And sawce þer to, with oute lesyng,
Cryst mot our sowles to hevene bryng.

105. Chewets on flesh day.

Take liver of pork and carve it small,
As to a pie it shall be hewn,
And hens therewith put all in a pan,
And fry it well as you well can;
Make a coffin as for [a] small pie,
Put that therein; and yolks thereby
Of eggs seethed hard, and also you take
Powder of ginger and salt to bake;
Carve it and fry it in grease quite good,
Well pinched serve in last by the Rood. [ Page 42 ]

Here ends our cookery, that I [have] spoken of,
Of pottage, roasted meats, and bake-meat93
And sauce thereto, without lying,
Christ must our souls to heaven bring. [fol. 49]

Explicit hic quartus passus.

Of petecure I wylle preche;
What falles þer to 3ow wylle I teche;
Fore pore menne þys crafte is tolde
Þat mowon not have spysory, as þay wolde;
For hit is nede to gode, to ken men gode
As wele þe pore as ryche by þo rode;
Þerfore to telle you I am set,
Fyrst what herb3, with owtene let,
Ben gode to potage I wolle 3ow lere;
Þou take þe crop of þo rede brere,
Rede nettel crop, and avans also,
Þo prymrol, violet, þou take þerto
Town cresses, and cresses þat growene in flode,
Clarray saveray and tyme gode wone,
Persoley, wortes, oþer herb3 mony wone;
Alle þese erbs þou no3t forsake,
But lest of prymrol þou shalle take.
Rede cole hane parte of potage is,
Fro Iuny to Sayn Iame tyde, iwys,
Þenne leve his stade to My3ellis eve,
And þen bygynnys hit to releve;
Þen þoroughe þe wyntur his curse schal holde,
Neghe lentone seson þat porray be bolde.

Here unfolds the fourth passage.

106. Of small cookery I will preach;94
What appertains thereto I will you teach;
For poor men this craft is told
That may not have spicery, as they would;
For it is necessary to good, to teach men good
As well the poor as rich by the Rood;
Therefore to tell you I am set,
First what herbs, without let,
Are good for pottage I will teach you;
You take the tips of the red briar,
Red nettle tips, and avens also,
The primrose, violet, you take thereto
Town cresses, and cresses that grow in flood,
Clary [,] savory and thyme [a] good quantity,
Parsley, pot-herbs, other herbs many [a] quantity;
All these herbs you naught forsake,
But least [or last] of primrose you shall take.
Red cole is one part of pottage,
From June to Saint James tide, truly,95
Then leave his date to [St.] Michael's eve,
And then it begins to relieve;
Then through the winter his curse shall hold,
Nigh lenten season that porray is bold.

For stondand fygnade.

Fyrst play61 þy water with hony and salt,
Grynde blanchyd almondes I wot þou schalle;
Þurghe a streynour þou shalt hom streyne,
With þe same water þat is so clene.
In sum of þe water stepe þou schalle
Whyte brede crustes to alye hit with alle;
Þenne take figgus and grynde hom wele,
Put hom in pot so have þou cele;
Þen take brede, with mylke hit streyne
Of almondes þat be white and clene;
Cast in þo fyggus þat ar igrynde
With powder of peper þat is þo kynde,
And powder of canel; in grete lordys house
With sugur or hony þou may hit dowce;
Þen take almondes cloven in twen,
Þat fryid ar with oyle, and set with wyn
Þy disshe, and florysshe hit þou my3t
With powder of gynger þat is so bry3t,
And serve hit forthe as I spake thenne
And set hit in sale before gode menne.

107. For thick fignade [fig pudding].

First boil your water with honey and salt,
Grind blanched almonds I know you shall;96
Through a strainer you shall strain them,
With the same water that is so clean. [ Page 43 ]
In some of the water you shall steep
White bread crusts to bind it withal;
Then take figs and grind them well,
Put them in [a] pot so have you bliss;
Then take bread, strain it with milk
Of almonds that is white and clean;
Cast in the figs that are ground
With powder of pepper that is the kind,
And powder of cinnamon; in great lord's house
With sugar or honey you may sweeten it;
Then take almonds cloven in twain,
That are fried with oil, and set with will
Your dish, and garnish it you might
With powder of ginger that is so bright,
And serve it forth as I spoke then
And set it in hall before [good men. -- Added by Richard Morris]

For sirup.

Take befe and sklice hit fayre and thynne,
Of þo luddock62 with owte or ellis with in;
Take mynsud onyouns, and powder also
Of peper, and suet and befe þerto
And cast þeron, rolle hit wele,
Enbroche hit overtwert, so have þou cele;
And rost hit browne as I þe kenne,
And take brothe of fresshe flesshe þenne,
And alye hit with bred er þou more do,
And mynsud onyons þou cast þer to
With powder of peper and clowes in fere;
Boyle alle togeder, as I þe lere,
Þenne boylyd blode take þou shalle;
Strene hit þorowghe clothe, colour hit withalle;
Þenne take þy rost, and sklyce hit clene
In þe lengethe of a fynger; boyle hit by dene
In þe same sewe; serve hit þou may
In a disshe togedur I say.

108. For syrup. [Allows of beef.]

Take beef and slice it fair and thin,
Of the loins without or else within;
Take minced onions, and powder also
Of pepper, and suet and beef thereto
And cast thereon, roll it well,
Spit it across, so have you bliss;
And roast it brown as I teach you,
And take broth of fresh flesh then,
And mix it with bread ere you do more,
And minced onions you cast thereto, [fol. 50]
With powder of pepper and cloves together;
Boil all together, as I teach you,
Then boiled blood you shall take;
Strain it through cloth, color it withal;
Then take your roast, and slice it clean
In the length of a finger; boil it anon
In the same broth; serve it you may
In a dish together I say.

[ Page 44 ]

For Tuskyn.

Take raw porke and hew hit smalle,
And grynde in a morter; temper hit þou schalle
With swongen egges, but not to þynne;
In gryndynge, put powder of peper withinne,
Þenne þis flessh take up in þy honde,
And rolle hit on balles, I undurstonde,
In gretnes of crabbes; I harde say
In boylande water þou kast hom may.
To harden þen take hom oute to cole,
And play fresshe brothe fayre and wele;
Þer in cast persoley, ysope, saveray,
Þat smalle is hakked by any way.
Alye hit with flour or brede for þy,
Coloure hit with safroun for þe maystré;
Cast powder of peper and clawes þer to,
And take þy balles or þou more do,
And put þer in; boyle alle in fere
And serve hit forthe for tuskyne dere.

109. For Tuskyn.

Take raw pork and hew it small,
And grind in a mortar; mix it you shall
With beaten eggs, but not too thin;
In grinding, put powder of pepper within,
Then this flesh take up in your hand,
And roll it in balls, I understand,
In greatness of crabapples; I heard say
In boiling water you may cast them.
To harden then take them out to cool,
And boil fresh broth fair and well;
Therein cast parsley, hyssop, savory,
That is hacked small by any way.
Mix it with flour or bread therefore,
Color it with saffron for the mastery;
Cast powder of pepper and cloves thereto,
And take your balls before you do more,
And put therein; boil all together
And serve it forth for tuskyne dear.

For blaunchyd porray.

Take thykke mylke of almondes dere
And heke63 hedes þou take with stalk in fere,
Þat is in peses þou stryke;
Put alle in pot, alye hit ilyke
With a lytel floure, and serve hit þenne
Wele soþun, in sale, before gode menne.

110. For white porray.

Take thick milk of almonds dear
And leek 97 heads you take with stalk together,
That is in pieces you strike;
Put all in [a] pot, mix it alike
With a little flour, and serve it then
Well seethed, in hall, before good men.

Porry of white pese.

Take white pese and wasshe hom wele;
Put hom in pot, so have þou cele,
With water; and ere þo fyrst boylyng
Þou katche hom doune with oute lesyng;
Trendel hom in platere and pyke hom clene,
Devoyde þo worme-etone alle bydene,
In fresshe water þou schalt hom caste,
And boyle hom wyle þat þey breste;
So sethe hom forthe al by dene,
Quylle þay be boylde fayre and clene;
Þen take þat brothe, and put þer to
Mynsyd onyons, with powder also
Of peper, coloure hit with gode safroune,
And put þer to a lytel porc[i]oun
Of ale, and sethe hit ry3t wele, þenne
After cut crust of bred I kenne,
Sware as dyse and put þerto;
Gyf hit a boylyng, no more ne myn,
And serve hit forthe in to þe halle,
Þese oþer pese 3it make þou shalle.

111. Porray of white peas.

Take white peas and wash them well;
Put them in [a] pot, so have you bliss,
With water; and before the first boiling
You take them down without picking; [ Page 45 ]
Roll them in [a] platter and pick them clean,
Remove the worm-eaten all anon,
In fresh water you shall cast them,
And boil them well [so] that they burst;
So seethe them forth all anon,
Until they are boiled fair and clean;
Then take that broth, and put thereto
Minced onions, with powder also
Of pepper, color it with good saffron,
And put thereto a little portion
Of ale, and seethe it quite well, then
After cut crust of bread I teach,
Square as dice and put thereto;
Give it a boiling, no more nor less,
And serve it forth into the hall,
These other peas you shall also make.

For white pese after porray.

Take boyled water wyth honey swete,
Sethe in þy pesone þat ben so sete,
While þat þey lie be hom selfe þere
With mynsud onyons and no more,
To serve on fysshe day with grappays,
With sele fysshe or ellis with porpays,
Opone fyssh dayes 3if þat hit falle,
Þus sethe þy pese I wot þou schalle;
Temper hom in brothe of bacun clene
And kepe þe gravé hit not be sene;
3if þay ben harde and wynnot alye
Brysse hom or strene hom, Sir, wyturlye;
Thre leches of bacun lay þou mot
In brothe; and serve fulle wele þou wot
With þy pese, þat soþun ar wele.
To ete þerwith, so have þou cele.

112. For white peas after porray.98

Take boiled water with honey sweet,
Seethe [there]in your peas that are so wholesome, [fol. 51]
While that they lie by themselves there
With minced onions and no more,
To serve on fish day with grappays99,
With good fish or else with porpoise,
Upon fish days if that it fall,
Thus seethe your peas I know you shall;
Mix them in broth of bacon clean
And keep the gravy [that] it be not seen;
If they are hard and will not mix
Bruise them or strain them, Sir, certainly;
Three slices of bacon you must lay
In broth; and serve quite well you know
With your peas, that are well-seethed,
To eat therewith, so have you bliss.

[ Page 46 ]

For Gray pese.

Fyrst stepe þy pese over þe ny3t,
And trendel hom clene, and fayre hom dy3t.
Sethe hom in water; and brothe þou take
Of bacun, and fresshe bre þou no3t forsake;
Summe men hom lofe alyed wyle
With floure and summe with never a dele;
Þese pese with bacun eten may be
As þo why3t pese were, so mot I þe.
But þo white with powder of peper þo
Moun be forsyd with ale þer to.

113. For Gray peas.

First steep your peas over the night,
And roll them clean, and prepare them well.
Seethe them in water; and broth you take
Of bacon, and fresh broth you naught forsake;
Some men love them mixed well
With flour and some with never a deal;
These peas may be eaten with bacon
As the white peas were, so may I thrive.
But the white with powder of pepper then
May be seasoned with ale thereto.

For kole.

Take fresshe brothe of motene clene,
Of vele and porke al by dene;
Hakke smalle þy wortis and persyl, þo
When þat hit boylys, cast hom þerto,
Do a lite grotes þy wortis amang
And sethe hom forthe I undurstande.
3if þou have salt flesshe sethand I wot,
Take a fresshe pece oute of þo pot,
And sethe by þo self, as I þe kenne;
Take up, put in þy wortis þenne,
In þe mene whyle gode gravé þou gete
To florisshe þy wortis at þo last hete.

114. For cabbage.

Take fresh broth of mutton clean,
Of veal and pork all anon;
Hack small your coleworts100 and parsley, then
When that it boils, cast them thereto,
Add a few groats among your coleworts
And seethe them forth I understand.
If you have salt flesh sethand101 I know,
Take a fresh piece out of the pot,
And seethe by itself, as I teach you;
Take up, put [it] in your coleworts then,
In the meanwhile you get good gravy
To garnish your coleworts at the last heat.

For mustul bre.

Fyrst sethe þy mustuls quyl shel of lepe
In water, and þerof summe kepe;
Þer in þou stepe white brede fayre,
Þo remunaunde þou kepe with oute disware;
And voyde þy groundyngus for sonde;
Pyke clene þy mustuls, wasshe hom with honde,
Sett hom besyde þy brede þou bray,
Take mynsud onyons, and powdur I say
Of peper, and cast þy bre into;
Color hit with safroune er þou more do,
And sethe hit wele; alye hit þenne
With þy forsayde brede, as I þe kenne,
All hole do in þy mustuls þore
And serve hit forthe with outyn more.

115. For mussel broth.

First seethe your mussels until [the] shell[s] falls off102
In water, and thereof some keep;
Therein you steep white bread fair,
The remainder you keep without doubt;
And discard the grounds because of sand;
Pick clean your mussels, wash them with hands,
Set them to one side [,] your bread you grind,
Take minced onions, and powder I say [ Page 47 ]
Of pepper, and cast into your broth;
Color it with saffron ere you do more.
And seethe it well; mix it then
With your aforesaid bread, as I teach you,
All whole put in your mussels there
And serve it forth without more.

For porray of mustuls.

Take mustul brothe, as I say þe,
And grynd þy lecus in morter fre,
With a lite64 grotes put hom þer in
And sethe hom wele, no more no myn;
But grynde þy mustuls and put þer to
And sethe alle up, now hase þou do.

116. For porray of mussels.

Take mussel broth, as I say [to] you, [fol. 52]
And grind your leeks in mortar free,
With a few groats put them therein
And seethe them well, no more nor less;
But grind your mussels and put thereto
And seethe all up, now have you done.

For gruel of fors.

Fyrst take porke, wele þou hit sethe
With otene grotes, þat ben so smethe;
Whenne hit begynnes wele to alye,
Þou save of þe þynnest brothe þer by
To streyne þy gruel, alle and summe;
But furst take oute þy porke þou mun
And hak hit smal and grynde hit clene;
Cast hit to þo gruel þat streyned bene,
Colour hit with safroune and sethe hit wele;
For gruel of force serve hom at mele.

117. For seasoned gruel.

First take pork, you seethe it well
With oaten103 groats, that are so smooth;
When it begins to thicken well,
You save of the thinnest broth thereby
To strain your gruel, all and some;
But first you must take out your pork
And hack it small and grind it clean;
Cast it to the gruel that [has] been strained,
Color it with saffron and seethe it well;
For seasoned gruel serve them at meal.

For Ioutes.

Take most of cole, borage65, persyl,
Of plumtre leves, þou take þer tyl,
Redde nettel crop and malues grene,
Rede brere croppes, and avans goode
A lytel nept violet by þo rode,
And lest of prymrol levus þou take,
Sethe hom in water for goddes sake;
Þenne take hom up, presse oute þou shalle
Þe water, and hakke þese erbs alle
And grynd hom in a morter schene
With grotene; and sethe hom thyk by dene
In fresshe brothe, as I þe kenne;
Take sklyset, enbawdet66 þenne
Besyde on platere þou shalt hit lay
To be cut and eten with ioutes in fay.

118. For Ioutes. [Potherbs - a medicinal recipe]104

Take most of cabbage, borage105, parsley,
Of plum tree leaves106, you take thereto,
Red nettle top and mallows green,
Red briar tops, and good avens,
A little catnip [ , ] violet by the Rood, [ Page 48 ]
And last of primrose leaves you take,
Seethe them in water for God's sake;
Then take them up, press out you shall
The water, and hack these herbs all
And grind them in a fair mortar
With groats; and seethe them thick anon
In fresh broth, as I teach you;
Take slices107 [of meat], cut thin then
By the side on [the] platter you shall lay it
To be cut and eaten with ioutes in truth.

For capons in erbis.

Fyrst stop þy capone with saveray,
With persyl, a lytil ysope I say;
Þen take þo neck, avoyde þe bone;
And make a puddyng þer of anon
With an egge and myed bred also,
With hakked lyver and hert þer to,
With powder of peper and safroune; þen
Sew fast þo bylle grete ende, I ken;
Þen sethe þy capone, as I þe say,
With persoley, sauge, ysope, saveray,
A litel nep, brisse hom in hast
And wrythe itwen; in hom þou cast
With sklices of bacon, enbrawdet here,
And coloure þy brothe with safrone dere.
When hit is soþun, in disshe hit lay
Þo bacon þo neck besyde in fay.
Take grounden safron temperid with ale,
To florysshe þy capone with syder þou shalle,
Lyande in dysshe, and serve hym þenne,
Set hym in sale before goode menne.

119. For capons in herbs.

First stuff your capon with savory,
With parsley, a little hyssop I say;
Then take the neck, remove the bone;
And make a pudding thereof anon107A
With an egg and crumbled bread also,
With hacked liver and heart thereto,
With powder of pepper and saffron; then
Sew fast the bill's great end, I know;
Then seethe your capon, as I say [to] you,
With parsley, sage, hyssop, savory,
A little catnip, bruise them in haste
And wring in half108; in them you cast
With slices of bacon, cut thin109 here,
And color your broth with saffron dear.
When it is seethed, in dish it lay
The bacon the neck to one side in truth.110
Take ground saffron mixed with ale,
To garnish your capon with cider you shall,
Lying in dish, and serve him then,
Set him in hall [before good men. -- Added by Richard Morris]

For oþer ioutes.

