sauces-msg – 2/14/08
Period sauces. Sauce recipes.
NOTE: See also the files: aspic-msg, fruits-msg, broths-msg, eggs-msg, dairy-prod-msg, almond-milk-msg, vinegar-msg, verjuice-msg, garum-msg, mustard-msg, Mustard-art.
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NOTICE -
This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.
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Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: NRMOLL00 at ukcc.UKy.EDU (Nancy R. Mollette)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Garlic sauce at last
Date: 15 Dec 1993 18:30:41 -0500
This recipe is a translation from a 16th century Italian text:
_Libro novo nel qual s'insegna a far d'ogni sorte di vivande secondo
la diversita de i tempi, cosi di carne come di pesca_ <sorry, no accent
marks on this keyboard> by Cristoforo di Messibugo.
Translation and redaction by Basilicus Phocas, a Dragonsmark cook and
sometime fighter, MKA Charles Potter.
Agliata (Garlic sauce)
8 oz walnuts (shelled) or almonds (shelled and skinned)
4 slices of white bread
2-4 large cloves of garlic, peeled
1 1/2 (one and one half) cups of strong chicken stock
1 tsp salt
Remove the crust from the bread slices. Soak the bread in the chicken stock
for 20 minutes in a crockery bowl.
Place the nuts and garlic in a stone mortar and grind very fine with a wooden
pestle, then transfer to the bowl containing the bread and broth. Add salt and
stir continuously with a wooden spoon for 2 or 3 minutes. Taste for salt. Cover
the bowl and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Serve the sauce in a sauce
boat. Agliata may also be made by placing all the ingredients together in a
blender or food processor. This is very good over rice mixed with butter.
Yours in Service,
Anna of Dragonsmark
Nancy R. Mollette nrmoll00 at ukcc.uky.edu Your disclaimer here.
From: "Philip W. Troy" <troy at asan.com>
To: sca-cooks at eden.com
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 1997 12:16:57 -0400
Subject: Re: Saracen Sauce
Sue Wensel wrote:
> What are the ingredients of your Saracen Sauce?
>
> Derdriu
Blanched (presumably peeled) almonds, toasted in olive oil until light
brown, cooled, and ground into fairly fine meal. Rose hips are an
optional addition, they would make the dish more tart than it would be
without them. This is then either "drawn up" with hot almond milk, capon
broth, red wine, or some combination thereof. It should be quite thick,
and if it isn't thick enough, you can thicken it with rice flour. It
should be red in color, traditionally alkanet is the standard coloring,
but I'm not certain I'd use anything but standard red vegetable
coloring, unless perhaps I used a bit of powdered red sandalwood, which
is also a bit iffy. Standard garnish are a sprinkling of pomegranite
cells, berries, seeds, etc (whatever you call them).
I don't have a modern redaction at hand, but could probably produce one
pretty easily...
Hopeful regards,
G. Tacitus Adamantius
From: "Philip W. Troy" <troy at asan.com>
To: sca-cooks at eden.com
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 10:18:42 -0400
Subject: sca-cooks Re: Garlic
Mark Harris wrote:
> Ok. Now I'm not sure what a "jance" is, but I like Garlic.
A jance is any of a variety of French ginger based sauces, usually, but
not, I think, always made with milk. They are similar to a modern white
sauce except for a thickening of bread and/or egg yolks instead of
flour, and always contain plenty of ginger. A yellow jance contains some
saffron, a green jance parsley, and garlic jance, well, use your
imagination. You find recipes for them in the Viandier de Taillevent,
and probably also in Le Menagier de Paris.
> Stefan li Rous
Adamantius
From: Stephen Bloch <sbloch at adl15.adelphi.edu>
Date: Mon, 19 May 1997 15:25:55 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SC - Re: sauces
> My daughter had Roast Beef
> with a pepper sauce at a Renn Fair and loved, but can't find the pepper
> sauce recipie.
Sauce Alepeuere (Ashmole Ms. 1429, Harl. 4016, etc.)
