Subject: more medieval recipes

From: [email-masked] (Lotte Evans)
Date: 18 Oct 1993 11:19:46 GMT

David Friedman wrote that there is no full translation of 'Le Menagier'
available.  Alas i he is correct, I checked my copy, a1992 Folio Society
edition and there is an aknowledgment in the preface that some recipes and
some general instruction have been ommitted from the cooking section.
However it is still a fascinating book.  I also have another cookbook which
calls itself medieval 'Stere htt well: a book of medieval refinements,
recipes and remedies from a manuscript in Samuel Pepys Library.  This book
is published by Cornmarket Reprints in association with the Master and
Fellows of Magdalene College Cambridge, 1972.  According to Pepys, the recipes
are from the time of Edward IV.  The recipes sound interesting, however the
'remedies' make you glad that you did not live in that period of history
cheers Lotte Evans, RMIT University

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From: [email-masked] (David Friedman)
Date: 19 Oct 1993 02:39:44 GMT

Lotte Evans wrote:

> available.  Alas i he is correct, ...

That is not quite what I said. I said there is no full translation of the
cooking section that is commercially published. There is a full translation
of the cooking section in Volume II of the collection of source material
that I sell. 

So far as the rest of the book, the old translation (Flowers and someone?)
was, so far as I know, complete except for the cooking section. I think the
new translation is only excerpts.

She also writes:
>I also have another cookbook which
> recipes and remedies from a manuscript in Samuel Pepys Library.

If you are cooking from _Stere htt well_, use the original recipes rather
than the modern English translations, which are not very reliable. The
particular mistake I remember was translating something which actually
meant "seal it well so that no air may escape" as "seal it well so that no
egg may escape" (this from memory, so not precise). Those familiar with
15th c. cooking English will understand how the mistake occurred. The
recipe contained no eggs.

While on this subject, let me mention a general rule I recommend when
dealing with medieval cooking: Never trust a secondary source that does not
include the primary source. If all you have is a worked out modern version
of a recipe, you have no way of knowing how close it is to the original.
Some books (i.e. pleyn delite) are very reliable, others (fabulous feasts)
very unreliable. If the book gives you the worked out recipe and the
original, you can judge for yourself. 

David Friedman
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Michael Johnston -- Michael's Music Service)
Date: 20 Oct 1993 03:50:07 GMT

David et al.:

What did you think of the beautifully illustrated A 15th Century Cokery Boke
that's long been out of print.  Our library has one copy, but some jerks 
have torn out a couple of the pages -- for the illustrations, natch.

At the risk of seeming unscholarly, I liked it and would welcome it back in
print.

Cheers!
Michael
-- 
MICHAEL'S MUSIC SERVICE | CIS: 70731,3403 |---------| Barony of the Sacred Stone
4146 Sheridan Drive     | [email-masked] |----------------| John Apple
Charlotte, NC 28205-5654|(704) 567-1066 (800) 438-4129 |------| Michael Johnston
-- Brother Ambrose, Friars Minor |-------| Guillaume de Pomme, Maitre d'Orgue --

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From: [email-masked] (David Friedman)
Date: 20 Oct 1993 03:30:02 GMT

Ramon Tate wrote:

(about my collection of source material)

> Is this material available to those of us out here who salivate copiously at
> the thought of getting our hands on some authentic recipes? Please post a
> source if it is.

Volume I is $10 +$2 shipping and handling within the U.S., Volume II is
$8+$1, the Miscellany (which contains my and my wife's collection of worked
out early recipes--about 180 with originals--plus lots of other things) is
$10+$1.

[email-masked]
David Friedman
309 Mitchell St.
Ithaca, N.Y. 14850 USA