Take cole and strype hom þorowghe þi honde
And do away þo rybbys I undurstonde;
In fat bre fresshe of befe I wene,
Þay schalle be soþun ful thykk by dene.

120. For other ioutes.

Take cabbage and strip them through your hand
And remove the ribs I understand; [ Page 49 ] [fol. 53]
In fat fresh broth of beef I believe,
They shall be seethed quite thick anon.

For honge cole.

Hakke þy kole wel grete I trow,
Sethe hom in water ful thyke I thrawe67;
Þen take hom up; presse a non
Þe water of hom, er þou more done;
In dysshe hom hakke togeder þen
With buttur, to serve before gode men.

121. For hung cabbage.111

Hack your cabbage in large pieces I believe,
Seethe them in water quite thick I crave112;
Then take them up; press anon
The water from them, ere you [have] done more;
In dish hack them together then
With butter, to serve before good me[n. --Added by Richard Morris]

For henne in brothe.

Take, sethe þy henne and kut her wele
On gobbettes, save alrons68 and þe pestle69;
Sethe thritté egges harde also,
And hakke þe white and cast þer to
In pot, with mynsud onyonus gode;
First stepe þy brede of whete by þe rode,
In þe same brothe besyde to lye
Þy sewe, in put powder of peper þer by
Of clowes, of gynger þer to þou take,
Coloure hit with safroune for goddes sake;
Do fyve 3olkes in on disshe, þenne
Thre gobbettis of flesshe als of þat henne;
Poure on þat sewe þat first was dy3t,
To serve in sale by ful gode ry3t.

122. For hen in broth.

Take, seethe your hen and cut her well
In gobbets, except the wing tips and the legs;
Seethe thirty eggs hard also,
And hack the white and cast thereto
In [a] pot, with good minced onions;
First steep your bread of wheat by the Rood,
In the same broth to one side to mix
Your broth, put in powder of pepper thereby
Of cloves, of ginger thereto you take,
Color it with saffron for God's sake;
Add five yolks in one dish, then
Three gobbets of flesh as of that hen;
Pour on that broth that first was prepared,
To serve in hall by very good right.

For comyne sewe.

3iff þou wylle make a comyne sew,
Vele and motun and porke þou hew
On smalle gobettis; put hom in pot
With mynsud onyouns, ful wele I wot,
And powder of Peper þou kast þerto;
Coloure hit with safroune or þou more do,
And draw3e alyoure of browne crust eke
To alye þis sew þat is so meke.

123. For cumin broth. 112A

If you will make a cumin broth,
Veal and mutton and pork you hew
In small gobbets; put them in [a] pot
With minced onions, quite well I know,
And powder of Pepper you cast thereto;
Color it with saffron ere you do more, [ Page 50 ]
And strain a mixture of brown crust also
To thicken this broth that is so meek.

For a tansy cake.

Breke egges in bassyn and swyng hem sone,
Do powder of peper þer to anone;
Þen grynde tansy, þo iuse owte wrynge,
To blynde with þo egges with owte lesynge.
In pan or skelet þou shalt hit frye,
In buttur wele skymmet wyturly,
Or white grece þou make take þer to,
Geder hit on a cake, þenne hase þou do,
With platere of tre, and frye hit browne.
On brode leches serve hit þou schalle,
With fraunche mele or oþer metis with alle.

124. For a tansy cake. [Caution! See note.113]

Break eggs in [a] basin and beat them soon,
Add powder of pepper thereto anon;
Then grind tansy, wring out the juice,
To blend with the eggs without picking.
In pan or skillet you shall fry it,
In butter well-skimmed certainly,
Or white grease you make take113A thereto,
Gather it in a cake, then have you done,114
With platter of wood, and fry it brown.
In broad slices you shall serve it ,
With frauche mele or other meats withal.

For a froyse.

Sethe porke or vele and hew hit smalle,
Take swongen egges and hew with alle;
Frye hom in buttur in panne sone
And styr hit wele, þen hase þou done.
With trow3tes on þe same aray,
Wele soþun and hakked, tesyd in fay,
And frye hom in buttur, as I þe kenne,
To serve on fysshe day before gode men.

125. For a fritter.115

Seethe pork or veal and hew it small,
Take beaten eggs and hew withal;
Fry them in butter in pan soon
And stir it well, then have you done.
With trouts in the same array,
Well seethed and hacked, teased in faith,
And fry them in butter, as I teach you,
To serve on fish day before good men.

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.

126. For a broth of eels.

First flay your eels, smite them in pieces, [fol. 54]
Put them in [a] pot, though they are little,
With clean water; then you shall take
All powder of pepper, color it withal
With saffron and thickened then
With flour, and cast all in, I teach,
At the first boiling that may befall
Seething hot, and serve it into the hall.

[ Page 51 ]

For a pye.

Fyrst sly þy capon over þo ny3ght,
Plump hym in water wher he is dy3t,
Alle wallande hote anon take oute
Þo capone to drye, with outen dowte;
Þy stuffe of fresshe befe mynse þou schalle
With wyne or verius or salt with alle,
To temper þat stuffe, and suet take þen
Of þe same befe hakked I ken,
That suet þou coloure wiþ safroune wele
In a dysshe by hit selfe, as I þe telle70;
Þen lay þy capon in coffyn fyne,
A mawdelarde þerby and wodcockys twyne,
Put in þy stuffe er þou more done,
With an hen egge 3olkes set hit anon,
Þen take þy suet þat coloured was wele,
Mynge hit above, so have þou cele;
Þen coloure þy capon with safroune, dore
With a feder, with a fayre feder, as I þe lore,
Sethyne, with clovyn dates ry3t,
With maces and quibibis he shalle be dy3t;
Cloves and graynys þou take þer to
And raysyns of corauns for3ete not; þo
Close on þy lyd and pynche hym þen,
And bake hym forthe, as I þe ken.

127. For a pie.

First slay your capon over the night,
Drop him in water where he is prepared,
All boiling hot anon take out
The capon to dry, without doubt;
Your stuffing of fresh beef you shall mince
With wine or verjuice or salt withal,
To mix that stuffing, and suet take then
Of the same beef hacked I teach,
That suet you color with saffron well
In a dish by itself, as I tell you;
Then lay your capon in coffin fine,
A mallard thereby and woodcocks twain,
Put in your stuffing ere you [have] done more,
With a hen's egg yolks set it anon,
Then take your suet that was well-colored,
Mix it above, so have you bliss;
Then color your capon with saffron, endore
With a feather, with a fair feather, as I teach you,
Then, with cloven dates right,
With maces and cubebs he shall be prepared;
Cloves and grains [of paradise] you take thereto
And dried currants forget not; then
Close on your lid and pinch him then,
And bake him forth, as I teach you.

For a cawdel.

Breke ten egges in cup fulle fayre,
Do away þe white with oute diswayre;
Þo strene also þou put away
And swyng þy 3olkes with spone I þe say
Þen mynge hom wele with gode ale,
A cup fulle large take þou schalle,
Set hit on fyre, styr hit, I telle,
Bewar þer with þat hit never welle;
3if þou cast salt þer to, iwys
Þou marres alle, so have I blis.
At þo fyrst assay þou take hit doun,
When hit wolde welle, þys caudel broun,
3if þat hit welle, as may be falle,
Þus helpe hit þen I wot þou schalle;
Storve myed wastel with colde ale þen,
And cast þer to, sethe hit I ken.

128. For a caudle.

Break ten eggs in cup quite fair,
Put away the white without doubt;
Then strene also you put away
And beat your yolks with [a] spoon I say [to] you;
Then mix them well with good ale
A very large cup you shall take,
Set it on [the] fire, stir it, I tell,
Beware therewith that it never boils;
If you add salt thereto, truly
You mar all116, so have I bliss. [ Page 52 ]
At the first assay you take it down,
When it would boil, this caudle brown,
If that it boils, as may befall,
Thus help it then I know you shall;
Starve117 crumbled wastel with cold ale then,
And add thereto, seethe it I teach.

For sawce gynger.

Fyrst stepe þy brede, þat white is bake,
And verius or venegur I undertake;
Þen drawghe hit þorowghe a streynour fyne,
Coloure hit with safroune, and cast þer in
Powder of gynger ino3ht, and salt,
Or ellys coloure hit nou3t þou schalt;
For grete lordis þou schalt take wyne
With safroune to þy sawce ful fyne.

129. For sauce ginger.

First steep your bread, that white is baked,
And verjuice or vinegar I undertake;
Then draw it through a strainer fine,
Color it with saffron, and cast therein
Powder of ginger enough, and salt,
Or else color it not you shall;
For great lords you shall take wine [fol. 55]
With saffron to your sauce full fine.

For wesels.

Fyrst grynd porke, temper in fere
With egges and powder of peper dere,
And powder of canel þou put þer to,
In chapon necke þou close hit þo,
Or elles in paunche of grys hit pyt
And rost hit wele, and þen dore hit
With oute, with batere of egges and floure,
To serve in sale or ellys in boure.

130. For wesels.118

First grind pork, mix together
With eggs and powder of pepper dear,
And powder of cinnamon you put thereto,
In capon's neck you close it then,
Or else in stomach of pig it put,
And roast it well, and then endore it
Without, with batter of eggs and flour,
To serve in hall or else in bower.

For hagese.

Þe hert of schepe, þe nere71 þou take,
Þo bowel no3t þou shalle forsake,
On þe turbilen made, and boyled wele,
Hacke alle togeder with gode persole,
Isop, saveray, þou schalle take þen,
And suet of schepe take in, I ken,
With powder of peper and egges gode wonne,
And sethe hit wele and serve hit þenne,
Loke hit be saltyd for gode menne.
In wyntur tyme when erbs ben gode,
Take powder of hom I wot in dede,
As saveray, mynt and tyme, fulle gode,
Isope and sauge I wot by þe rode.

131. For haggis.119

The heart of sheep, the kidneys you take,
The bowel naught you shall forsake,
In the vortex120 made, and boiled well,
Hack all together with good parsley,
Hyssop, savory, you shall take then,
And suet of sheep take in, I teach,
With powder of pepper and eggs [a] good quantity, [ Page 53 ]
And seethe it well and serve it then,
Look it is salted for good men.
In winter time when herbs are good,121
Take powder of them I know indeed,
As savory, mint and thyme, quite good,
Hyssop and sage I know by the Rood.

For seke menne.

Ale bre72 þus make þou schalle,
With grotes and safroune and good ale.
Take playd water with hony, I wote,
For water gruel made with grote;
Melle white brede in dysshes aboute,
Powre in wellyd mylke, with outen doute,
Þat called is mylke soppys in serves
For Satyrday at ny3t, so have [I] blys.
3et sugurt soppes I nyl for3ete,
Þou tost shyves of gode manchete,
Enbene hom with wyne on both syde, þenne
Sawce hom with sugur ino3he I kenne.

132. For sick men.122

Ale broth thus make you shall,
With groats and saffron and good ale.
Take boiled water with honey, I know,
For water gruel made with groats;
Mix white bread in dishes about,
Pour in boiled milk, without doubt,
That is called milksops in service
For Saturday at night, so have [I] bliss. ["I" added by Richard Morris]
Yet sugared sops I won't forget,
You toast slivers of good manchet,
Baste them with wine on both side[s]; then
Sauce them with sugar enough I teach.

For sethe ray.

Take ote, strey and draghe hit clene,
Couch hit in a panne with water by dene;
Cast salt þer to, ley in þy ray,
And set hit forthe as I þe say:
Then take hit oute, þo skyn away,
Souse hit in ale, and salt, I pray;
When hit is colde, ete hit þou may
With lyver and garlek, þat samen are dy3ght.

133. For [to] seethe ray.

Take oat straw and draghe123 clean it,
Put it in a pan with water anon;
Add salt thereto, lay in your ray,
And set it forth as I say [to] you:
Then take it out, the skin away,
Souse it in ale, and salt, I pray;
When it is cold, eat it you may
With liver and garlic, that together are prepared.

Oystere in browet.

Take and schole hom and sethe hom in clene water;
Grynde peper and safroun with brede and ale, temper hit
Up with þe same brothe, and do þe oysters þer in, and
Let hit boyle and cast salt þerin and messe hit forthe.

134. Oysters in broth.

Take and shell them and seethe them in clean water;
Grind pepper and saffron with bread and ale, mix it [ Page 54 ]
Up with the same broth, and put the oysters therein, and
Let it boil and add salt therein and serve it forth.

For a servise on a fysshe day.

Fyrst white pese and porray þou take,
Cover þy white heryng for goddys sake;
Þen cover red heryng and set abufe,
And mustard on heghe, for goddys lufe;
Þen cover salt salmon on hast,
Salt ele þer wyth on þis course last.
For þe secunde course, so god me glad,
Take ryse and fletande fignade,
Þan salt fysshe and stok fysshe take þou schalle,
For last of þis course, so fayre me falle.
For þe iii cours sowpys dorre fyne,
And also lampronus in galentyne,
Bakun turbut and sawmon ibake
Alle fresshe, and smalle fysshe þou take
Þer with, als trou3te, sperlynges73 and menwus withal,
And loches to hom sawce versance shal.

For a service on fish day.124

First white peas and porray you take,
Cover125 your white herring for God's sake;
Then cover red herring and set above,
And mustard on high, for God's love; [fol. 56]
Then cover salt salmon in haste,
Salt eels therewith in this course last.
For the second course, so God me gladden,
Take rice and flowing fignade126,
Then salt fish and stockfish you shall take,
For last of this course, so fair it falls to me.
For the third course glazed sops fine,
And also lampreys in galentine,
Baked turbot and salmon baked
All fresh, and small fish you take
Therewith, as trout, smelt, and minnows withal,
And loaches to them sauce vert127 shall.

For a servise on flesshe day.

Fyrst wortes and salt befe þou shalle have,
With capon in erbe þer to I crawe;
For þo fyrst cours, no more þou take,
But of þe secunde course now wylle I clake.
Fyrst take in selle, þan gose anon,
Both grys74 and vele and rostyd motone;
With gynger þo pigge eton shalle be,
And sorel with þo moton so mot I þe.

For a service on flesh day.128

First pot-herbs and salt beef you shall have,
With capon in herbs thereto I crave;
For the first course, no more you take,
But of the second course now will I clack.
First take iussell129, then goose anon,
Both suckling pig and veal and roasted mutton;
With ginger [sauce] the pig shall be eaten,
And sorrel [sauce] with the mutton so may I thrive.

For anoþer maner of service on flesshe day.

Take fyrst grete pyes and frumenté
With venison, so mot I þe,
And rostyd capon, þen shal þou take,
Þys for þe fyrst cours, þou nou3ght forsake;
Then fylets in galentine and mortrews eke
With rostyd befe and moton so meke,
And rostyd vele and porke and grys;
And gose and gryce for secunde be wyse,
For the thrydde cours, now take shalle
Cawdel ferre, stued mawdelarde with alle,
Then tarts and daryels and custan dere,
Rysshene and pome dorres, and frutur in fere,
Thenne rosted mawlarde and cele þer to,
With wodcoke and oþer small bryddys inow.
Of servis tel 3ou no more I wylle,
For a comyne fest at home be skylle.

For another manner of service on flesh day.130

Take first great pies and frumenty
With venison, so may I thrive, [ Page 55 ]
And roasted capon, then shall you take, [folio 56v]
This for the first course, you nought forsake;
Then fillets in galentine and mortrews also
With roasted beef and mutton so meek,
And roasted veal and pork and suckling pig;
And goose and suckling pig for second in this way,
For the third course, now take [you] shall
Caudle ferre, stewed mallard withal,
Then tarts and darioles and crustade dear,
Rissoles and pomme dorre, and fritters together,
Then roasted mallard and teal131 thereto,
With woodcock and other small birds enough.
Of service I will tell you no more,
For a common feast at home by right132.

For a comyn rewle in cure.

Now tas þys for a rewle fulle gode,
All hole futed fuylle in flud
Gose before, and ay þou take
Þo grettis fyrst, savun gose and drake,
Bothe of towne and of toþer,
Also bakyn mete, my der brother,
And most daynté, come bybynde:
Þys is a rewle mad in kynde.

Explicit Liber cure Cocorum

For a common rule in cookery.

Now take this for a very good rule,
All whole-footed waterfowl133
Go before, and aye you take
The greatest first, sauner134 goose and drake,
Both of the one and of the other,
Also bake-meat, my dear brother,
And most dainty, comes behind:
This is a rule made in kind.

The Book of the arts of Cookery is unfolded.

Index of Words, Dishes, &c.

Glossary (Numbers in parentheses refer to the recipe number.)

