15 votes

Chef cooks from 720 year old cook book

3 comments

  1. cfabbro
    (edited )
    Link
    Sawgeat recipe from The Forme of Cury, written in Middle English: (the below characters aren't exact... I did the best I could using unicode + markdown) Translation 1 - Medieval spice mix...

    Sawgeat recipe from The Forme of Cury, written in Middle English:
    (the below characters aren't exact... I did the best I could using unicode + markdown)

    Take Pork and ſeeþ it wel and ginde it ſmale and medle it wiþ ayren & brede. ygrated. do þ9to powdõ fort and ſafrouñ with pyn9 & ſalt. take & cloſe liẗull Ball9 ĭ foiles of ſawge. wete it with a batõ of ayren & fry it. & sũe it forth.

    Translation

    Take pork and seethe (boil) it well and grind it small and meddle (mix) it with eggs & bread. grated. do thereto (add together) powder-forte1 and saffron with paner2 and salt. take & close little balls in leaves of sage. wet it with a batter of eggs & fry it. & serve it forth.

    1 - Medieval spice mix typically made using ground cloves, cinnamon, longpepper, ginger, and/or galangal
    2 - French culinary term meaning to dip something in beaten eggs then coat it in breadcrumbs

    11 votes
  2. [2]
    BeanBurrito
    Link
    YouTube has many videos of people preparing ancient recipes. Often there are people who use old equipment to make those recipes too. All of those recipes looked disgusting to me. I really do think...

    YouTube has many videos of people preparing ancient recipes. Often there are people who use old equipment to make those recipes too.

    All of those recipes looked disgusting to me.

    I really do think tastes in food change over the centuries. Things that were a treat centuries ago can simply not be appealing to a modern person.

    5 votes
    1. cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Yeah, the vast majority of the really old recipes I've seen recreated by chefs haven't sounded or looked particularly appealing. And the older they are the worse they have generally seemed like...

      Yeah, the vast majority of the really old recipes I've seen recreated by chefs haven't sounded or looked particularly appealing. And the older they are the worse they have generally seemed like they would taste to me. There are a few exceptions though, like these two Kitab al-Tabikh recipes from the 10th century.

      This video is about a recipe from the court chefs of Richard II though, and also looks and sounds like it would actually taste pretty good. It's clove, cinnamon, longpepper, ginger, galangal, and saffron spiced pork meatballs wrapped in sage leaves, which are then battered and deep fried.

      8 votes