"Take fayre broun brede, toste hit, and stepe it in vinegre, and drawe
it thurwe a straynour; and put ther-to garleke smal y-stampyd, poudre
piper, salt, & serue forth"
I need to ask my wife's permission before posting her redaction, but
she's served this with roast beef, venison, etc. at several feasts to
rave reviews. We usually pronounce it "Sauce Aliper" or, for the still
less linguistically adventurous, "Garlic Pepper Sauce".
mar-Joshua ibn-Eleazar ha-Shalib
Stephen Bloch
sbloch at panther.adelphi.edu
http://www.adelphi.edu/~sbloch/
Math/CS Dept, Adelphi University
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 23:29:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: Uduido at aol.com
Subject: SC - sauces-longish
<< salmon is
> tempered with sauce cameline....but are there not more flavorful things than
> cinnamon to put onto salmon? >>
There are several approaches to the sauce "problem". The one I use is to make
my sauces vrey potent so to speak. In several attempts at doing period sauces
I have found that the more concentrated they are the better they are. (e.g.
the concentration of modern worchestershire or oyster sauce or catsup, etc.
I think sometimes as SCA cooks we tend to mistakenly associate the word sauce
with gravy and try to come up with something that can be "ladled" over the
dish instead of , IMO, more correctly spooned over it.
To support this theory, I would suggest you redact and try one of the fish
recipes from Apicius. When I did this I thought YUCK! but after actually making
the dish, the sauce turned out to be excellent and the serving size was
approximately 1 tblsp. per portion. My mouth waters just thinking about it.
Keeping in mind that modern sauces such as catsup contain things we wouldn't
think appropriate (e.g. cinnamon, cloves, vinegar, etc.) or the anchovies
and citrus fruits in Worchestershire, the long slow cooking necessary for a
good sauce blends and reformulates the original raw flavors into a single
amalgamated whole. Try it you might like it. :-)
Lord Ras
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 03:30:44 -0500
From: gfrose at cotton.vislab.olemiss.edu (Terry Nutter)
Subject: Re: SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #209
Hi, Katerine here.
Anna of Dragonsmark asks whether, given that medieval sauces were designed to
balance the humors of the meats, we should be devising new sauces better to
suit current materials.
I believe not, for two reasons. First, I'm not at all certain that I grant
the premise. I know that Scully has a bee in his bonnet on this subject,
but other scholars by no means universally agree. Certainly there are tracts
from the middle ages that argue for this -- Magninus Mediolanensis is an
example -- but there's no evidence for it in the *culinary* literature, and
it isn't clear that the medical literature isn't rationalizing practice as
opposed to guiding it. Further, the repertoire of sauces is stable with
respect to names and general natures of sauces -- though not at all with
respect to their details -- over a period of two centuries; and the changes
do not reflect changes in the theory of the humors nearly so much as those
we see throughout the cuisine as a whole.
Second, I'd rather use the medieval main ingredient, or as close an analog
as we can find, at which point rebalancing makes little sense. I think, in
a sense, the quesion whether cinnamon is the most tasty spice to put on salmon
gives the show away: the desire is to have a different sauce for *flavor*, not
for any medieval reason. In that case, I'd be far more inclined to go with a
different *medieval* sauce. There are many suggestions of sauces to go with
fish; I would be far more inclined to find a medieval sauce I liked, and use
it.
So I don't think there's any rational argument that altering sauces for more
flavorful ingredients according to modern prejudices is a medieval practice.
Sauces *did* evolve -- but not randomly. If one wanted to study in detail the
patterns by which specific spices augmented or replaced others, and then
reproduce those patterns, that would be a medieval practice. But I've been
engaged in a detailed study intended to reveal that kind of pattern for
over five years, and I don't think I could begin to do it competantly. It
takes a *great* deal of work; without doing that work, you're just making a
modern sauce, and presenting it as medieval. I don't think that's appropriate.