{ Please note: There are some errors in these definitions. Please consult Cindy Renfrow's translation for details. The numbers in the index below are page numbers in the facsimile. Some of them have been linked back to the recipies, some have not. Again, {} curly brackets surround comments by David Tallan. -- greg }

A, 6, 'and'.
Afyne, 12, 'finely'.
Ale bre, 55 53{?}, 'ale broth'.
Aliour, 20, 49 50{?}, 'a mixture'.
Alye, 11, 22 {23?}, 34, 47, 49 {50?}, 'to mix'.
Alrons, 49, 'the pinions of the wing.'
Amydone, 7.
Annes, 11.
Anykyns, Anykyn, 33, 5, 'any kind of'.
An, 5, 'and'.
Augrym, 1, 'a table'.
Avans, 47, 'the herb harefoot'.
Avoyde, 48, 'to take away'.
A3t, 27 26{?}, 'eight'.

abulle = able, with the meaning of strong or powerful. (#70)

a[3]ayne = expressing position in front of, facing, opposite to, etc. (#102)

albrotetus, abrotet = a broth. (#48)

ale bre = aleberry (alebrey, alebery, alebrue, alemeat) = ale broth, a type of warm caudle. (#132)

alron = also alleron(e), from O.Fr. aleron, the tip of the wing. (#122)

alye = ally = to mix, to combine, to thicken. Also allay = to dilute. Alyed = mixed, combined, thickened, diluted. From O.Fr. alier and Latin alligare, meaning to bind, this word came to have many confused meanings. In medieval cookery, where alye is used and flour or bread (or rice flour, egg yolks, amidon, groats, etc.) are mentioned, it is to be understood that the mixture is being thickened by mixing with that substance. Where a binding agent is not mentioned, alye may be taken simply to mean mix. Where alye is used of liquids, we are diluting them. To alye is a complex process of mixing, stirring, and often thickening, that is not easily expressed in a single word. I have given it here as "to mix" or "to bind", but please understand that alye involves a number of steps that depended on the lyoure (thickening mixture) being used. For example, to alye with bread, one first soaks the bread in broth or vinegar until it achieves a gummy, almost-gelatinous consistency; this mixture is then strained smooth and added to boiling broth. Egg yolks, on the other hand, require beating with cooled broth before being added slowly to a hotter broth; the mixture is then stirred until thickened, but must never be allowed to boil or the eggs will clot. These steps were well known to medieval cooks, so a simple "alye it with floure" was sufficient instruction. Compare with temper. (#18, 52, 57, 86, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 115, 117, 123, 126).

alyoure, alioure = a mixture, a thickening for sauces (#45, 72, 123). See also lyoure.

amang = among. (#114)

amidon = wheat starch (from Lat. amylum). Amidon was used for thickening, and as white food coloring. (#8, 9, 10, 11, 20, 22, 33, 36, 37, 62)

a myle way = the length of time it takes to walk a mile = 20 minutes at 3 miles per hour (Eng. Dial. Soc. #3, Satchell's glossary). (#31)

annes icomfet = anise in comfit, candied anise seeds. (#18)

any kyn = anykyn(s) = any kind or sort. any kyn way = any way of perceiving.

apayr = to satisfy, to please. (#103)

assay = (n) a taste test, especially one to check for poison. At the lord's table, this was primarily the job of the Sewer. The Butler assayed the wine. The Cook assayed the meat before it was covered by the Sewer and brought to the hall. (See the Boke of Curtasye, Wynkyn de Worde's Boke of Keruynge, Iohn Russell's Boke of Nurture, etc. for the officers of the court and their responsibilities.) (#128)

assay = (v) to try. (#3)

at a word = at once, without more ado. (#36)

augrym, augrim = algorism = the Arabic system of numeration. The word comes from the Arabic al-Khowarazmi, the surname of a 9th century Arab mathematician. (TC)

avans = an herb, Wood Avens, Herb Bennet, Geum urbanum. (#106, 118)

Batere, 38, 52, 'a batter'.
Batte, 22, 'hasty'.
Berme, 39, 'yeast'.
Betore, 35, 'bittern'.
Blend, 36, 'to mix'.
Blonde, 24, 'to mix'.
Blynde, 50, 'to mix'.
Blanc Maungere of fysshe, 19.
Blanchyd Mortrews, 13.
Blaunche sawce for capons, 28.
Blonc Manger, 9.
Blonke desore, 12.
Boure achamber, 52. {I believe this should read "Boure, 52, 'a chamber'."}
Bours, 37.
Braune, 12, 'flesh'.
Brawne, 26, 'flesh'.
Bre, 17, 'broth'.
Brend, 10, 'burnt'.
Brere, 42, 'briar'.
Brest, 7, 'burst'.
Brethe, 19, 'steam'.
Breuet de almonde, 12.
Brewet, 12, 'potage, broth'.
Browet, 25, 'potage, broth'.
Broch, 16, 26, 36, 37, 'a spit, to put on the spit'.
Brost, 19, 'burst'.
Brostene, 19, 'burst'.
Brothe of Elys, 50.
Bruys, 19, 'brewis, broth'.
Brys, 7, 'to bruise'.
Bucnade, 12.
Buttur of Almonde Mylke, 15.

bakun mete, bakyn mete = bake-meat = pies or pastries filled with meat, fish, cheese, custard, etc. (p.1, 94, 105, rule)

barke = to form a bark, to encrust. (#6)

batte = hasty. (#50)

be dene, bydene = anon, by and by. A nonsense word employed to fill the meter and rhyme.

belle = to boil or bubble, from the Middle Dutch bellen, or a bubble from O.E. belle. (#99)

bere = ibere = to cry, scream, or roar. (#4)

berme = barme = barm, a liquid yeast solution skimmed from the top of fermenting ale or beer. (#99, 100)

be syde, besyde = by the side (of), to one side, apart. (#12, 20, 61, 115, 118, 119, 122)

be skylle = by right. This is another nonsense phrase. (menu 3)

betore = a bird, the bittern, Botaurus stellaris. (#89)

blonc, blaunche, blanchyd, blaunchyd = white. (#13, 21, 25, 68, 110)

blonde, blynde, blend = blonde is a transcription error; the MS. says blende, meaning to mix. (#57, 90, 124)

blythe = happiness, mirth, cheerfulness, delight; a nonsense word. (#36, 38, 90)

bray = to pound or crush, usually with a pestle in a mortar.

bre = broth (#17, 113, 115, 120). Ale bre (#132) is a type of caudle.

brede can mean bread, but it has many other meanings, including to roast, to broil, or to toast, to spread out or to extend (#60), and to cover.

broche = (n) a spit (#34, 90, 94); (v) to pierce (#64)

browet = broth. (#50, 51, 58, 60, 134)

bruys = broth. (#39)

brys, brysse, brisse = to bruise, to crush, to bray (from O.E. brysan, O. Fr. brise). (#8, 112, 119)

by kynde = a nonsense phrase used to rhyme with grynde. It is not a cookery instruction. (#48, 58, 65, 70)

Canel, 26, 'cinnamon'.
Capons, 48.
Capons in Cassolyce, 26.
Capons in erbis, 48.
Capons in Covisye, 24.
Cawdel, 51.
Cawdel dalmone, 15.
Cele, 12, 'happiness, bliss'.
Charioure, 19 21{?}, 'a dish'.
Charlet, 11.
Charlet icoloured, 11.
Chawdewyne de boyce, 25.
Chekyns in browet, 22.
Chekyns in Cretene, 8.
Chekyns in Cawdel, 23.
Chewetes on fysshe day, 41.
Chewetes on flesshe day, 41.
Cle, 24 36{?}, 'a claw'.
Clake, 54, 'to talk'.
Clow, 17, 'a clove'.
Claw, 43 44{?}'a clove'.
Cofyne, 34, 39, 41, 'a raised crust'.
Coke, 17 5{?}, 'a cook'.
Cole (Honge), 49.
Comfet (=Confeit), 11, 'a sweet-meat'.
Compost, 18.
Conyng, 8, 'a rabbit'.
Conyngus in Cyne, 20.
Conyngus in gravé, 8.
Corauns, 16, 'currants'.
Cowche, 40, 'to lay, place'.
Couch, 53, 'to lay, place'.
Cralle, 35, 'to bend, curl'.
Crane (rostyd), 35.
Crawe, 54, 'to crave'.
Crud, 13, 'curd'.
Crustate of flesshe, 40.
Cure, 2 1{?}, 'cookery'.
Custane, 40.
Cyne, 19 20{?}.

cawdel, caudel = caudle, a thick warm drink made with wine or ale, spices and sugar, or a sauce made the same way. (#30, 33, 52, 128, menu 3)

cele = bliss, joy, happiness. A nonsense word used to provide a rhyme.

charge = to thicken. (#11, 12, 13, 23)

charioure = a serving platter, a charger. (#46)

chargyd = thickened. (#23)

chekyns, chekns, chekuns, chykyns = chickens. (#10, 20, 39, 43, 51, 52, 101)

chewetes, chewettes = chewets are small fried pies made with chopped meat or fish and fruit. (#104, 105)

clake = to clack, to chatter. (# 94, menu 2)

cle = literally "a claw" = a hoof, or one of the parts of a cloven hoof. (#90)

clene = clean. Often used as a nonsense word to provide a rhyme.

clere = clear = clean, bright, having pure color, shining.

clovyn = past ppl. of to cleave = split in half lengthwise. (# 38, 127)

conyng, conyngys = young rabbits. (#9, 45, De cibis assatis)

cormorant = a large black seabird, Phalacrocorax carbo, noted for being voracious. (#89)

couch, cowche = to place, to put. (#101, 133)

cralle, cralled = to curl, to twist; curled, twisted. (#87, 88, 89)

cretene = a kind of seasoned soup, pottage, or sauce containing milk; chickens (and rabbits, etc.) were cooked in the sauce. Other spellings include cretone, cretoyne, critone, cretonné [O. Fr.], craytoun, crytayne, crotoun, creteyne. (#10)

cure = cury = cookery (p. 1, #105, rule). Also found in petecure, small cookery.

curlew = a bird, Numenius arquata. (#89)

custanes, custons = crustades = open meat or poultry pies thickened with eggs and often mixed with broth or milk. (#98, 101, menu 3)

cyne = cyve, a form of civy or civey = a sauce containing onions. (#45, 46)

Dariels, 38.
Devoyde, 35, 'take away'.
Digges, 10, 'ducks'.
Disware, 25, 51, 'doubt'.
Doghe, 41, 'dough'.
Dore, 50{?}, 52, 'to varnish'.
Dowce, 7, 43, 'to sweeten'.
Dra3un, 35, 'to remove the entrails'.
Drawe, 35{?}, 'to remove the entrails'.
Draw, 13, 'to strain'.
Dressore, {19?}, 20, 'cupboard'.
Droppyng, 31, 'dripping'.
Dy3t, 47{?}, 'prepared'.

darials, daryels = darioles = custard tarts. Our recipe uses almond cream in place of cow's cream. (# 94, 96, menu 3)

devoyde, devoyded = devoid = to remove, to get rid of, to take away; removed, taken away (#88, 111)

digges = ducks. (#14)

disware, diswayre = doubt. "Withouten disware" is a nonsense phrase. (#60, 115, 128)

divers = to diversify, to vary, to add variety to. (#61)

do = to put, to place or to add.

dore = endore = from O. Fr. endorer, to gild, to glaze with egg yolk, saffron, etc. (#127, 130)

dowce, douce = (adj.) sweet (#44); (v) to sweeten (#7, 107). See also powder douce.

draghe = a mixture of grains, such as oats and barley, that have been sown together in one field. (#133)

drau[3]e, draw, draw[3]e = to strain, to pass a mixture through a strainer (#28, 32, 45, 48, 67, 70, 74, 75, 79, 123, 129). Directions to draw ground almonds with water, wine, or broth through a strainer are instructions to make almond milk (#29, 30, 33).

dra[3]un = drawn in the sense of gutted, as in this case where the intestines of the birds have been removed. (#87, 89)

dubene, enbene = to baste, to steep , from embainen,( also found as enbanen, enbanden, enbenen), from O.Fr. baigner (e-MED) (#26, 62)

dy[3]t = prepared. (#64, 66, 113, 122, 127)

Elys (broth of), 50.
Enarm, 29, 35, 'to lard'.
Enbene, 26, 27, 'to baste'.
Enbrawdet, 48, 'to border'.
Enbroche, 34, 35, 37, 43, 'to put on the spit'.
Endore, 36{?}, 37, 'to varnish'.
Enfarse, 36, 'to stuff'.
Enfors, 36{?}, {38} 'to stuff'.
Eyren, 7, 11, 'eggs'.

eke = also, too, in addition. (#14, 39, 43, 45, 105, 123, menu 3)

enarm = to lard or garnish with bacon. (#73)

enbande = to cut in thin slices. Likely a corruption from Fr. barder. (#12)

enbene, dubene = to baste, to steep , from embainen,( also found as enbanen, enbanden, enbenen), from O.Fr. baigner (e-MED) (#26, 62)

enbroche, enbrochyd = to skewer or broach on a spit; skewered or broached. (De cibis assatis, # 93, 108)

endore = see dore.

enoynt can mean anoint, (to smear with oil or to moisten with any substance), but in this case is a misspelling of enioynt, meaning joined together. (#90)

Farse, 26, 'to stuff'.
Farsure, 26, 'a stuffing'.
Fay, 50, 'truth'.
Feder, 51, 'a feather'.
Fele, 40, 'a paste'.
Fere, 2, 35, as in fere, 'together, in company'.
Festened, 36, 'fastened'.
Fesawantes and Pertryks (to boil), 23.
Filetus in Galentine, 31.
Flaunes, 39, 49.
Fletand, 54, 'flowing, thin'.
Florysshe, 9, 39, 'to decorate'.
Flud, 55, 'flood'.
Flyghe, 49, 'to flay'.
Fole (see fele), 41.
Fole, 36, 'fowl'.
Fors, 8, 31, 'to stuff'.
Fraunche Mele, 36.
Freture, 39.
Fro, 1, 'from'.
Froyse, 50.
Frumenté, 7.
Frym, 5, 'strong'.
Fygnade (Stondande), 42.

fars, farse, fors = to force, to stuff (with), to cram full (of). (#32, 62, 77, 90)

farsure = a stuffing mixture (#62)

fele, fole = foil, meaning a thin layer or leaf. In medieval cookery the word meant a sheet of dough or pastry. (#101, 102, 103)

fesawnt(es) = a bird, the pheasant, Phasianus colchicus. See also werkock. (#53, 89)

fignade = a thick fig pudding. (#107, menu 1)

flawn = from the Latin fladonem, literally a flat cake or pancake. These are baked tarts, filled with custard or cheese. (#97)

florysshe = to flourish, to garnish, to decorate. (#11, 12, 18, 20, 21, 22, 27, 33, 96, 107, 119)

flyghe = to flay, to pull off the skin of an animal. (#126)

for ony nede = of necessity. (#13)

fors, enfors, forsyd = to season or spice. (#9, 10, 15, 20, 22, 23, 64, 79, 96, 117)

foules, fowles, foles, fuylle = fowl. (# 89, de cibis assatis, rule)

fre = free, freely, unrestrained, unstinting. For the most part it is used here as a nonsense word. (#21, 33, 51, 53, 56, 57, 84, 95, 116)

frym = soluble. (#1, see note #9.)

furmente, frumenty = a common dish of boiled wheat typically served with venison or porpoise. The name comes from the Latin word for grain, frumentum. (#6, 7, menu 3)

Gad, 6, 'a goad'.
Galentyne, 30.
Galyngale, 8, 'sweet cyperus'.
Gar, 15, 'to force, make'.
Garlek, 53.
Gawncel (for the gose), 29.
Gelofer, 26, 'gillyflower'.
Gentloré, 35, 'courtesy, honour'.
Gose, 32, 'goose'.
Gose in a Hogge-pot, 32, (i.e., in a Hodge-Podge).
Grappays, 45, 'the grampus'.
Gredel, 13, 37, 'a grediron'.
Gresse, 6, 'grass'.
Grotene, 14, 48, 'grits'.
Groundynges, 46, 'grounds'.
Gruel of Almondes, 14.
Gruel of fors, 47.
Gruel of porke, 30.
Grys, 55, 69, 'pig, pork'.
Grythe (=graythe), 16, 'speed'.

galentine = a spicy sauce found in many recipe collections. The ingredients vary so much that no one ingredient appears in all sources. The ingredients found most often are dark or toasted bread, vinegar, and cinnamon. For more on galentine, see Constance B. Hieatt's article, "Of Pike (and Pork) Wallowing in Galentine", in Fish, Food from the Waters. Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 1997. Totnes, Devon: Prospect Books, 1998, pp. 150-159. ISBN: 0907325890. (# 59, 75, 79,menu 1, menu 3)

gar = to make. (#31)

gauncel, gauncely = a milk-based sauce containing garlic. (#57, 71)

gentloré = gentlehood, gentleship, the quality of being a gentleman, the character associated with being of gentle birth. (#89)

[3]er, [3]ere = year. (#83, 86)

gode tyde evyne = Good Tide Eve refers either to Christmas Eve or to Shrove Tuesday. (In this case it refers to the latter.) (#92)

graynys = grains of paradise, a spice related to cardamom, Amomum Meleguetta. (#95, 127)

grappays = grapeys = "Royal Fish, as Sturgeon or Whale, but applied also to other fish" (TFCCB, p. 131). Grappois (Fr.), craspois or graspeis (O.Fr.) from Latin crassus piscis (fat fish). The Grampus, a cetacean, Grampus griseus, resembling a dolphin but without a snout. Grampus also means whale meat. (#112)

grotene, grotis, grote(s) = groats = crushed hulled grain, especially oats, but also wheat and barley. (#43, 114, 116, 117, 118, 132)

grys, gryce = (sing. and pl.) pork, suckling pig. (#130, menu 2, menu 3)

Hagese, 52.
Haldand, 18, 'holding'.
Hane (=ane), 'one'.
Harus in browet, 21.
Harus in Cyne, 20.
Harus in sewe, 21.
Harus in Pardolyse, 22.
Hasteler, 2, 'one who roasts meat'.
Hasteletes on fysshe day, 37, (Hasteletes, the inwards of a wild boar).
Hastery, 2, 'roasted meat'.
Heghe, 54, 'high'.
Helde, 23, 31, 'to pour over'.
Hele, 40, 'to cover'.
Heng, 15, 'to hang'.
Hennes in brewes, 22.
Hennes in gravé, 24.
Hennes in gauncel, 24.
Hennes in brothe, 49.
Herb3 (to kepe over the wyntur), 34.
Heroun (rostyd), 35.
Herseve, 'hairsieve', 7.
Hogge pot (=Hodge-podge), 32.
Hors, 23, 'rough'.
Huche, 33, 'chest, hutch'.
Hulle, 2, 7, 19, 'to cast off the shell, to shell'.

