The Forme of Cury
Cookery | |
Publisher | Richard II of England |
---|---|
Publication date | c. 1390 |
The Forme of Cury (The Method of Cooking, cury from
Context
The collection was named The Forme of Cury by
Approach
In the preamble, the authors explain that the recipes are meant to teach a cook how to make common dishes and unusual or extravagant banquet dishes.[7] They also note that the recipes were written with the advice of the best experts in medicine and philosophy.[6]
The Forme of Cury is the first known English cookery book to mention some ingredients such as
Some recipes in The Forme of Cury appear to have been influenced by the Liber de Coquina, which had contributions from Arabic cuisine. For example, the recipe for mawmenee (see illustration) corresponds to the Arabic mamuniyya (a rich semolina pudding). The confectionery-like payn ragoun confirms the connection with Sicily (which had been Arab, Catalan and Norman), as it uses the Arab technique of cooking in soft ball syrup.[6]
Sample recipes
Sawse madame
Sawse madame. Take sawge, persel, ysope and saueray, quinces and peeres, garlek and grapes, and fylle the gees þerwith; and sowe the hole þat no grece come out, and roost hem wel, and kepe the grece þat fallith þerof. Take galytyne and grece and do in a possynet. Whan the gees buth rosted ynouh, take hem of & smyte hem on pecys, and take þat þat is withinne and do it in a possynet and put þerinne wyne, if it be to thyk; do þerto powdour of galyngale, powdour douce, and salt and boyle the sawse, and dresse þe gees in disshes & lay þe sowe onoward.[10]
In modern English:
Sauce Madame. Take
quinces and pears, garlic and grapes, and stuff the geese with them, and sew the hole so that no dripping comes out, and roast them well and keep the dripping that falls from them. Take the gelatin and dripping and place in a cooking-pot. When the geese are roasted enough, take them off and chop them in pieces, and take what is within and put it in a cooking-pot and put in wine if it is too thick. Add to it powder of galangal, powder-douce and salt, and boil the sauce and dress the geese in dishes and lay the sauce on.[11]
Makerouns
The Forme of Cury contains a cheese and pasta casserole known as makerouns, the earliest recipe for what is now known as macaroni and cheese.[12] It was made with fresh, hand-cut pasta which was sandwiched between a mixture of melted butter and cheese. The recipe given (in Middle English) was:
Take and make a thynne foyle of dowh. and kerve it on pieces, and cast hem on boiling water & seeþ it well. take cheese and grate it and butter cast bynethen and above as losyns. and serue forth.
In modern English:
Make a thin sheet of dough and cut it in pieces. Place them in boiling water and boil them well. Take cheese and grate it and add it and place butter beneath and above as with losyns [a dish similar to
lasagne], and serve.[13]
Modern recreations
The Café at the Rylands, in Manchester's
See also
- Apicius – a collection of Roman cookery recipes
- Liber de Coquina – 14th-century cookbook of Italian and French origin
- Utilis Coquinario – another Middle English cookbook
- Le Viandier – 14th-century French cookbook
Notes
References
- ^ "The Forme of Cury". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- doi:10.1093/OED/1060805612. (Subscription or participating institution membershiprequired.)
- ^ Hieatt & Butler 1985, pp. 20–30
- ^ Hieatt 1988, pp. 45–52
- ISBN 978-1-905-21185-2.
- ^ a b c d Bouchut, Marie Josèphe Moncorgé; Bailey, Ian (trans.); Hunt, Leah (trans.). "Forme of Cury and cookery books in English". Mediæval. Old cook. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ a b "The Forme of cury – Pygg in sawse sawge". British Library. The Master-Cooks of King Richard II. 1390. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ )
- S2CID 165273557.
- ^ Hieatt & Butler 1985, p. 104
- ^ As cooked by Clarissa Dickson Wright on the BBC Four show Clarissa and the King's Cookbook
- ^ James L. Matterer. "Makerouns". Godecookery.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ "The Forme Of Cury". Gutenberg.org. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "Oldest English recipes cooked up at John Rylands". Manchester University. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-19-722409-0. (modern critical edition)
- .
External links
- British Library, Add. MS 5016, a 15th-century copy of The Forme of Cury in scroll format.
- John Rylands Library, English MS 7; (index to the images)
- The Forme of Cury at Project Gutenberg, an 18th-century edition (page images)
- Text, links and modern versions at the Foods of England project
- Pygg in sawse sawge (British Library)