To be clearer: one can, of course, serve whatever tasty food one likes. If
one wants to serve modern created dishes because one knows them, and does not
know medieval dishes one would rather serve, well and good. That, in itself,
is perfectly reasonable, though it is not what I would prefer to see. But
I think we have a responsibility not to try to rationalize it, or "pretty"
it over for SCA consumption, but claiming that it is in any way a
reflection of medieval practice. It's a deliberate move away from medieval
cuisine, based on a personal preference.
I don't think there's any moral imperative to stick to the medieval repertoire
(although I prefer to do so, and prefer meals where others have, provided that
they've also done the cooking well). I *do* think there's a moral imperative
to be honest about what we do. If we choose to be modern, we should be
honestly and openly modern. Anything else is both miseducating and lying.
Cheers,
- -- Katerine/Terry
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 13:49:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: Stephen Bloch <sbloch at adl15.adelphi.edu>
Subject: Re: SC - sauces-longish
Noemi writes:
> Out of curiousity, and clarification, is a sauce something that is added to a
> dish just prior to serving? I was thinking of things like, for lack of a
> better and period example, things like a paprikas where it definitely has a
> sauce, but it is what the dish was cooked in as well.
At least for roast meats, a sauce was often added to a dish NOT prior
to serving, but by the diners themselves. Sorta like ketchup in a
modern restaurant. (Katerine, can you confirm this for me?)
It can work very nicely to serve a single big hunk of meat with three
or four different sauces on the side: it allows the diners to try a
couple of different flavors, and takes less work than preparing four
different dishes.
mar-Joshua ibn-Eleazar ha-Shalib
Stephen Bloch
sbloch at panther.adelphi.edu
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 10:16:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: Uduido at aol.com
Subject: SC - Period Chutney Recipe
<< I would love for someone to print a proper recipe and to note whether or
not the basic chutney is period. >>
Guess what I've been doing for the last 24 hours? Period Chutney research.
:-) This recipe is from 'The Forme of Cury' It is to all intent and purposes
a 'chutney'. Other chutney-like recipes appear in Apicius and Le Manigier. It
is GREAT with cold cooked meat!
COMPOST
FC 103
Take rote of parsel, of pasternak, rafens, scrape hem and waische hem clene.
Take rapes & caboches, ypared and icorue. Take an erthen panne with clene
water & set it on the fire; cast all (th)ise (th)erinne. When (th)ey buth
boiled cast (th)erto peeres, & perboile hem wel. Take alle (th)ise thynges vp
& lat it kele on a faire cloth. Do (th)erto salt; whan it is colde, do hit in
a vessel; take vinegar & powdour & safroun & and do (th)erto, & lat alle
(th)ise thynges lye (th)erin al ny(gh)t, o(th)er al day. Take wyne greke &
honey, clarified togider; take lumbarde mustard & raisouns coraunce, al
hoole, & gynde powdour of canel, powdour douce, anys hole, & fenell seed.
Take alle (th)ise thynges & castt togyder in a pot of erthe, & take (th)erof
whan (th)oui wilt & serue forth.
There is a redaction in 'Pleyn Delit which, IMHO, deviates away from the
original in very significant ways so I am not posting it. My translation and
redaction follows:
Take parsley root, parsnips, radishes, scrape them and wash them clean. Take
turnips and cabbages, pared and cored. Take an earthen pan with clean water
and set it on the fire; cast all this therein. When they both boiled cast
therein pears, and parboil them well. Take all these things up and let it
cool on a fair cloth. Do thereto salt; when it is cold, do it in a vessel;
take vinegar and powder and saffron and do thereto, and let all these things
lie therein all night, other(wise) all day. Take Greek wine and honey,
clarified together; take Lumbard mustard and raisins of Corinth (currants ?),
all whole, and grind powder of cinnamon, powder douce, anys whole, & fennel
seed. Take alle these things and cast together in a pot of earth, & take
thereof when thou wilt and serve it forth.
COMPOST
FC 130
Copyright 1997 by L. J. Spencer, Jr. (a.k.a. Lord Ras al Zib)
1/2 cp parsley root, peeled and diced
6 parsnips, peeled and diced
1 medium black radish, peeled and diced
1 lb turnips, peeled and diced
1 gallon cabbage, cored and chopped
2 quarts winter pears, peeled, cored and chopped
Salt
1 bottle Retsina (Greek wine)
2 cps honey
2 quarts cider vinegar
.......................................