hagese = haggis. (#131)

halde, haldand = to hold, holding. (#39, 93)

hasteler, hastler = the officer of the kitchen who was responsible for the roasting of meats. The word comes from the O. Fr. for to roast, haster. Hastery is the art of roasting meats. (p. 1, 94)

helde = to pour (from A.S. hyldan, meaning to "incline, bend, & so, pour", Furnivall, notes, cxxxv). (#52, 101)

heroun = (sing. and pl.), a long-legged wading bird, the heron, genus Ardea. (#73, 88, 89)

hogge pot = hotchpot, hodgepot, hodge-podge, etc. = a stew made of various ingredients. (#82)

holden = pa. ppl. of to hold. In this usage it means to hold a belief, to consider, etc. (#37)

honestly = fittingly, properly. (#89)

Ilkadele, 41, 'each part'.
Ilyke, 32, 'alike'.
Imelle, 24, 'mixed'.
Ino3he, |
Inow,   | 11, 50, 52, 'enough'.
Ino3e,  |
Ioutes, 15, 47, 48.
Ioutes de almonde, 15.
Irne, 36, 'iron'.
Itwen, 48, 'in two'.
Iusselle, 11.
Iwys, 5, 'certainly, truly'.

inou[3]e = enough as in "done", "cooked enough". (#17)

Ioutus = a pottage or soup made primarily of vegetables or pot-herbs. The word is also found in other sources spelled Jowtis, Joutes, Iowtes , Ioutus, Joutes, Owtes, Eowtes, Jowtes, Jouts, Iouute.(#118, 120)

isues = issues = entrails. (#14)

itwen = to divide. (#119)

Iusselle is also found spelled Iuschelle, Iussell, Jussel, Jossel, Jossle, Juselle, Gusschelle, and Guissell. The name comes from O. Fr. jussel, meaning juice or broth, and derives from Latin juscellum, meaning soup. Some recipes contain fish roe; some, like this one, use flavored breadcrumbs mixed with eggs. The mixture is poured into boiling broth and stirred until it comes together as a mass. This is then taken up and served. (#19)

Kaudel Ferry, 16.
Katche, 44, 'to take'.
Kele, 6, 10, 'to cool'.
Kelkes, 19, 'milt, roe'.
Kerve, | 6, 41, 'to cut'.
Korve, | Kervelettes, 30.
Kest, 22, 'to cast'.
Kole, 46.
Koke, 13, 'cook'.
Kolys, 20.
Kostyf of motone, 34, 'breast of mutton'.
Kremelyd, 36, 'crumbled'.
Kydnere, 10, 'kidneys'.

kelkes = the roe of a fish. (#41)

kenne = to impart knowledge of, to teach.

kolys = cullis = a strong broth including strained boiled meat, fit for a sick person. (#43)

kostyf = breast or ribcage, from Latin costa = rib. (De cibis assatis)

koyntes = quaintise, skill, cleverness, elegance. (#89)

kremelyd = crumbled, from O.E. crymelen. (#91)

kydnere, nere = kidney(s). (#15, 131)

Lamprayes (in galentine), 35.
Lamprays (bakun), 38.
Lange de beof, 26.
Laveroc, 36, 'the lark'.
Leche, 13, 50, 'to cut in slices'.
Leche lardes, 13.
Lefe, 46, 'dear'.
Lene, 37, 'to grant'.
Levys, 21, 'believe'.
Loche, 54, 'a loach'.
Loysyns, 40.
Lovache, 18, 'lovage'.
Lite, | 46, 47, 49, 'little, few'.
Lyte, |
Luddock, 43, 'loins'.
Lue, 33, 'warm'.
Lumbardus Mustard, 30.
Lye, 8, 'to mix'.
Lyoure (best), 36.
Lyoure, 31, 32, 'a mixture'.
Lyne, 30, 'linen'.

larde = (n) pork fat (#22, 24, 39, 64, 73); (v) to insert strips of fat into lean flesh before cooking (#46, 62, 74).

laveroc = the skylark, Alauda arvensis. (#89)

lay = In #9 it means to mix; see alye and lyoure. In all other instances it means to lay or to place.

leche = (n) a slice (#24, 112, 124); a sliced dish (#24); (v) to slice, to cut. (#24, 35, 91)

lecus, leke(s), heke (scribal error) = leeks, Allium Porrum. (#39, 110, 116)

lesyng = from lease = picking or gleaning (# 7, 85, 104, 111, 124); lying or deceiving (#105).

lite, litelle, litel, lytul, lytel, lytil, lytelle = little.

lite = little, few. (#114, 116)

lovache = an herb, lovage, Levisticum officinale. "The whole plant and every part of it smelling strong and aromatically, and is of a hot, sharp, biting taste". (Culpeper, p. 177.) The herb is described as warming and helpful to digestion. Ingestion of this plant may bring on menstruation. (#39)

loyseyns = lozenges = a diamond-shape (#103). loysyns, loseyns = in #102 the lozenges are broad flat noodles. In other sources the word sometimes refers to fried pastries.

luddock = the loin or buttock. (#108)

lue = warm, lukewarm, tepid. (#84)

lycour = an error for lyour(e), a form of lear, meaning a thickening for sauces. (#8)

lye = to mix, to bind. See also alye. (#7, 10, 11,12, 20, 22, 33, 36,37, 44, 55, 82, 122)

lyoure = a form of lear, meaning a mixture, or a thickening for sauces. Our recipe #86 is a thickening made of baked flour. These thickening mixtures were also made with bread, bread mixed with blood, etc. (#79, 82). See also alyoure.

Male, 12, 'meal'.
Malt, 6, 'to melt'.
Malues, 47.
Manchete, 53, 'fine wheaten bread'.
Mawdelarde, 38, | 'a mallard, the wild drake'.
Mawlarde,   55, |
Medel, 41, 'to mix'.
Melle, 53, 'to mix'.
Meng, 31, 'to mingle'.
Menske, 22, 'grace, favour'.
Menwus, 54, 'the minnow'.
Merke, 33, 'dark'.
Mesurlé, 48, 'moderately'.
Messe, 28, 'to serve'.
Mo,  | 27, 38, 'more'.
Moo, |
Momene, 26.
Motone, 34, 'mutton'.
Mortrewes de chare, 9.
Mortrewes of fysshe, 29.
Mot, 'may, must'.
Mountenaunce, 26, 'amount, weight'.
Mun, 47, 'must'.
Mustel bre, 46.
Mydruv, 10, 'midriff'.
Myed, | 8, 11, 12, 48, 'minced, pounded, grated'.
Myud, |
Myn,   | 8, 22, 'less'.
Mynne, |
Myng, 51, 'to mingle'.

manchete = manchet, fine white bread, paindemaine. (#132)

Martyn messe = Martinmas, the Feast of St. Martin, November 11th. (#92)

maystré = mastery, the skillful application of the rules of cookery. (#25)

mawdelardus = mallards, a type of duck. (#66, 70, 96, 127, menu 3)

mener menne = meaner men are men of lesser social status or of low birth. (#7)

meke = meek, gentle; sometimes used as a nonsense word. (#43, 45, 88, 123, menu 3)

mele = medley, mixture. (#6)

mete = a dish of food.

mete = meet, as in suitable, fit, and proper. (#25)

mete = meat. (p.1, #1, 6, 11, 61, 77, 86, De Cibis assatis, 92, 94, 105, 118, 124, For a comyn rewle in cure)

mortrews = a pottage noted for being thick. The name comes from the mortar in which the ingredients are pounded. (#12, 25, 41, menu 3)

mot or mote = a note played on a horn or bugle (#73). Mot also means "may" in the phrase "so mot I [th]e" (so may I thrive, #6, 113, menu 2, menu 3), and "must" in the phrase "nede [th]ou mot" (needs thou must, #7), and so forth.

motone = mutton. (De cibis assatis, 114, 123, menu 2)

moun = an obsolete form of may. (#113)

myddes = middle. (#95, 103)

mydruv = Morris' misreading of mydrun, meaning the fat surrounding the entrails of an animal, midgern, or leaf-lard or suet. It can also mean the bowel or gut. This word is sometimes used by confusion with midriff. (#15)

myed, myude, myud, myyd = grated, crumbled. (#9, 11, 12, 14, 19, 21, 65, 91, 119, 128)

mynge = to mix. (#127, 128)

mys = to err. (#44)

Neghe, 42, 'near'.
Nep, 48, 'the herb cat-mint'.
Nere, 52, 'kidneys'.
Nesshe, 13, 33, 'soft'.
Ne3e, 34, 'nigh'.
Nombuls, 10.
Note, 25, 'nut'.
Nylle, 1, 'will not'.
Nys, 5, 'is not'.

nesshe = soft, tender, from A.S. hnæsce, hnesce(#25). As a nonsense phrase "for harde or nesshe", literally "for hard or soft", but figuratively meaning "under any circumstances", "no matter what" (#83).

never a dele = never a deal, none. (#113)

nones = one of the canonical hours, the ninth hour after sunrise, midway between noon and sunset. (#49)

nou[3]t, no[3]t = naught or nought (meaning nothing), or not. (#5, 26, 55, 93, 106, 113, 129,131)

Obles, 22, 'small cakes'.
On, p. 44, l. 7, 'in, into'.
Osel, 36, 'blackbird'.
Ote, 48, 53, 'oat'.
Other, 15, 'or'.
Overtwert, 40, 'across'.
Oystere in browet, 53.

obles = obleys = from O. Fr. oublee and Latin oblata, an offering. Obleys are sacramental wafers or small flat cakes of pastry made of fine flour. Obleys and wafers are substituted for noodles in #49.

osel = ouzel, birds of the genus Turdus, such as the blackbird, T. merula.(#89)

overtwert = overthwart = across the middle. (#100, 108)

Pasteler, 1, 'a maker of pastry'.
Payndemayn, 40.
Payre to injure, 34.
Peions istued, 14.
Peletre, 27, 'pellitory'.
Persole, 22, 23, | 'parsley'.
Persyl, 46,      |
Pestle, 49, 'legs'.
Pese (gray), 46.
Pese (after porray), 45.
Petecure, 42.
Pigges in sawce, 31.
Pigges (farsyd), 36.
Playand, 37, 'boiling'.
Play, 7, 44, 42, 'to boil'.
Plump, 51, 'to plunge'.
Porpays, 35, 'Porpoise'.
Porray (blaunchyd), 44.
Porray (of Mustuls), 47.
Porry (of white Pese), 44.
Posnet, 10, 32, 'a little pot'.
Potage, 42.
Potage of welkes, 17.
Potage of oysturs, 17.
Powme Dorrys, 37.
Prymrol, 42, 'primrose'.
Pur verde sawce, 27.
Pye, 54.
Pykulle, 30.

paindemaine = finest white bread. (#74, 102)

pasteler, pastler = the pastry cook. (p. 1)

peletre, pellitory = an herb. The name usually refers to Anacyclus Pyrethrum (Pellitory of Spain), or to Parietaria officinalis (Pellitory of the Wall), both medicinal herbs. In this case it refers to Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum) or to Garden Thyme (T. vulgaris); see note 64. (#65)

pertrykes = partridges. (#20, 53, 74, 89)

petecure = small cookery, or cookery on a small scale, from O. Fr. petit keuerie. (p. 1, #106)

play, playd, playand = to boil, boiled, boiling. (#7, 93, 107, 109, 132)

plump = to drop or plunge into water. (#127)

porray, porry = porray = (from Latin porrum = leek) a soupy dish of vegetables typically including leeks, and sometimes fish or shellfish, cooked in almond milk or broth, and thickened.. (#106, 110, 111, 112, 116, menu 1)

posnet = a small cooking pot having a handle and three feet. (#14, 81)

potager = the vegetable cook who was also responsible for the pottages. (p. 1)

powder, poudert = to salt, salted. Salting was used as a method of preservation. (#6) Powder is also used as a noun to mean powdered spices.

powder douce = a mixture of sweet spices. (#44, 51, 53, 81, 101, 102)

powme dorrys, pomme dorre = pome-dorry, meatballs glazed with batter, egg-yolks, etc. (#93, menu 3)

prymrol = primerole. This is most likely the primrose (Primula veris), although the name was applied to other plants, such as the cowslip. (#106, 118)

pur = for. (#65)

Quartle, 37, 'a quart'.
Quede, 37, 'bad'.
Quyl, 46, 'while'.
Quibibis, 'Cubebs'.

quibibis = cubebs. A spice, Piper Cubeba L. Cubebs are sold as small dried black berries with stems; the flavor is a cross between black pepper and allspice. (#34, 127)

quyl, quylle = while, sometimes. (#111, 115)

Rape (A), 16.
Rasshe, 18, 'quick, swift'.
Ray (to sethe), 53.
Rede, 12, 'to advise'.
Reke, 6, 'to take care, attend'.
Remunande, 46, 'remainder'.
Rere, 34, 'to raise'.
Restyng, 33, 'becoming rancid'.
Reward, 31, 'regard'.
Rine, 37, 'to run'.
Risshens, 39.
Roche, 35, 'rock'.
Roo in a sewe, 23.
Rose, 13.
Rose dalmoyne, 19.
Ryse, 16.

raysyns of corauns = literally, raisins of currants = dried currants. (#34, 76, 101, 103, 127)

rede = the color red. (#18, 27, 34, 93, 95, 106, 118)

rede = to advise. (#21, 27, 49, 60, De cibis assatis)

ren = to run, to flow. (#1)

renne = to curdle. (#31)

restyng = becoming rancid. (#84)

rewarde = an extra dish, an additional portion of food, especially bread. (#80, 102)

risshens, rysshene = rissoles = meat, fish, or fruit encased in dough or batter and fried. (# 99, menu 3)

roll = to wrap with or to enfold in something (#95). To turn over and over (#111, 113). To form into a mass by turning over and over (#108, 109)

roller = a wrapper made of dough (#99). Also a rolling pin (#102)

roo = a small European deer. (#54)

ryng = the rim. (#85)

Safroun, 53.
Sale, 10, 'hall'.
Sammen, | 14, 33, 'together'.
Samen, |
Saveray, 44, 'the herb savory'.
Sawce (to make), 27.
Sawce camelyne, 30.
Sawce (blaunch for capons), 28.
Sawce (best for capons), 28.
Sawce (for cranes and herons), 29.
Sawce (gynger), 52.
Sawce (for mawdelardes rostyd), 27.
Sawce madame, 32.
Sawce (for Pekokys and pertrikis), 29.
Sawce (pur verde), 27.
Sawce sirer (for mawdelardus), 28.
Sawce (for vele and venysone), 28.
Sawnder, 13, 'sandal wood'.
Schale, 25, 30, 'to shell'.
Schale, 30, 'a shell'.
Schere, 13, 'to cut'.
Schyves, 3, 15, 17, 'slices'.
Schun, | 29, 36, 'shall'.
Schyn, |
Seke, 6, 'to plunge, soak'.
Seler, | 30, 33, 'a cellar'.
Selor, |
Selle, 34, 'seal'.
Self, 21, 'same'.
Sere, 'severally, several'.
Servise on fysshe day,  | 54.
Servise on flesshe day. |
Sewe, 21, 43, 'potage, broth'.
Sirup, 42.
Sklice, 43, 48, 'a slice, to slice'.
Sleck, 6, 'to slake'.
Sly, 51, 'to kill'.
Sle3e, 'clever, quick'.
Sly3te, 1, 'art, craft'.
Smethe, 50, 'smooth'.
Snite, | 35, 'snipe'.
Sny3t, |
Sorel, 54.
Sotelté, 5, 'device'.
Sothe, 5, 'truth'.
Sothyn, 5, 'boiling'.
Soward, 5, ? 'sow-like', or 'soured, of a sour disposition'.
Sowpus dorre, 14.
Sparlyng, | 54, 'the smelt'.
Sperlyng, |
Spryng, 7, 'to sprinkle'.
Spryngil, 40, 'to sprinkle'.
Spylle, 5, 'to destroy'.
Stine, 34, 'stint'.
Stondand, 14, 'thick'.
Stondand, 14, 'standing'.
Stop, 34, 'to stuff'.
Strene, 34, 'scum'.
Strene, 9, 45, | 'to strain'.
Strey, 53,     |
Streyne, 43,   |
Streynour, 16, 21, 51.
Stryke, 44, 'to cut'.
Suand, 35, following'.
Sumdele, 20, 'somewhat'.
Swongen, 36, 37, 'beaten up'.
Swynge, 11, 'to beat up'.
Sye,  | 7, 17, 'to drain, strain'.
Syle, |
Sythes, 6, 'times'.
Sythyn, 25, 'afterwards, then'.

sauce vert , sawce versance = green sauce. (#65, menu 1)

saunders = red sandalwood, Pterocarpus santa-linus, used as red food coloring. This is not the white sandalwood commonly used as incense. (#23, 54)

saveray = savory = any herbs of the genus Satureia, especially S. montana (Winter Savory), and S. hortensis (Summer Savory). (#81, 85, 106, 109, 119, 131)

schalle, schyn(e), schun(e), schyn(e), schalt, schal = shall, ought (to).

schalle = (v) to skin or to peel (#64).

schale, schole = (v) to remove husks or shells (#61, 134); (n) a shell or husk (#76)

se[3]e = to assay, to try. (#5)

sethe = to seethe, to boil, to simmer, to soak or steep, or to fry in oil, depending on the recipe.

sele = good. (#112)

sere = separately (#9,89); sundry (#86, 103, Pro salsamentis).

sesounabulle = seasonable = savory, tasty. (#70)

sete = to put, to set (p. 1); seated (#10); wholesome (#112).

sethyn, sethyne = then (#46, 127)

seyn, sye = to seine or to strain. (#8, 35, 43, 47)

shene = sheen = beautiful and fair, shining, clean and pure.

