The Cauldron Bleu Cooks Guild

Take good flour of the very best and pour on it one third quart of cream and beat eggs into it, six, eight, according to how much you will make, and knead the dough as carefully as possible and roll it out very thin. Afterwards, fry them, then from the inside they will rise like tiny pillows, then they are ready.

Take a ratl of strong vinegar and mix it with two ratls of sugar, and cook all this.

Take a gallon of wine, three ounces of cinamon, two ounces of slic't ginger, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, an ounce of mace, twenty corns of pepper, an ounce of nutmegs, three pound of sugar, and two quarts of cream.

As for the making of Perry and Cider, which are drink much used in the West parts, and other Countries well stored with fruit in this Kingdom; you shall know that your Perry is made of Pears only, and your Cider of Apples; and for the manner of making therof, it is done after one fashion, that is to say, after your Pears and Apples are well pick’d from the stalks, rottennesse, and all manner of other filth, you shall put htem in the Presse-mill, which is made with a Mill-stone running around in a circle, under which you shall crush your Pears or Apples, and then straining them thorow a bag of hair-cloth, tun up the same (after it hath been a little setled) into Hogs-heads, Barrels, and other close vessels.

Now after you have prest all, you shall save that which is within the hair-cloth bag, and putting it into several vessles, put a pretty quantity of Water thereunto, and after it hath stood a day or two, and hath been well stirred together, presse it over also againe, for this will make a small Perry or Cider, and must be spent first. Now of your best sider or perry, and that you shall spend first also; and that which you make of the winter and hard fruit, you shall call winter and sowre cider, or perry; and that you may spend last, for it will endure the longest.

This is done by mixing a few dropps of the extracted oyle of sage, cinamon, nutmegs, mace, etc. in the making vp of your butter: for oyle and butter will incorporate and agree verie kindely and naturally together.

Your best and principal bread is Manchet, which you shall bake in this manner: First your meal being ground upon the black stones, if be possible, which makes the whitest flower, and boulted through the finest boulting cloth, you shall put it into a clean Kimnel, and opening the flower hollow in the midst, put into it of the best ale-barm, the quantity of three pints to a bushell of meale and some salt to season it with; then put in your liquor reasonable warme, and kneade it very well together, with both your hands, and through the brake, or for want thereof, fould it in a cloth, and with your feete treade it a good space together, then letting it lie an houre or thereabouts to swel, take it foorth and mould it into Manchets, round, and flat, scorcht them about the wast to give it leave to rise, and prick it with your knife in the top, and so put into the oven, and bake with gentle heat.

Take good spices, that is, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and galingale, and grind them in a mortar; then take a handful of sage and grind well in the same mortar with the spices, then take eggs and hardboil them; remove the yolk and grind with the sage; blend with wine vinegar, cider vinegar, or malt vinegar; take the egg white and chop finely and add to the sage mixture; put in pig’s trotters or other cold meat and serve.

Take spinach, cut off the lower roots, and wash; then boil lightly in salt and water, and dry. Refine sesame oil, drop in the spinach, and stir until fragrant. Chop up a little garlic, and add. Sprinkle with fine ground cumin, dry coriander, and cinnamon. Then remove.

…Take Raw Appelys, an pare hem and stampe hem, an drawe hem vppe with wyne, or with draf of Almaundys, or both, than caste pouder of Gyngere, Canel, Maces, Clowes, & caste ther-on Sugre y-now; than take a quantyte of flowre of Rys, an throwe ther-on, & make it chargeaunt, an colore it wyth Saffroun... an serue forth; an strawe Canel a-boue.

To speak then of the mixture and kneading of pasts, you shall understand that your rye paste would be kneaded onely with hot water and a little butter, or sweet sesame and Rye flower very finely sifted, and it would be tough & stiffe, that it may stand well in the rising, for the coffin must ever be very deep, your course wheat crust would be kneaded with hot water, or Mutton broth, and good store of butter, and the past made stiffe and tough, because that coffin must be deepe also; your fine wheat crust must be kneaded with as much butter as water, and the past made reasonable lythe and gentle, into which you must put three or foure eggs or more, according to the qunatitiy you blend together, for they will give it a sufficient stiffening.

Take fine flour and sugar and make pasta dough; take good cheese and butter and cream them together; then take parsley, sage, and shallots, chop them finely and put them in the filling. Put the boiled ravieles on a bed of grated cheese and cover them with more grated cheese and then reheat them.

Roast carrots in the coals, then peel them, cleaning off the ashes, and cut them up. Put in a dish with oil, vinegar, and a bit of wine; scatter a few mild herbs on the top.

Take swete crème of melke; do hit in a pott Do therto buttur claryfyed. Set hit on the fyre; stere hit. When hit boyles, have yolkes of eyron drawyn thorowgh a streynour into a bole, & put boylyng crem therto with a ladyl.. Styr hit well for a quallyng, & put hit in the pott ayen; & yf be nede, yeve hit a lytyl more of the fyre. Loke hit have white sygure ynowghe, & of the bature also loke hit be standyng as mortruys; & coloure hit with safron. Loke hit be salt. Messe hit forth, and strew on poudur of gynger. If thu wilt, thu may hete hit: have smal kovenys bakyn byfore, & poure hit theryn & serve hit in the stede of cold bakemete. Or yf thu wilt, poure hit by that on syde and crem of almondes or els a stondyng potage of quynsys or of fruet colourd yolow, & fil up that othir syde, & strew theron anneys in confyte & othir dragge, what thu wylte, & srve hit forth cold.

Take quyke shrympy: pike hem clene. Make thy sauce of watyr & salt; cast hem yn. Let hem boyle but a lytyll; pour awey the watyr. Ley hem dry. When thu shalt serve hem forth, ley hem yn disches round all aboughte the sydez of the disches, & ley the backsyde outward, & every course till ye come to the mydward of the disches within. Serve hem forth; sauce hem with venygger.

Young, small turnips should be cooked in water without wine for the first boiling. Then throw away the water and cook slowly in water with wine, with chestnuts therein, or, if one has no chestnuts, sage.

Claryfye hony; put therto poudyr. Lat hit boyle longe. Put therto almondes cut smal and gratyd bred, that hit be chargeaunt; stere hit well togedyr. Lat hit nought boyle to longe for brennyng of the almondys. Take gratyd bred & strew

You must cut your Orenges in halfe and pare them a little round about, and let them lye in water foure or five dayes, and you must chaunge the water once or twice a day, and when you preserve them, you must have a quarte of faire water to put in your Sugar, and a little Rosewater, and set it on the fire, and scum it verye clene, and put in a little Sinamon, and put in your Orenges, and let them boyle a little while, and then take them out againe, and doe so five or sixe times, and when they be enough, put in your Orenges, and let your Sirrop stande till it bee colde, and then put your Sirrop into your Orenges.

A Baghdad Cookery Book, 1226.

An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13^th Century.

Harleian Manuscript, 14^th Century.

Two Anglo-Norman Culinary Collections.