Powder:
1 cp sugar
1 Tblsp ground cloves
1 Tblsp ground cinnamon
2 Tblsp ground ginger)
.......................................
1 tsp saffron
1/2 cp ground white mustard (the supermarket variety)
1 lb dried currants
1 tsp cinnamon
......................................
Powder douce:
1 cp sugar
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 Tblsp ground cubebs (opt.)
2 tsp groung galingal (opt.)
1 Tbsp grains of Paradise (opt.)
.......................................
1 tsp aniseed
1 tsp fennel seed
Place parsley root, parsnips, radishes, turnips and cabbage in a non-reactive
kettle (e.g. enamel, glass, or teflon. Cover with water. Bring to a boil.
Addd pears. Reduce heat to medium and cook until pears are barely tender.
Drain; spread on a cloth. Sprinkle with a substantial amount of salt and
leave until cold.
While mixture is cooling, bring wine and honey to a boil, removing the scum
as needed. When the scum stops rising remove from heat.
Put cooled cabbage mixture into a non-reactive kettle. Add vinegar, powder
and saffron. Let sit in a cool place for 12 hours.
Add remaining ingredients to the wine/honey mixture, stiiring well to make
sure that the sugar is dissolved. Add wine/honey spice mixture to
cabbage/pear mixture and blend carefully. Store in a cool place and use as
needed.
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 12:17:11 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Period Chutney Recipe
Uduido at aol.com wrote:
> Guess what I've been doing for the last 24 hours? Period Chutney research.
> :-) This recipe is from 'The Forme of Cury' It is to all intent and purposes
> a 'chutney'. Other chutney-like recipes appear in Apicius and Le Manigier. It
> is GREAT with cold cooked meat!
>
> COMPOST
> FC 103
<recipe snipped>
I second the motion! Just a couple of comments on compost: there are
recipes for it in Le Menagier de Paris, as well as Das Buoch Von Guter
Spise, which primarily gives the recipe for the spiced sauce, and
suggests different vegetables that can be preserved/served in it. Also,
a variant can be found, I think, in the XIIIth century Northern European
cookbook, one version of which is also known as The Icelandic Medical
Misellany.
Best of all, I should point out that this stuff keeps for a long time,
especially if you put it, while hot, into a sterile canning jar. You
could do the whole thing with the pressure canner, I suppose, but I've
never found it necessary in this case. I have a couple of jars of
compost that are around two years old, and the one I opened last week
was just fine.
Adamantius
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 17:38:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: Stephen Bloch <sbloch at adl15.adelphi.edu>
Subject: Re: SC - Sauce Robert...
Adamantius wrote:
> I seem to recall a recipe for aioli in an earlier Spanish
> source, but I'd have to look for the reference... .
It appears in the 14th-c. Catalan _Libre de Sent Sovi_. I might be
wrong, and it's in the 15th-c. Catalan _Libre del Coch_ instead, but I'm
pretty sure it's in _Sent Sovi_.
mar-Joshua ibn-Eleazar ha-Shalib
Stephen Bloch
sbloch at panther.adelphi.edu
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 09:41:40 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Sauce Robert...
Anne-Marie Rousseau wrote:
> Adamantius sez:
>
> >Well, yes, apart from my understanding that la Varenne uses pork fat for
> >roux. It is at least recognizable, more or less. As for emulsified
> > he only says to use lard. Unless the mammocks are particular to pigs?
Funny, I don¹t remember mammocks from my anatomy classes...
Jes' one a' those things modern science doesn't address...my dictionary
sez mammocks are fragments or shreds. Since lard is by definition porkfat (other animals give things like suet and tallow) I'd bet anything
mammocks are what we would call cracklings.
> > la Varenne _The French Cook_ a 1654 English translation of the 1651 work
> > THICKNING OF FLOWRE.
> Melt some lard, take out the mammocks, put your flowre into your melted