Shrovetide = Quinquagesima Sunday, and Shrove Monday and Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday).

shyves = slivers (#132)

sklyset , sklices = slices (#118, 119); sklice, sklyce = to slice (#108)

skymmet = skimmed; in this instance the butter has been cleaned of impurities, and possibly clarified. (#124)

sleck = slake = to cool with water or other liquid, to quench. (#4)
smethe = smooth. (#16, 20, 29, 45, 117)
smityng = a bird, the snite or Common Snipe, Gallinago cælestis? (#89)

soak , seke = the liquid or vat in which something is steeped. (#39)

sollar, selor = also solaror solier, a loft or attic at the top of the house or other structure, used sometimes as a storeroom or drying room. Sollers were sometimes built to let in light and air. This word is easily confused with cellar. (#84)

sorel = sorrel, the name of several herbs belonging to the genera Rumex and Oxalis that were eaten in salads and sauces, and esteemed for their sour taste. (menu 2)

sothyn, sothyne = seethed, boiled. (#2, 72)

sparlyng, sperlyng = a small fish identified by Cotgrave as O. Fr. esperlan, the smelt (Mayhew & Skeat, p. 212). Osmerus eperlanus.(#99)

spelle = to talk. (#6)

spendes = to serve food. (#77)

spryng, spryngil = to sprinkle. (#7, 102)

spylle = to kill, to destroy. (#3)

staf-ful = crammed full, very full, or full to the brim. (#84)

stomper = to pound in a mortar, from stamper, a pestle (#77)

stondand = thick, not runny in consistency (#25, 80, 107); standing upright (#85); not moving (#44).

stop(e) = to plug up or cover an opening in a container (#84); to cram full (#85); to stuff with fruit or seasoning prior to cooking (#51, 119).

strene = in an egg, the stringy white umbilicus. In our recipe for caudle (#128), this is being removed to ensure a smooth consistency.

suande = [from sue (To accompany something) or suant (following, with connotations of being pleasing) ?] Also even, regular, kindly, from O. Fr. suant (Britten, p. 69). (#89)

swan = a well-known bird, genus Cygnus. (#14, 72)

swyng, swynge = to beat (#17, 19, 24, 35, 101, 124, 128)

swongen(e) = beaten (#49, 90, 91, 93, 99, 109, 125).

sye = to strain (#8, 35, 43)

seyn = strained (#47).
sylud = pa. ppl. of to sile, meaning to sieve a liquid through a fine cloth. (#47)

Tansy cake, 50.
Tartlotes, 41.
Temper, 'to mix'.
Tenderon, 34, 'a stalk'.
Tent, 34, 'to attend'.
Tese, 9, 'to mince'.
Þagh, 5. 'though'.
Thandon (for wilde digges &c.), 10.
The, 36, 'to prosper'.
The3e, 'thigh'.
Þo, 1, 'the'.
Þo, 11, 'then'.
Thrinne, 1, 'three'.
Thrydde, 55, 'third'.
Thurgh, 'through'.
Tome, 39, 'light, empty'.
Trap, 40, 'a dish'.
Tree, 50, 'wood'.
Trou3te, 50, 54, 'trout'.
Tuel, 35, 'an opening'.
Turbilen, 52, ? Fr. tourbillon.
Tuskyn, 44.
Twynne, 10, 51, 'two'.
Tyl, 47, 'to'.

tansy = an herb, Tanacetum vulgare, used medicinally as a stomachic, and to provide a bitter flavor. This herb contains a toxic oil that may prove fatal if ingested in large quantites. (#124)

tas, tase = to take. (p. 1, rule)

temper = to mix; to blend together in the proper proportions; to moisten, to steep, or to dissolve. (#13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 25, 27, 32, 33, 38, 41, 47, 48, 50, 56, 60, 65, 68, 69, 71,74, 75, 76, 80, 93, 109, 112, 119, 127, 130, 134)

tench = large freshwater fish, Tinca vulgaris, or Cyprinus tinca, related to the carp. (#40, 60)

tenderons = young tender shoots of a plant. (#85)

[th]andon = a transcription error, the MS. says "Chandon". Chandon = chawdron, entrails (#14)

[th]o = the, then, when.

[th]ore = there. (#115)

tome = toom = empty, vacant. (#99)

to myd = to-mid = into the midst (#39)

to[th]er = that other. (rule)

town-cresses = Garden Cress, Lepidium sativum. (#106)

towne = that one. (rule)

trendel = to roll. (#111, 113)

tuel = tewel = an opening or vent in a piecrust lid that allows steam to escape. (#95)

Ughe, 33, 'to injure'.

ughe, ug = to fill with disgust or loathing. (#84)

Venysone (to save fresshe over þe 3er), 33.
Venysone (to save fro restyng).
Viand de Cipur, 8.

venegur = vinegar. (#4, 5, 14, 31, 38, 45, 48, 55, 65, 67, 70, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 129)

veneson(e), venyson(e) = venison, formerly applied to the flesh of any game animal, but now used only of deer meat. (#16, 67, 83, 84, menu 3)

verde = green. (#65)

verius = verjuice, the sour juice of unripe fruit. (#26, 68, 69, 101, 127, 129)

Wafrons, 22, 'cakes'.
Walle, 30, 'to boil'.
Warlé, 35, 'carefully'.
Wastelle, 9, 'fine white bread'.
Welle, 5, 6, 13, 'to boil'.
Werkok, 36, 'pheasant'.
Wodcock, &c, 36.
Won, 8, 40, 52, 'a quantity'.
Wortes, 43, 54, 'herbs'.
Wost, 'knowest'.
Wot, 5, 6, 'know'.
Wrythe, 48, 'break'.
Wyndo, 7, 'to winnow'.
Wynne, 5, 'will'.
Wynnot, 45, 'will not'.
Wyturly, 31, 'truly, certainly'.

wallande = likely a scribal error for wellande, boiling (#127).

wastel = fine white bread. (#12, 128)

well, welle, walle, wallande, wellyd = to boil , boiling, boiled. (#3, 5, 6, 14, 17, 23, 35, 40, 41, 45, 46, 57, 58, 64, 82, 127, 128);

wellyd = boiled or (of milk) possibly coagulated (#132);

wene = ween = to think, to consider, to believe. Often used in the phrase "I ween" to provide a rhyme.

werkock = a bird, a male pheasant, Phasianus colchicus. (#89)

withal, with alle = therewith, with that.

wodcok = a bird, the woodcock, Scolopax rusticula. (#87, 89, 127, rule)

wondur = exceedingly, very. (#23, 48, 54, 69)

wortes, wortis = a general term meaning herbs, vegetables, pot-herbs, or any member of the cabbage family. (# 106, 114, menu 2)

wryng = to wring through a cloth. (#27, 124)

wrythe = to wring or twist. (#119)

wyn, wynn = will; also to work or to labor. (#43, 51, 102)

wyturly, wyturlye = certainly. (#77, 80, 112, 124)

3et, 1, 'also'.
3if, 5, 'if'.
3olkes, 18, 'yolks'.
3oyng, 11, 'young'.
3ow, 1, 'you'.
3yt, 5, 'yet'.

Note to page 5, line 23:--
"And welle on alle, and lepe in."

The sense would seem to require that we should read:--
"And welle on alle, and no3t kepe in."

ylkadel, ilkadel = completely, every bit or part. (#56, 103) adele = a portion or part (#11).

ysope = an herb, hyssop, Hyssopus officinalis. (#54, 81, 109, 119)

Sources Consulted & (Abbreviations Used):

Adamson, Melitta Weiss, ed. "The Games Cooks Play: Non-Sense Recipes and Practical Jokes in Medieval Literature" in Food in the Middle Ages: A Book of Essays," New York/London: Garland Publishing Inc., 1995, pp. 177-195. (Adamson )

Austin, Thomas, ed. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books. Harleian MS. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. MS. 4016 (ab. 1450), with Extracts from Ashmole MS. 1439, Laud MS 553, & Douce MS. 55.Published for the Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, London, 1888. Reprint. Kraus Reprint, 1988. (TFCCB )

British Library Royal Ms. 8.B.iv., folio 72v. (Found in Curye on Inglyssh, p. 148.) (Royal Ms. 8.B.iv. )

British Library Sloane MS. 1986, folios 12-56v, containing the Boke of Curtasye and Liber cure Cocorum. (The MS. )

Britten, James. Old Country and Farming Words: Gleaned from Agricultural Books. London. Published for the English Dialect Society by Trübner & Co., 57 & 59, Ludgate Hill. 1880. (Britten)

Baugh, Albert C., ed. Chaucer's Major Poetry. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1963.

The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.Oxford University Press, New York, 1971. (C.O.E.D.)

Culpeper, Nicholas. Culpeper's Complete Herbal.Chartwell Books, New Jersey, 1985. (Culpeper )

Davis, Norman, ed. Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Primer. Ninth ed. Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1953.

The Electronic Middle English Dictionary, http://ets.umdl.umich.edu/m/med/, October, 2002. (e-MED )

English Dialect Society. [#1] Nos. 27-28, 30-31. Glossary of Words in use in Cornwall... (1880); Antrim and Down...(1880); Leicestershire Words... (1881); [and containing Old Country and Farming Words, by James Britten, 1880]. London: Trübner & Co. Reprinted in one volume by Kraus Reprint Ltd., Vaduz, 1965. (Eng. Dial. #1 )

English Dialect Society. [#2] Nos. 47-48, 52, 54. Containing Provincial Names and Folk Lore of British Birds, by the Rev. Charles Swainson... (1885); Four Dialect Words. Clem, Lake, Nesh, and Oss... by Thomas Hallam, (1885); A Glossary of Words used in South-West Lincolnshire... (1886); A Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect... (1887). London: Trübner & Co. Reprinted in one volume by Kraus Reprint Ltd., Vaduz, 1965. (Eng. Dial. #2 )

English Dialect Society. [#3] Nos. 18, 19. Containing Provincial Names and Folk Lore of British Birds, by the Rev. Charles Swainson... (1885), Miscellanies I. On the Survival of Early English Words in our Present Dialects, by Rev. Richard Morris (1875-6), II. On the Dialects of Monmouthshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire...with a New Classification of the English Dialects, by Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte (1876), An Early English Hymn to the Virgin, by F. J. Furnivall (1880), George Eliot's use of Dialect, by William E.A. Axon, (1881), An Older Form of the Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an angle, attributed to Dame Juliana Barnes, by Thomas Satchell (1883); A Word-list illustrating the correspondence of Modern English with Anglo-French Vowel-sounds, by B.M. Skeat (1884); Four Dialect Words. Clem, Lake, Nesh, and Oss... by Thomas Hallam, (1885). London: Trübner & Co. Bound together in one volume. (Eng. Dial. #3 )

Faccioli, Emilio , ed. Arte della cucina. Libri di ricette, testi sopra lo scalco, il trinciante e i vini dal XIV als XIX secolo. A cura di Emilio Faccioli. Vol. I. Milano 1966. (Faccioli)

Furnivall, Frederick J., M.A., ed. The Babees Book, Aristotle's ABC, Urbanitatis, Stans Puer ad Mensam, The Lytille Childrenes Lytil Boke, The Bokes of Nurture of Hugh Rhodes and Iohn Russell, Wynkyn de Worde's Boke of Keruynge, The Booke of Demeanor, The Boke of Curtasye, Seager's Schoole of Vertue, &c. &c. with some French & Latin Poems on like Subjects, and some Forewords on Education in Early England.Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Reprinted by Rowland Digital Printing, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, 1997. E.E.T.S. O.S. 32. (Furnivall)

Gerard, John. The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. Gathered by John Gerarde of London Master in Chirvrgerie. Very much Enlarged and Amended by Thomas Johnson Citizen and Apothecarye of London. London. Printed by Adam Islip Joice Norton and Richard Whitakers, Anno 1633. Reprinted by Dover Publications, New York, 1975. (Gerard )

Hieatt, Constance B. "Of Pike (and Pork) Wallowing in Galentine", in Fish, Food from the Waters. Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 1997. Totnes, Devon: Prospect Books, 1998, pp. 150-159.

Hieatt, Constance B., and Sharon Butler, eds. Curye on Inglysch, English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth Century (Including The Forme of Cury).Published for the Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, London, 1985. E.E.T.S. SS. 8. (Contains Douce MS. 257.) (CoI )

Hieatt, Constance B. "Sources of, and Analogues to, the Noble Boke of Cokery", Journal of the Early Book Society, Issue 3, 2000, pp. 119-135. (Sources )

Hieatt, Constance B. and Robin F. Jones. "Two Anglo-Norman Culinary Collections Edited from British Library Manuscripts Additional 32085 and Royal 12.C.xii", Speculum, Vol. 61, Issue 4 (Oct., 1986), pp. 859-882. (Hieatt & Jones )

Liber cure Cocorum(in general). (LCC )

Mayhew, Rev. A.L., and Rev. Walter W. Skeat. A Concise Dictionary of Middle English from A.D. 1150 to 1580. Oxford, at the Clarendon Press, 1888. (Mayhew & Skeat)

Morris, Richard. Liber cure Cocorum. Copied and edited from the Sloane MS. 1986, by Richard Morris, author of "The Etymology of Local Names", member of the Philological Society. Published for the Philological Society by A. Asher & Co., Berlin. 1862. http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/lcc/ (Morris)

Napier, Mrs. Alexander, ed. A Noble Boke Off Cookry ffor a Prynce Houssolde or Eny Other Estately Houssolde.Reprinted verbatim from a rare MS. in the Holkham Collection. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.C. 1882. This MS. is dated to shortly after 1467 by the editor. (NBoC )

Pegge, Samuel. The Forme of Cury, A Roll of Ancient English Cookery, Compiled, about A.D. 1390, by the Master-Cooks of King Richard II, Presented afterwards to Queen Elizabeth, by Edward Lord Stafford, And now in the Possession of Gustavus Brander, Esq. Illustrated with Notes, And a copious Index, or Glossary... London, Printed by J. Nichols, Printer to the Society of Antiquaries. 1780. (Contains Douce MS. 257.) http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/foc/ (FoC )

Power, Eileen. The Goodman of Paris (Le Ménagier de Paris), A Treatise on Moral and Domestic Economy by A Citizen of Paris(c. 1393). George Routledge & Sons, LTD. Broadway House, Carter Lane, London. 1928. (Power)

Rickert, Edith, and L.J. Naylor. The Babees' Book, Medieval Manners for the Young, done into modern English from Dr. Furnivall's texts by Edith Rickert. Orig. publ. 1908 (?) and reprinted by Cooper Square Publ., New York, 1966. http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/babees_rickert.pdf (Rickert )

Sass, Lorna J. "A Critical Edition of the Fourme of Cury: Culinary Vocabulary in Late Middle English." Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, 1979. (Sass)

Thorndike, Lynn. A History of Magic and Experimental Science During the First Thirteen Centuries of Our Era.Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan, 1923. Found cited in Adamson (see above). (Thorndike )

Warner, Richard. A Collection of the Ordinances and Regulations for the Government of the Royal Household made in Divers Reigns from King Edward III to King William and Queen Mary, also Receipts in Ancient Cookery. Printed for the Society of London Antiquaries by John Nichols. 1790. Contains "Ancient Cookery", Arundel MS. 334 (mislabelled #344). (Warner )

Welserin, Sabina. Das Kochbuch der Sabina Welserin. (c. 1553.) Translated into English by Valoise Armstrong in "Sabina Welser's Cookbook", published by the translator, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1998. (Welserin )

Wright, Thomas, Esq. Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English, containing Words from the English Writers Previous to the Nineteenth Century which are no longer in use, or are not used in the same sense. And words which are now used only in Provincial Dialects. In Two Volumes. London: George Bell and Sons, York Street, Covent Garden. 1880. (Wright )

Endnotes

  1. Edited by Mr. Halliwell for the Percy Society.
  2. Referred to at p.20n as "Ord. and Reg."
  3. in rotation
  4. an error for Leche-lardus. See 'Ord. and Reg.' p.439
  5. Harus in a browet
  6. strong
  7. 3it?
  8. servys?
  9. strain.
  10. decorate, garnish.
  11. quantity.
  12. two.
  13. grated.
  14. beat up.
  15. The MS. reads "take pertrykes and chykyns and sethe hom wele".
  16. favour.
  17. happiness, bliss.
  18. See page 2, note. {in this hypertext version, note 4 above}
  19. 1) to slice, 2) to serve in slices.
  20. thick.
  21. together.
  22. Cubebs.
  23. slices.
  24. sothun?
  25. roe or milt.
  26. hall.
  27. The "Forme of Cury" and "Ord. and Reg." read Cyne; but the correct reading is more probably Cyve = chives, onions; the sauce for both 'Conyngus' and 'Harus', as seen above, is evidently composed of onions.
  28. strained.
  29. Harus in a browet.
  30. hasty.
  31. Yf?
  32. pour over.
  33. rough.
  34. mixed.
  35. out?
  36. stuffing.
  37. to stuff.
  38. weight.
  39. baste.
  40. at one single blast of the horn.
  41. The MS. reads 'cold'.
  42. becoming rancid.
  43. injure.
  44. a raised crust.
  45. stalks.
  46. attend.
  47. bend, curl.
  48. bent, curled.
  49. Perhaps we should here read: 'As osel, snite and laveroc gray' i. e. the blackbird, snipe and lark.
  50. beaten up.
  51. claw.
  52. enioynt?
  53. bad.
  54. boiling.
  55. an opening.
  56. a mallard, the wild drake.
  57. light.
  58. a thin paste made of flour and water.
  59. a dish or pie.
  60. lay, place.
  61. boil.
  62. loins.
  63. leke?
  64. little.
  65. lovage?
  66. enbrawdet?
  67. crawe?
  68. pinions of the wings.
  69. legs.
  70. The MS. reads "as I telle þe".
  71. the kidneys.
  72. Alebery, caudle, warm broth, [Cotgrave] = ale broth.
  73. the smelt.
  74. pork.

* "And welle on alle and lepe in." The sense would seem to require that we should read:-- "and welle on alle, and no3t kepe in."

 Notes

1. The Table of Contents is missing seven recipes from the beginning of the text. These are:

  • 1. How somme mete schalle seme raw / How to make cooked meat seem raw ...5
  • 2. Another sotelté... / Another subtlety (made to look like a dish of worms) ...5
  • 3. Yf [th]e coke be croked / How to revenge oneself on a bad cook ...5
  • 4. To make venegur manede / Two ways to make strong vinegar ...6
  • 5. To preve venegur, we[th]er hit be fyne / To prove whether vinegar is good ...6
  • 6. To powder befe with in a ny[3]t / To salt beef within a night ...6
And number seven, counted as part of #6 by Morris, is a very strange form of Amendment for salt meat -- how to remove the saltiness from salted meat.

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2. Page 1. Introductory paragraph. Line 5, "[Th]is hasteler, pasteler, and potagere". A hasteler or hastler, was the officer of the kitchen who was responsible for the roasting of meats. A pasteler or pastler was the man who made pies and pasties. A potager was the vegetable cook, who was also responsible for the pottages.

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3. Page 1. Introductory paragraph. Line 8, "[Th]o poyntes of cure, al by rawe". Morris glosses "by rawe" as "in rotation", but rawe, in this case, is a dialectical spelling of row, in the sense of a "class or category". The author is saying he will explain to us the points of cookery by categories, beginning with pottages.

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4. Page 1. Paragraph 1, "augrym" = algorism, the Arabic system of numeration. The word comes from the Arabic al-Khowarazmi, the surname of a 9th century Arab mathematician. Despite this promise to number each of the recipes, the author failed do so.

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5. Almond milk is called for in a number of our recipes, but the recipe for it is missing. This recipe for Almond Milk is from TFCCB (p. 7):

xj. Froyde almoundys. Take blake sugre, an cold water, an do hem to in a fayre potte, an let hem boyle to-gedere, an salt it an skeme it clene, an let it kele; [th]an take almaundys, an blawnche hem clene, an stampe hem, an draw hem, with [th]e sugre water thikke y-now, in-to a fayre vessel: an [yf] [th]e mylke be no[3]t swete y-now, take whyte sugre an caste [th]er-to.

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6. The MS. gives this as "For to make pese de Almayne". Rose is a transcription error by Morris; de Almayne is a scribal error. The corresponding dish in NBoC (pp. 111-2) is correctly titled "pessen de Almondes", peas with almonds.

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7. Page 2. #56. "Capons in convuse" is called "Capons in Covisye" in the text, but the MS. actually says "Counse / Conisye".

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8. Page 5. Paragraph 1. This, and the next two "recipes" are practical jokes. According to Adamson, these are similar to recipes found in German and Latin collections. The desired effect in this one is to make cooked meat appear to be raw. (See recipe #23 Rose, where this powder may be being used to dye the dish red.)

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9 Page 5. Paragraph 1. Line 7, "Hit is so frym, ren hit wylle". Morris glosses frym as "strong", but the C.O.E.D. gives several meanings: vigorous, flourishing; juicy; abundant, rich; or easily melting, soluble. It is this last definition that fits the usage of the blood powder best, and agrees with the next line, "And melt as sugar". The blood powder will dissolve and run as sugar does when it is melted.

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10. Page 5. Paragraph 2, Line 3, "In brede of stoe, thou cut hom [th]enne". The e-MED conjectures that stoe is a scribal error for stre; in fact it is a transcription error. The passage means "in [the] breadth of [a] straw, you cut them then". (The expression "a straw's breadth" can be found in other 15th-century texts, and strey is used to mean straw in recipe #133.) These are directions to cut bowel or gut into thin slices, the width of a piece of straw. These false "worms" are then cast upon cooked fish or meat before service, so that the dish will appear wormy. Thorndike (cited in Adamson, p. 184), says that the heat of the dish makes the "worms" move. A recipe for "worms" made from extruded pea mush appears in Welserin (recipe #40).

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11. Page 5. Paragraph 3, Line 1, "and [3]if ano[th]er I telle con". Morris questions whether the second word is [3]if or [3]it. The former is correct. This is a particularly nasty passage telling how to revenge oneself on a bad cook. We add soap to the pot to make it boil over, and feed deadly henbane seeds to the hens and ducks. (Henbane is poisonous. Do not use it.) Similar recipes cited by Adamson use vitriol, mercury, or saltpetre to make the pot boil over.

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12. Page 5. Paragraph 3, Line 2. The MS. has "foward", not "soward".

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13. Page 6. #4. To make venegur manede. "Manede" is a transcription error; the MS. says "in a nede" (in a need). The letters i, u, n, v, and m are often run together as a series of vertical lines, making it difficult to distinguish one letter from another.

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14. Page 6. #4. To make venegur manede. Lines 4 and 5, "A bere with [th]e hete hit [th]ou may, And in goode wyne sleck hit I say". One definition of bere or ibere is to cry or roar. This would give us the rough translation "make the red-hot steel goad to cry out or scream by quenching it in the vinegar". If you have ever worked with a forge, you will recognize this as the sound made when red-hot metal is quenched in water.

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15. Page 6. #4. To make venegur manede. Lines 8 and 9 describe another method of making vinegar by using beans soaked in vinegar to sour good wine.

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16. Page 6. #4. To make venegur manede. Line 9, "turne to venegur be dene". The word be dene, bydene, etc., occurs repeatedly throughout the manuscript. According to the C.O.E.D. it occurs often in M. E. poetry to fill the measure and to provide a rhyme, as it does here. For the most part it means "anon", or "by and by", etc., and should be considered to have no value as a cookery instruction in these recipes.

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16b. Page 6. #5. To preve venegur... Line 2, "In harde drye flore a hole to make;" Phil Troy suggests: "The word flore could mean flour that has been adulterated by a dishonest miller with ground chalk, since vinegar mixed with ordinary flour does not undergo the acid/base reaction being described in the recipe. Alternately, the word might literally mean floor, not flour, and we are being instructed to dig a small hole in our limed stone floor, hence the instructions to use someone else's knife! When you pour good (a.k.a. acidic) vinegar into the hole, it wells up, while if the vinegar is bad (a.k.a. of a near-neutral pH), it will just soak in and sink down through the floor."

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17. Page 6. #5. To preve venegur... Line 6, "[Th]is se[3]e I preved..." Se[3]eis an obsolete form of "to say", with the meaning in this instance being "to assay, test or try".

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18. Page 6. #6. To powder befe with in a ny[3]t. Lines 4 and 5, "And in a ny[3]t hit poudert schalle be, Grene powdert [th]orogh..." Properly salted beef takes weeks to cure. Grene is used here in the sense of "fresh, raw, unseasoned, new". In order for this beef to be freshly salted through in one night, it must needs be cut from the bone and cut into very small pieces, so that the brine can come into contact with the maximum surface area.

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19. Page 6. #6. To powder befe with in a ny[3]t. Lines 8 to13, "And kover [th]y pot with [th]o gresse done...And make hit fresshe unto [th]e mele" means to cover the brine- and flesh-packed pot with a sod of green turf, grass-side down. The salt will adhere to the grass and form a crust that can be knocked off and re-used. Done in this case is an obsolete form of down. Mele here means medley, another word for mixture. In this case, it means you may re-use the salt by boiling it to make more brine.

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20. Page 7. #7. Furmente. Line 9 "Take know mylke" is a scribal error for "take cow's milk".

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21. Page 7. #7. Furmente. Line 15. "Sugar candy" likely refers to chunks of loaf sugar.

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22. Page 7. #8. Amydone. Line 9, Lycour is an error for lyour(e), a form of lear, meaning a thickening for sauces.

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23. There is no footnote 23.

24. Page 9. #12. Mortrews de chare. Line 4, "Enbande [th]e porke, Syr, for [th]o nonys". "For [th]o nonys" is a nonsense phrase used to rhyme with the preceding line. Enbande is not in the C.O.E.D. The e-MED gives enbande as an alternate spelling of embainen, meaning to baste, soak, or steep (with this being the sole example). But this interpretation does not fit our context. We have taken the meat from the pot and removed the bones. Then we are to enbande it, hew it, and grind it. A similar word, bawde (or baude), occurs in Austin, "bawde it & leche it", and "take it vppe, and bawde hit, and hewe it" (TFCCB, pp. 18, 70). Austin suggests baude or bawde is likely a corruption from Fr. barder, meaning to cut in thin slices (TFCCB , p. 120). It is certainly easier to grind meat that has been cut into small pieces. Conjecture: Enbande = to cut in thin slices.

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25. Page 9. #14. [Th]andon for wylde digges, swannus, and piggus. "[Th]andon" is a transcription error. The MS. says "Chandon" here and in the Table of Contents. In Line 9, the burned bread and blood are being used to darken the sauce.

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25A. Page 11. #17. Charlet. According to Austin (TFCCB, p. 124), the name of this dish comes from the French words chair (meat) and laitée (with milk).

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25B. Page 11. #18. For Charlet icoloured. Line 9, annes icomfetis anise in comfit, or candied anise seeds. Sass gives a recipe "ffor to make aneys in confite" from Harleian MS 2375 (fol. 75b, Sass, p. 125). In that recipe the anise seeds are to be coated with sugar syrup and stirred by hand until they are "os gret os a pese" (as great as a pea), and then they are cooled and coated with rice flour to prevent sticking.

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26. Page 12. #20. Breuet de almonde. Line 3, "flowre [th]at is bake", see recipe #86 for baked flour that is to be used as a thickening.

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27. Page 12. #20. Breuet de almonde. Line 8, smethe is employed here as a nonsense word to rhyme with the previous line's sethe, just as tyde in Line 9 is included to rhyme with besyde.

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27A. Page 12. #22. Bucnade. Alternate spellings: Bokenade, Buknade, Bukkenade, Buknard. Hieatt & Butler (CoI, p. 175) note: "the root buk- (or buc-) of the title signifies...'veal dish'..."; most complete versions of this recipe do contain veal (or a substitute) and specify the seasonings. Our recipe is incomplete. NBoC contains two recipes for Bucnade, #2 and #197. The latter bears more resemblance to our version, and is likewise incomplete (s substituted for long s):

[#197] To mak Buknard tak almond mylk and colour it with saffron and fers it with pouder then tak lard of pork well sodene and hewe it small and put them to the mylk and alay it with flour or with amydon and boile it well and florishe it withe pouder and colour it with sanders and serue it.

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28. Page 13. #23. Rose. Line 7, "Coloure with alkenet, sawnder, or ellys with blode..." Since the name of the dish is Rose, and alkanet and saunders are both red food colorings, presumably we are to use blood to dye the dish red. If so, an option is to use the juices from rare-roasted meat (and not raw, unsanitary, blood). More likely, however, is that the blood called for here is a reference to the dried blood manufactured in the first recipe, "How somme mete schalle seme raw".

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28A. Page 13. #24. Lede lardes [Leche lardes]. This dish can be found elsewhere named "Let lory", "lethe lory", "lete lardys", "lette lardes", etc., and comes from the Fr. for milk, lait. According to Austin, the original was likely let lardé, larded milk (TFCCB, p. 135).

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29. Page 13. #24. Lede lardes [Leche lardes]. There is a step missing here. The gathered curds must be pressed, or drained and pressed before slicing. Chill the mixture before slicing.

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30. Page 13. #24. Lede lardes [Leche lardes]. Line 10. Morris says to serve if forth "with spit" meaning on skewers -- somewhat difficult to do with a dish of pressed fried curds. The manuscript says "with frit", meaning perhaps some sort of pancake or fritter, possibly filled with meat, fruit, or cheese. (The downstroke of the "r" is too long, making it resemble a "p", hence the error.) The word frit comes from the French frit (pa. ppl. of frire, to fry). See Warner (p. 449, Servise on Fisshe Day), "and therwith daryolus, and leche-fryes, made of frit and friture." Leche-fryes means literally "sliced and fried"; the name was also used for fruit or cheese pies.

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31. Page 14. #27. Sowpus dorre. Line 1, "Take almondes, bray hem, wryng hom up" -- these are instructions to make almond milk. See note #5.

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32. Page 14. #27. Sowpus dorre. Line 6. Where our version says "Do in [th]is dysshes mete", NBoC (p. 107) has "pour it ouer the met". In these cases mete means meat in the sense of dish meat or spoon meat, and is a reference to the toasted bread, not to flesh.

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33. Page 15. #31. Buttur of Almonde mylke. In Line 1, "thykke mylke of almondes clere", the word clere is a nonsense word employed to rhyme with the next line's fere. Almond milk, thick or thin, is an opaque liquid.

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34. Page 15. #31. Buttur of Almonde mylke. Lines 6 & 7, "gar hit on hepe to renne; / In clothe [th]ou henge hit a myle way" means to gather the mixture together in a cheesecloth to curdle. Then you tie the ends of the cloth together and suspend the mixture over a bowl so that the excess liquid can drip away. "A myle way" is the length of time you are to allow it to drip, i.e. the time it takes to walk a mile = 20 minutes at 3 miles per hour (Eng. Dial. Soc. #3, Satchell's glossary).

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35. Page 16. #32. Ryse. Line 5, "Fors hit with fryude almondes gode", Fors = farce = to stuff with; to cram full of, or to season or spice. In this case, it means we are to stick the rice pottage full of fried almonds as a garnish.

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36. Page 16. #34. For to make a rape. Line 3, "Sethe [th]enne o[th]er raysins grete". The text says "seethe then", but in this context it should be read "seethe them [the currants] or great raisins".

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37. Page 16. #34. For to make a rape. Line 5. Obviously there is something missing in this recipe. The "hom" cannot refer to the raisin/wine mixture since there is nothing listed here to bind the mixture to a spit. There are many extant recipes for rape or rapeye, all of which have little in common with each other -- some are baked tarts, others fried dumplings, and some are fruit pottage, with or without meat or fish. It is likely that the missing "hom" are fish, and that we are to skewer them, roast them a little, then pound them, mix them with the fruit/wine mixture and spices, and then boil and serve. (See TFCCB, p. 30, Rapeye.)

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38. Page 17. #35. Mylke rostyd. Lines 5 - 6 instruct us to strain the mixture through a cloth to separate the curds from the liquid. The curds are pressed, the liquid is discarded.

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39. Page 17. # 36. For to make a potage of welkes. Line 7, the MS. says cow, not clow. The semicolon after fyre in Line 6 was added in error by Morris. We are to boil the chopped and pounded whelks in almond milk or cow's milk.

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39A. Page 18. #38. Sauge Seynes. This recipe is very similar to the late 13th century recipe for Saugee found in B.L. Additional 32085 (Hieatt & Jones, p. 863, #3), and to the recipe for "Sawge" in Rawlinson D 1222 (CoI, p. 155). Compare this also with the recipes for Sauge and Sauoge in TFCCB (pp. 28, 41). "To mak saige synes" in NBoC (p. 110) substitutes swan's feet for the pig's trotters found in our recipe. The word synes in NBoC (perhaps corrupted to seynes in our recipe?), may come from the O. Fr. word for swan, cine. Our version, as in these last two, neglects to add chopped egg whites to the sauce.

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40. Page18. #39. For to make a compost. A compost or compote is a stew compounded out of many ingredients. (It can also mean pickled or preserved fruit, but not in this instance.)

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41. Page 18. #39. For to make a compost. Line 1, "and hew hom for [th]o seke". This must be another dialectical spelling. Morris glosses seke as soak, and certainly such a spicy dish would not be good for one who was sick! A soak, used as a noun, is the liquid or vat in which something is steeped.

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42. Page 19. #42. For to make rose dalmoyne. In the Table of Contents Morris mistakenly gives the name of this dish as "For to make rose de almayne"; the MS. says "For to make pese de Almayne". Rose is a transcription error, while de Almayne is a scribal error. The recipe in the MS. (fol. 37) is likewise mistakenly titled "ffor to make rose dalmoyne". The corresponding dish in NBoC (pp. 111-2) is correctly titled "pessen de Almondes", peas with almonds.

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43. Page 20. #43. For a kolys. Line 2, the MS. says "wt wyn", with a bar over the "n", indicating a long "n" sound. Morris has rendered this "with wyne", but I have given it as "with labor". As in #51 and #102, the intended word is labor or work, from the A.S. word for labor, "win". This recipe also occurs in Diuersa Servicia (#11, CoI, p. 64), NBoC (p. 112) and TFCCB (pp. 10-11, Coleys.), where no wine is called for.

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44. Page 20. #43. For a kolys. Line 5, "it" refers to the flesh. The flesh is pounded in a mortar, strained, and the resultant paste is added back to the broth. Although it is unclear here and in NBoC (p. 112), if you examine the TFCCB version (pp. 10-11), you can see that the bones are to be removed and also pounded, strained, and added to the broth.

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45. Page 20-1. #45. Conyngus in cyne. Line 8, "fulle meke" is a likely nonsense phrase used to rhyme with "eke". The same recipe found in Forme of Cury calls for powder fort.

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45A. Page 21. #48. Harus in abrotet. Called Harus in albrotetus in the Table of Contents, this recipe can also be found in NBoC (p. 113) as Haire in Albroturs, in FoC (p. 21) as Hares in talbotes, and in Douce MS. 257 as Haris in talbotays (CoI, pp. 63, 103). The version in FoC is nearly identical to ours in wording, but adds powder fort(a mixture of strong spices) with the vinegar and salt.

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46. Page 21. #48. Harus in abrotet. Line 6, by kynde is a nonsense phrase. It is used four times in the document (#48, 58, 65, 70) to rhyme with grynde. It should not be construed to be a cookery instruction.

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47. Page 22. #49. Harus in Perdoylyse. The name of this dish, given as "Hares in papdele" in FoC (CoI, p. 103, with alternate spellings padell and papade), changed to "Haires in pardolos" or perdolons by the time it was included in NBoC (pp. 21, 113). The FoC version predates ours by approximately 30 to 50 years. It omits the beaten eggs, and adds the instructions to sprinkle powder douce on the wafers before covering them with the sauce. (Note: A recipe for "Hares in Padell" given in Warner, #287 p. 428, is in fact a recipe for "Hares in Talbotes". Compare with CoI, p. 103, #25.)

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48. Page 22. #51. Chekyns in browet. Line 3, "stope [th]y chekyns with wynne". Wynne, in this instance, is an obscure spelling of will, as in the phrase 'do it with a will'. See #112, For white pese after porray, where it is used in the negative -- wynnot, and #102 where it means labor.

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49. Page 23. #52. Chekyns in Cawdel. Line 4, "powder gynger, abrayde" is a reference to ginger powder. Abrayde is redundant, and is likely used simply to provide a rhyme for the previous line's forsayde.

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50. Page 23. #52. Chekyns in Cawdel. This recipe is also found in FoC (CoI, p. 105, #35) and in NBoC (pp. 114-5), neither call for rue. Ours more closely follows the FoC version. On Line 5 where ours says "And sugur, and rew", FoC says "and sugar ynowh". "And rew" is clearly spelled out in our manuscript, but could easily be a scribal error.

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51. Page 23. #52. Chekyns in Cawdel. Line 5, "safron clere". Clear, in this context, means clean, bright, having pure color, shining; but was probably used simply to rhyme with the next line's fyre.

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52. Page 23. #52. Chekyns in Cawdel. Line 7, "with owtyn boylyng". The sauce is to be thickened with raw egg yolks. This must be done slowly over low heat, since boiling would cause the yolks to clot, resulting in a lumpy sauce.

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53. Page 23. #54. Roo in a Sewe. This recipe contains an odd number of lines, to the effect that the last line has no rhyme. The corresponding recipe in NBoC (p. 115) also calls for pepper, ginger, and cloves. Our forgotten line should probably have been "With peper gynger and cloves hit fors". There was no space set aside in the MS. for the additional line.

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54. Page 24. #55. Hennes in gravé. Line 4, "Grynd hit togeder with hennes [th]o". This is not an isolated example of the cooked hens being ground to crumbs or paste; see also #11 Viande de Cipur, #21 Blonk desore, and #43 For a kolys.

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55. Page 24. #56. Capons in Covisye. Morris lists this in the Table of Contents as "Capons in covuse"; the MS. says "Capons in counse". In the text, the MS. says "Capons in conisye".

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56. Page 24. #57. Hennes in gauncel. Line 3, "Blonde hit with mylke". Blonde is a transcription error. The MS. says blende, meaning to mix. (This recipe is almost identical to Hennys in Gauncelye, TFCCB, p. 23.) See also our #124 For a tansy cake, where the word is spelled blynde.

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56A. Page 24. #57. Hennes in gauncel. Line 5, "[Th]y henne and [3]olkes of eyren imelle". Imelle is a form of the verb mell, meaning to mix.

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57. Page 25. #60. For tenchis in gravé. Line 1, "and after hom brede". Brede can mean bread, but it has many other meanings, including to roast, broil, or toast, to spread out or extend, and to cover. In this case, we have parboiled the tenches, and must spread them out and roast them on a griddle in order to finish the cooking.

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58. Page 25. #60. For tenchis in gravé. Line 4, the MS. says "Wt tenchis broth [th]ou peper ht [th]enne".

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59. Page 25. #61. Chawdewyne de boyce. (From Fr. bois = woods, or A.N. boys = a wood.) This poetically named recipe, literally "entrails of the woods", is a dish of fried nuts boiled in almond milk and spices, garnished with yellow-colored fried nuts. The mention of meat in Line 9 of the recipe means the dish of nuts, and should not be construed to mean 'flesh'.

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60. Page 26. #62. Capons in Cassolyce. The MS. gives the name as "Capone in cassoloyte". Cassoloyte may come from Fr. cassole (dim. cassolette), meaning a box, coffin, or case. This recipe (which is really two recipes in one) also appears in Douce MS. 257, "For to make capons in casselys" (FoC, p. 99, or CoI, p. 67). See also "To mak two capons of one" and "The capon body " (NBoC, p. 36), and "Farced Chickens" (Power, p. 309).

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61. Page 26. #62. Capons in Cassolyce. Line 3, "blaw hym with penne", refers to a method of either loosening the skin of an animal, or skinning it completely by inserting a straw or hollow quill pen between the flesh and the skin, and inflating the animal like a balloon. The air ruptures the interior membrane, thereby loosening the skin and making it easier to remove.

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62. Page 26. #62. Capons in Cassolyce. Line 10 begins instructions for cooking the skinned bird. First we are to lard it and roast it. Then, when it is almost done, we are to baste it with colored batter made of almond milk, amidon, and saffron.

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63. Page 26. #62. Capons in Cassolyce. Line 13, "serve hit at fyre rostande", means to apply the batter to the roast while it is roasting.

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64. Page 27. #65. Pur verde sawce. Line 1, Peletre, or Pellitory, is a name given to several different plants. According to the O.E.D, the peletre called for in Arundel MS. 334's Vert Sause is Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum), also known as Pella mountaine. Garden Thyme, T. vulgaris, is also mentioned as an option. Wild Thyme is likely what is called for here.

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64A. Page 28. #67. Sawce for vele and venysone. Line 2, "with brothe of venegur". Brothe in this instance does not refer the cooking liquid of the meat; it refers to the vinegar. Brothe was sometimes used more generally to mean any liquid that was boiled, brewed or cooked, melted snow, sea-water, etc.

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65. Page 28. #69. Sawce best for capons rostyd. FoC (p. 64, Sawse Noyre for Capons yrosted) calls for "greyns de Parys" instead of "Pare gynger", and TFCCB (p. 110, "Black sauce for capouns y-rostyde") says "parysgingere". In both cases the sauce is not strained.

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66. Page 28. #69. Sawce best for capons rostyd. Line 7, "boyle hit in sy[3]t". The word sy[3]t usually means sight, and also has an obscure meaning of a sieve or strainer; but I believe "sy[3]t" is included here simply to rhyme with the next line's "my[g]t".

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67. Page 29. #72. Sawce for swannus. Line 6, "[th]at so[th]un is lede". The word lede is also found in the Boke of Curtasye (Furnivall, p. 301), line 78: "In [th]i dysche yf [th]ou wete [th]y brede, Loke [th]er-of [th]at no[3]t be lede", where it means left behind. We are to use the boiled blood and breadcrumbs to thicken the sauce.

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68. Page 29. #73. [Sawce] For cranys and herons. Line 2. "At on bare mot" is glossed by Morris as "at one single blast of the horn". A mot or mote is a note played on a horn or bugle. This may be a reference to a horn blast announcing the dish as it is brought into the hall.

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69. Page 30. #76. Sawce camelyne, kervelettes and o[th]er thyngus. The MS. says "kerneletes". This is probably a diminutive form of kernel, meaning seed. The recipe has nothing to do with carving, caravels (ships), or crenellations (all words related to the word kerve), nor does it have anything to do with caraway seeds (kerua). However, nuts are called for in the recipe.

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70. Page 31. #80. Pigges in sawce. Line 5, "with owtene rewarde" may be a nonsense phrase to rhyme with "harde" (meaning simply without regard or without reward), or it could mean without bread, since the sauce is to be thickened with crumbled egg yolks. The Boke of Curtasye (Line 421), reads "More brede, [th]at calde is a rewarde".

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71. Page 31. #80. Pigges in sawce. Line 9. The MS. reads "a bofe colde". Morris apparently thought this to be an error and corrected it to " a bofe tolde". This recipe also appears in FoC (p. 23, Pygge in sawse Sawge), and in TFCCB (p. 72, Pigge or chiken in Sauge). Neither give directions for heating the sauce, nor do they say at what temperature it is to be served. Since this recipe makes sense either way, I leave it to you to decide which is correct.

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72. Page 32. #82. Gose in a Hogge pot. Line 8, "for [th]o hyre", perhaps meaning "for all you're worth"? This is likely a nonsense phrase inserted to rhyme with the previous line.

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73. Page 33. #83. To save venysone fresshe over [th]e [3]er. The flesh is being preserved raw by immersion in honey. I do not recommend you try this recipe as it is written. If you must try it, please parboil the meat and pasteurize the honey first. This recipe contains an odd number of lines, so that the last line "In cofer, or huche or seler merke" is left without a rhyme.

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74. Page 33. #84. For to save venysone fro restyng. This recipe can also be found in Douce MS. 257 (CoI, p. 73, #57), where the instructions are more complete. Once we have placed the meat in the soller, we wash it in clean water and leave it soaking in clean water for half a day. Then we are to take it up and lay it on hurdles to dry. (This is a much more sanitary option than in our version, where we are instructed to lay the meat on the floor.) After it has dried, we are to soak the meat in a brine "so salt als water of [th]e see and moche more" for three days and nights, then we dry it, rub it with dry salt, and pack it tightly in barrels. The barrels are then covered against sun and air.

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75. Page 34. #85. To keep herb[3] over [th]e wyntur. Line 2, "Wele stondande withouten stine" probably means that the coffin dough should be strong enough to support its own weight without a baking tin. In FoC, "Connyng in clere broth" (p. 37), Pegge reads "do the flessh [th]erwith in a Possynet and styne it", with "styne" glossed as possibly meaning "to cover". However, Hieatt & Butler (CoI, p. 113), read the word as "styue" (stew) not "styne".

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76. Page 34. #86. For lyoure best is a recipe for flour that is baked in a coffin crust and used as a thickening for other dishes. The baked flour is grainy in texture and may become as hard as chalk; it needs to be rubbed through a sieve in order to use it. The baking process also destroys the gluten in the flour.

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77. Page 35. #87. For [th]e crane. Enarme = to lard or wrap with bacon. These steps are out of sequence. The bird should first be plucked and gutted, and then larded or wrapped with bacon and roasted.

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78. Page 35. #87. For [th]e crane. Line 5, the MS. says "About the broth", but this is a scribal error for "broch".

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79. Page 35. #88. For heroun rostyd. Line 3, "Under [th]e lyft wyng [th]o neck bone steke". Steke = steek, northern dialect (from O.H.G. stechan, O.E. stecan) for to pierce, to stab, or to transfix. After the bird is killed, the neck bone is removed, leaving the head attached to the body by the long throat skin. The skin is wound around the spit, and the sharp bill is thrust through the collar-bone to secure the bird. In some recipes (but not this one), the leg bones are also removed, and the legs are treated in similar fashion.

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80. Page 35. #89. For wodcock, sny[3]t and curlue. Line 10, "[Th]at a kny[3]t is called for gentloré". Gentloré = gentlehood, gentleship, the quality of being a gentleman, the character associated with being of gentle birth. Note: The MS. does not say "and great", it says "an egret".

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81. Page 36. #90. For pygges farsyd. Line 9, enoynt can mean anoint, (to smear with oil or to moisten with any substance), but in this case as Morris suggests, it is a misspelling of enioynt, meaning joined together. The recipe, at this point, is discussing the presentation of the pigs, not how they are to be cooked.

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81A. Page 37. #92. For bours. The name of this dish can be found in other sources, but undoubtedly this is another instance, as in the case of rapeye, where a number of widely differing dishes share a common name. Our recipe is to make salt pork or salt goose that can be reconstituted with ale.

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81B. Page 37. #92. For bours. Line 5, "Fro Martyn messe to gode tyde evyne". Martinmas is November 11th. Gode means good in the sense of holy. Good Tide Eve refers either to Christmas Eve or to Shrove Tuesday. Since salt pork keeps a long time, much longer than the month between Martinmas and Christmas, this is probably referring to Shrovetide.

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81C. Page 37. #93. For powme dorrys. To make green food coloring from green herbs such as parsley or spinach, chop or pound the raw herbs to pulp (or use a blender). Place the mass of pulp in a cheesecloth and squeeze to extract the juice. Place the juice in a saucepan and discard the pulp. Gently heat the strained juice over low heat. The liquid will separate into two layers. Strain off the clear liquid through a filter paper and keep the green solid that remains. Use this to color your batter green. Make red batter using red sandalwood powder.

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82. Page 37. #94. Hastelets on fysshe day. Hastelets or Haslets are roasted meats, particularly pig's entrails. Because this is a fish day dish, fruits and nuts encased in batter are being substituted. The instructions to first thread the fruits and nuts on a string are missing here, as they are in Forme of Cury MS. A (but not in 3 other extant copies of FoC. See CoI, p. 142, #195 and note, and TFCCB, p. 97, "Trayne roste".)

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82A Page 38. #95. For lamprays bakun. Line 11, "In myddes [th]o lydde an tuel [th]ou make". A tuel, or tewel is an opening or vent in the piecrust lid that allows steam to escape. In raised-crust pies like this, these openings frequently included a strip of pastry, twisted and pinched to form a pipe or funnel-cone shape. If the pie were to be kept for storage, as many raised-crust pies were, strong gelatin-rich broth and liquid fat would be poured through the tewel into the cooked pie, completely covering the filling and excluding the air that would cause spoilage. In this instance, we are instructed to bake the lamprey with onions, spices, wine, and dates. Then we remove the pie from the oven, add more wine, and seal the tewel with a piece of pastry. Finally we return the pie to the oven, presumably until this patch of pastry is baked, and then the pie is served.

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83. Page 38. #96. For darials. Line 4, "with mylde mode" is a nonsense phrase used to rhyme with the preceding line.

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84. Page 38. #96. For darials. Darials or darioles are custard tarts. Lines 12-14 should be read "Pour in thy batter with a dish. Garnish it with blanched almonds". Dariole crusts were typically baked blind to crisp them. The crusts were filled, while still baking in the oven, using a bowl fastened to the end of a long-handled baker's peel.

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85. Page 39. #99. For risshens. Line 4, "As tome as belle hit wille hit make" refers to the action of the yeast solution on the dough. (The dough is being very loosely described here.) Morris glosses tome as "light, empty".

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86. Page 39. #99. For risshens. Line 5, "Lay hit in a roller as sparlyng fysshe" -- i.e., roll up the mixture in the dough as is done with smelts. Risshens or rissoles are meat, fish, or fruit encased in dough or batter and fried. As far as I have been able to determine, this is the sole example of the noun "roller" being used to mean a wrapper made of dough. (And for the curious, yes, "roller" is very clearly spelled out in the manuscript.)

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87 Page 40. #101. Crustate of flesshe. In Lines 6 and 13, Morris reads the word as "trap" (a pastry crust). However, the manuscript does not say "trap", it says "crap". This may simply be a scribal error for "trap"; "t" and "c" are written similarly . But since the error is repeated twice, and only on this word, it seems too much of a coincidence. In dialect, the word "crap" was used (among other things) to mean the sweepings of dust, dirt, and grain trodden underfoot in a barn or mill. I prefer to believe that this is a subtle but intentional jab at the pastry cook.

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88. Page 40. #102. Loysyns. This recipe for lozenges with cheese may also be found in FoC, which specifies that the boiled lozenges are to be layered in the dish with the cheese and spice in two or three layers, somewhat like a modern lasagne. (FoC, p. 30, "Loseyns")

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89. Page 40. #102. Loysyns. Line 3, "[th]er of [th]y fele [th]ou make" Fele, and fole (see #101) are both spelling variations of foil, meaning a thin layer or leaf. In medieval cookery the word meant a sheet of dough or pastry.

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90. Page 40. #102. Loysyns. Line 6 says "kast [th]erin broth", but should say cast them in broth, since we are boiling the noodles in the broth. Also, Morris writes "make rewarde" (make an extra dish), but the MS. says "take rewarde", meaning "take heed".

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91. Page 40. #102. Loysyns. There is no wine in this recipe; the word wynne in Line 10 comes from the A.S. word for labor, win, and anticipates the sentiment in the last line.

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92. Page 41. #103. Tartlotes. In Lines 8 and 9 the MS. says, "Koruen in the myddes two loyseyns apayr / Set ht wt fryed almondes sere". These are directions for garnishing the tarts: cut two lozenges (diamond-shapes) in the crust, and stick fried almonds on the top. Morris transcribed apayr as two words, thereby altering the meaning. Apayr means to satisfy, to please.

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93. Page 41. #105. Chewetes on flesshe daye. Line 12 ends with mete, which does not fill the rhyme with spake. This is a scribal omission. Morris corrected this by inserting "ibake".

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94. Page 42. #106. Of Petecure, from O. Fr. petit keuerie, meaning small cookery, or cookery on a small scale. I have counted this as a recipe, since one may follow it as such; but others may argue it is merely a laundry list of potherbs.

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95. Page 42. #106. Of Petecure. Lines 19 to 23
St. James Tide is July 25th. St. Michael's Eve is Sept. 28th. Stade, in one definition, is an alternate form of stage, an obsolete meaning of which is "an appointed date". The passage seems to mean that red colewort is not to be picked between July 25th and Sept. 28th. Colewort was an important crop that provided greens throughout the winter until Lenten time.

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96. Page 42. #107. For stondand fygnade. The last line ends "be fore +"; Morris expanded this to "before gode menne."

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97. Page 44. #110. For blaunchyd porray. Line 2, the MS. says "heke hedes", a scribal error.

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98. Page 45. #112. For white pese after porray. This is one recipe with a variation for fish days and another for flesh days. Lines 1 to 4 serve for both variations. Lines 5 to 8 are directions for service on a fish day. Lines 9 to 16 continue the instructions from Line 4, and are directions for service on a flesh day.

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99. Page 45. #112. For white pese after porray. Line 5, grappays are sturgeon, whale, or other royal fish. Le Menagier mentions boiled strips of whale meat (Craspois/Graspois) being used in place of bacon during Lent (Power, pp. 252, 328).

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100. Page 46. #114. For kole. Lines 3, 5, 10, 12, wortis can mean herbs, vegetables, pot-herbs, or any member of the cabbage family. Since the name of the dish is literally "for cole", wortis is given here as meaning coleworts. Colewort is a general name for members of the cabbage family.

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101. Page 46. #114. For kole. Line 7, "[3]if [th]ou have salt flesshe sethand I wot". Sethand is not in the O.E.D, Mayhew & Skeat, Britten, Wright, or Eng. Dial. Soc. #1. The e-MED gives it as a participle form of to seethe (with this being the sole example for this spelling), which would give us "if you have salted flesh seething...take a fresh piece out of the pot and seethe it by itself". In the manuscript, the word seth or sethe is written 75 times. In each case the "t" touches or crosses the "h", a ligature clearly indicating a "th" sound. However, in the word sethand, the "t" and the "h" are not touching, and there is enough space between them to suggest that the scribe was writing two separate words: set and hand. From context, sethand, or set hand, would appear to mean on hand or available. Nevertheless, from a practical standpoint it makes no difference whether sethand is a form of "to seethe" or another of the author's creations. Since salted flesh must be slowly reconstituted (by simmering at a very low temperature or by soaking) before it can be used, the meat is undergoing or has undergone this re-hydration process.

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102. Page 46. #115. For mustul bre. Lines 1 to 5 mean to boil the mussels in water and reserve some of the broth. Mix this broth with bread; this serves as a thickening. The remainder of the broth you must keep also, but throw away the grounds that have settled out because they contain sand.

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103. Page 47. #117. For gruel of fors. The MS. says "Wt outenne grotes", meaning "without groats", but this is surely an error. Morris corrects it to "with otene grotes".

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104. Page 47. #118. For Ioutes. Ioutes is a dish of pot-herbs or vegetables that can be a soup or a pottage. This particular Ioutes recipe is medicinal in nature; it is intended as a spring tonic to clean out one's system, and may cause diahrrea. (You may substitute spinach for the medicinal herbs in this recipe.)

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105. Page 47. #118. For Ioutes. In his notes for Line 1, Morris confuses borage (Borago officinalis) with lovage (Levisticum officinale); borage is being called for here.

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106. Page 47. #118. For Ioutes. Lines 2 to 6, plum tree leaves were used medicinally, boiled in wine, as a gargle to cure swellings of the gums, throat, and tonsils, and to dry phlegm. Red nettle tops "eaten in the spring consume the phlegmatic superfluities in the body of man, that the coldness of winter hath left behind" (Culpepper, p. 204). Mallows (Malva species) loosen the bowels. Red briars are a type of rose, that were used medicinally as a purgative (among many other uses). Avens (Geum urbanum) is a common pot-herb that was used to cure obstructions of the liver and spleen, and to remove any clotted blood from the body. Nep, or catnip (Nepeta cataria) was used for colic, flatulence, and dysmenorrhea; it may bring on menstruation. Violet (Viola odorata) was used as a purgative. Prymrol ,or primerole, is most likely the primrose (Primula veris), although the name was applied to other plants, such as the cowslip. Lest can mean either last or least -- either fits in this context. Levus can mean leaves or petals, both were used in spring tonics.

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107. Page 47. #118. For Ioutes. Lines 13-15, "Take sklyset,...eten with ioutes in fay". Sklyset are slices. Since Ioutes is a thick pottage and cannot be sliced, obviously the author was referring to something else that ought to be eaten with the ioutes. The recipe in TFCCB (pp. 5-6, #iij. Joutes) calls for a dish of boiled bacon to be served with the Joutes, and this is indeed a very good combination.

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107A. Page 48. #119. For capons in erbis. The author begins instructions for stuffing the capons in Lines 1 and 2, and then interrupts himself. In Lines 3-8, we are being instructed to make "pudding of capon's neck", a dish common to many old cookery books of this era. Line 9 repeats and auments the instructions begun in Lines 1 and 2.

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108. Page 48. #119. For capons in erbis. Line 12, "And wrythe itwen", wrythe = writhe, wring, twist. Itwen comes from the word for twin, and means to divide. So the phrase means to twist the herbs in half. We are being instructed to stuff the birds with the herbs and bacon prior to boiling.

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109. Page 48. #119. For capons in erbis. Line 13, "With sklices of bacon, enbrawdet here". Enbawdet, without the "r" occurs in the previous recipe for ioutes, where it is also used of slices, presumably bacon slices. These are the only known examples of enbawdet / enbrawdet, making definition of the word somewhat difficult.

  • 1. Morris glosses enbawdet / enbrawdet as to border (likely derived from enbord).
  • 2. The e-MED suggests that the word means to garnish (from embrouden, to embroider). Unless the recipe's steps are out of sequence, these two suggestions in makes no sense in this context, since it appears that the bird is being stuffed with the herbs and bacon prior to cooking.
  • 3. To bard a bird is to wrap the outside of the bird with bacon prior to roasting, but our bird is being boiled.
  • 4. Furnivall (II, p. 80) has a similar word, enbrowide (also enbrewe, enbrowynge), from Fr. embroué, meaning to soil or to dirty (used of a tablecloth), but this also does not fit our context.
  • 5. Austin suggests baude or bawde is likely a corruption from Fr. barder, meaning to cut in thin slices (TFCCB , p. 120), and the bacon is being described as sklices.
Conjecture: Enbawdet may be an alternate spelling of bawde (derived from Fr. barder) = cut in thin slices (?). (See also note for enbande in our recipe #12.)

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110. Page 48. #119. For capons in erbis. Line 16. Presuming the conclusion reached in the preceding note is correct, the cooked bacon is then removed from the cavity and laid next to the stuffed neck for service.

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111. Page 49. #121. For honge cole. Hung cabbage is cabbage that has been harvested and hung up for storage.

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112. Page 49. #121. For honge cole. Line 2, "I thrawe" -- thrawe, a form of to throw, has many meanings including to twist and to throw, none of which fit the context. Morris suggests thrawe is a scribal error for crawe, a spelling of crave -- a nonsense addition to fill the rhyme. I crawe also appears in the paragraph For a servise on flesshe day, p. 54.

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112A. Page 49. #123 For comyne sewe. The name of this dish is "For cumin broth", from the Fr. comminée. (See Power, pp. 261-2.) This particular recipe omits the cumin, but others can be found that include it.

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113. Page 50. #124. For a tansy cake. Tansy cakes (egg fritters with tansy) were eaten as spring tonics; in later years other bitter herbs were substituted for tansy. Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, contains a toxic oil that may prove fatal if ingested in large quantites. Cake, in this instance, is a descriptive term for the egg fritter (round and flat), and is not a reference to a fancy bread or raised cake. (Note that the reference to this recipe in the C.O.E.D. under "cake" is incorrect; it should be cited for sb.3, not sb.1.c.)

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113A. Page 50. #124. For a tansy cake. Line 7. The MS. says "make take"; if this is not a scribal error for "may take", then it is a dialectical usage that I have been unable to find.

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114. Page 50. #124. For a tansy cake. In Lines 8 to 9, "Geder hit... schalle", there is a step missing from these instructions, and consequently a rhyme is missing for Line 9. Line 10 should have been something analogous to 'And in the panne presse it doune'. The wooden platter is being used to press the gathered egg curds into a fritter. This is then fried brown and sliced.

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115. Page 50. #125. For a froyse. There are a few steps missing in this recipe for Froyse out of Lentyn, or "Fritters out of Lent". The cooked chopped meat should be added to the beaten eggs in the pan. Then the mixture should be stirred, and the lumps gathered together and pressed with a plate to form a fritter, as in the preceding recipe.

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116. Page 51. #128. For a cawdel. Lines 9-10, "[3]if [th]ou cast salt [ther]to, iwys / [Th]ou marres all", means if you add salt, you will ruin the dish.

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117. Page 51. #128. For a cawdel. Line 15, "Storve myed wastel". (Note: The MS. says Storue.) The word storue also appears in the Boke of Curtasye (Furnivall p. 325, line 766), "[Th]e potage fyrst with brede y-coruyn / Couerys hom agayn lest [th]ey ben storuyn", where storuyn means to be spoiled by cold. (See also Hallam's essay in Eng. Dial. Soc. #2, pp. 12-15, where starve = to die of hunger or cold.) While spoiling by cold may affect a pottage, it makes little sense when applied to breadcrumbs. Rather, storue here means starve in the sense of to wither. Imagine pouring ale onto a fluffy pile of breadcrumbs -- they collapse in on themselves and appear to wither. This is a recipe for a caudle, a thickened beverage made with egg yolks and ale, that we are told not to let boil. [See the technique used in modern recipes for lemon curd.] "Storue myed wastel" comes in after we have carelessly let the caudle boil and the eggs have clotted. Now we have to fix it (waste not, want not!), so we are instructed to add breadcrumbs soaked in ale to thicken the mixture and make the egg clots less noticeable. Presumably, if this step is necessary, the resultant dish is eaten with a spoon as a pottage.

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118. Page 52. #130. For wesels. Regarding the word wesels the C.O.E.D. merely says "meaning obscure". While there is an obvious resemblance between this word, wesels, and the word for weasel [wesel(e), wesell] (and if one uses a bit of imagination, this long thin batter-coated 'sausage' may resemble a weasel), there is a stronger possibility as to its meaning. Since we are stuffing a capon's throat skin with the mixture, it is possible that the name comes not from weasel, but from wesand, meaning windpipe, throat, or gullet. (Alternate spellings include wezzon and wezzand.) This is supported by a note in Furnivall, (II, p. 42) "Omasus, in tripa vel ventriculus qui continet alia viscera, a trype, or a podynge, or a wesaunt, or hagges."

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119. Page 52. #131. For hagese. The instruction typical of a haggis, that is, stuffing the mixture into a sheep's stomach, appears to be missing from this recipe, but this is only because Morris give "[th]o bowel" whereas the MS. says "[thoru] bowel".

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120. Page 52. #131. For hagese. Line 3, "On [th]e turbilen made, and boyled wele". Morris suggests that turbilen comes from the French tourbillon, meaning a whirlpool or vortex. The e-MED also cites turbeillun, a variation of O.Fr. torbillon (whirlwind), and suggests turbilen means broth or stock. If so, why not simply say "broth" or "albrotet" (to fill the meter)? I think it more likely that turbilen is a poetic reference to the contents of the pot that are being stirred.

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121. Page 52. #131. For hagese. Line 10, "In wyntur tyme when erbs ben gode". This should say "In winter time when fresh herbs are not available," since the next line tells us to take dried powdered herbs.

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122. Page 53. #132. For seke menne. Line 1, aleberry or ale broth is a type of warm caudle. This is four recipes in one: ale broth; water gruel; milksops; and sugared sops.

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123. Page 53. #133. For sethe ray. In Line 1, the MS. says "Take ote strey + dragh ht clene". Morris glosses strey as to strain, but this must surely be an error brought on by his addition of a comma between ote and strey. Draghe or dredge is a mixture of grains, such as oats and barley, that have been sown together in one field. The comma should come after draghe, making the sentence "Take oat straw and draghe, and clean it". The pan is to be lined with clean straw. Then water and salt are added, and the ray is placed in the pan and parboiled. The ray is then removed, and skinned, and the first cooking liquid and the straw are discarded. The ray is then cooked again with ale and salt, and is served cold with a pungent liver and garlic sauce. (Note that only the ray's "wings" are eaten.) This sauce, and the parboiling, serve to mask the ammonia flavor present in ray. Le Menagier has a recipe for this sauce under the heading of "Sauces Not Boiled": "Garlic Cameline for Skate. Bray ginger, garlic and crusts of white bread moistened with vinegar; and if you add liver thereto it will be better." (Power, p. 287.)

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124. Page 54. For a servise on fysshe day is a menu:

First Course: white peas, porray, white herring, red herring, mustard sauce, salt salmon, salt eel.
Second Course: rice, fignade, salt fish, stockfish.
Third Course: glazed sops, lampreys in galentine, baked turbot, baked salmon, small fish, trout, smelt, minnows, loaches, sauce vert.
White herring were fresh or salted herring. Red herring were herring preserved by smoking; the smoke gave them color.

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125. Page 54. For a servise on fysshe day. The mention of covers in Lines 2, 3, and 5 refer to the practice of covering the serving dish with a lid. Stacks of these covered dishes could be wrapped round with a towel and carried into the hall.

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126. Page 54. For a servise on fysshe day. Line 8, Fignade. This, and the mention in recipe #107 are the only two known uses of the word fignade. Fignade is a form of Figee, a thick fig pudding.

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127. Page 54. For a servise on fysshe day. Line 16, sawce versance is another spelling of sauce vert, or green sauce, a common condiment. See our recipe #65 Pur verde sawce.

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128. Page 54. For a servise on flesshe day is also a menu:

First Course: pot-herbs, salt beef, capon in herbs.
Second Course: iussell, goose, suckling pig with ginger sauce, veal, roasted mutton with sorrel sauce.

129. Page 54. For a servise on flesshe day. In Line 5, "Fyrst take in selle, [th]an gose anon", the MS. says "iussell" not "in selle". I have given it as Iussell (a common dish), and not as seal, as Morris suggests. The presence of seal in this flesh day menu would be an anomaly. Seals were considered to be fish, or rather, amphibians, in medieval times, and where they occur in medieval menus they are listed with the fish, not the meat. Furnivall, for example, has five mentions of seal [sele, [3]ele], all of which occur in connection with fish dishes. By contrast, Wynkyn de Worde's Boke of Keruynge contains two flesh day menus that call for Iussell in the second course (Furnivall, pp. 275, 277). Iohn Russell's Boke of Nurture (Furnivall, p. 170), in his "A Fest for a franklen", has this rhyme, "[Th]erfore stuffe of household is behoveable, / Mortrowes or Iusselle are delectable / for [th]e second course by reson." (See #19 Iusselle.)

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130. Page 54, For ano[th]er maner of service on flesshe day is another menu:

First Course: great pies, frumenty with venison, roasted capon.
Second Course: fillets in galentine, mortrews, roasted beef and mutton, roasted veal, roasted pork, roast suckling pigs, goose.
Third Course: caudle ferry, stewed mallard, tarts, darioles, crustade, rissoles, pome-dorry, fritters, roasted mallard, teal, woodcock, small birds.
Line 1, frumente, see recipe #7 Furmente.
Line 11, daryels, see recipe #96 For darials; crustade, see recipe #98 For custanes.
Line 12, pome-dorry, see recipe #93 For powme dorrys. For fritters, see recipe #100.

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131. Page 54, For ano[th]er maner of service on flesshe day. In Line 13 the MS. reads "Thenne rosted mawlarde and tele [th]erto". Morris mistakenly transcribed tele as cele, changing the meaning from teal (a type of duck), to bliss.

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132. Page 54, For ano[th]er maner of service on flesshe day. Line 16, be skylle, meaning by right, is another nonsense phrase added to rhyme with wylle.

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133. Page 55. For a comyn rewle in cure. Line 2, "All hole futed fuylle in flud" is given by the e-MED as "All whole-footed fowl in flood", in other words, all waterfowl having webbed feet.

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134. Page 55. For a comyn rewle in cure. Line 4. Although my copy of the manuscript is unclear in this spot, it is nevertheless apparent that the fourth word is not "savun", as Morris has stated. The first letter is either "s" or "f", and has a cross-bar. The last letters are "n<", with the final character written over the "n". Where this character occurs elsewhere in the manuscript, Morris and Furnivall have both given it as "er", making this word either "sauner" or "fauner". From context, the word may be a variant of "saune", an old form of "sans", meaning "without" or "with the exception of". The meaning of the passage as a whole is to take the greatest (heaviest), dishes first, with the exception of goose and drake. These we are to serve in the second course along with the bake-meats. The dainty dishes then come last in the third course. If we look at his third menu, this is precisely what he has done (small birds are counted among the dainty dishes).

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Copyright 2002, Cindy Renfrow.

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