rice-pudding-msg -5/13/06
Period rice puddings, both savory and sweet.
NOTE: See also the files: puddings-msg, bread-pudding-msg, rice-msg, 14C-Sweets-art, cheesecake-msg, porridges-msg, White-Mash-art, sausages-msg.
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Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 02:01:58 +0000
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Re: White, Dafair, Flour & Semolina
And it came to pass on 4 Nov 97, that Christina van Tets wrote:
> 4) Is there a (period) semolina pudding (cold) which uses dates,
> spices and rosewater? I seem to be devising one but thought it not
> unlikely that a recipe already existed.
Does it have to be semolina? There's a Spanish pudding-like recipe
called "Ginestada" which is made with rice flour and almond milk (or
goat milk). When the mixture is half-cooked, add sugar, a little
saffron dissolved in rosewater, as well as pine nuts and quartered
(slivered) almonds and dates. Cook well. Egg yolks may be added
towards the end of cooking, but are not required. I did not add any
when I tried this dish, which came out rather like an Indian "firni"
- -- sweet, pleasant, and a little bland. The recipe says to sprinkle
the finished dish with sugar and cinnamon, but then, the "Libro de
Guisados" says to sprinkle nearly *everything* with sugar and/or
cinnamon, and de Nola comments in some other recipe that it can be
omitted, since food should be cooked according to your lord's taste.
The quantities listed for "five dishes" are: 2 ounces of rice flour,
one ounce sugar, almond milk from a pound and a half of almonds.
Amounts are not given for the other ingredients -- I opted for a
ginestada that was fairly thickly studded with dates and nuts.
Lady Brighid ni Chiarain of Tethba
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
mka Robin Carroll-Mann *** harper at idt.net
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 09:11:25 EDT
From: WOLFMOMSCA at aol.com
Subject: SC - Art/Sci results
On a whim, I decided last Tuesday that I would enter something in Art/Sci,
since I had to be there with my Clan sister, da Queen. I made rice puddings.
Here goes:
Original recipe from Gervase Markham's The English Hous-Wife, 1615: Take
halfe a pound of Rice, and steep it in new Milk a whole night, and in the
morning drain it, and let the Milk drop away, and take a quart of the best,
sweetest, and thickest Cream, and put the Rice into it, and boyl it a little.
Then set it to cool and hour or two, and after put in the yolkes of half a
dozen Eggs, a little Pepper, Cloves, Mace, Currants, Dates, Sugar, and Salt,
put in a great store of Beef suet well beaten, and small shred, and so put it
into the farms and boyl them as before shewed, and serve them after a day old.
My redaction:
1/2 lb short-grain white Valencia rice
2 c whole milk
1 qt heavy whipping cream
6 egg yolks (laid Wednesday, free-range browns)
1/2 c turbinado sugar (all natural from Hain's)
1/8 t white pepper
1/8 t salt
1/8 t ground cloves
1/8 t ground mace
1/4 c golden raisins (I discovered tomy dismay at 2 AM that my box of dates
left over from Xmas were not in the house)
1/4 c chopped dates
2 T beef suet, beaten and shredded
Steep rice in milk for 10-12 hours. Drain well. In a saucepan, bring the
cream and the rice to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring
constantly. It will thicken considerably. Remove from heat and let stand 2
hours. Steep the fruits in warm water while the rice & cream are cooling.
Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and spices. Fold this mixture into the
rice & cream. Fold in the plumped fruits. Mix in the suet. Pour batter
into ramekins. Place them into a roaster pan and fill to within 1/2 inch of
rims with hot water. Cover and steam in 350 deg. oven for 45 minutes. Chill
overnight, bring to room temp before serving.
It got rave reviews from everyone who tasted it. The judging form contained
a lot of Excellents! and Nicely Dones! and Making for Which Feast in the
Future? ;-) It received the full ten point score of Extraordinary Merit,
and was apparently nominated for a Non-Pareil (the lady who received the
Non-Pareil did a scroll that was drop-dead gorgeous, hand-made vellum,
paints, inks, etc., 24-k gold leaf, just splendid work and highly deserving
of the honor, IMHO).
I've entered Art/Sci before. Each time, it was with some art form I was just
learning, or not very accomplished at, and the experiences were, shall we
say, less than happy ones. This time, I finally just did what I'm good at,
and now I'm stoked to do it again. Off I go now, to plot out the dishes for
the next one.
Wolfmother
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 10:28:42 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Art/Sci results
WOLFMOMSCA at aol.com wrote:
> On a whim, I decided last Tuesday that I would enter something in Art/Sci,
> since I had to be there with my Clan sister, da Queen. I made rice puddings.
Congrats! I'm so glad to hear someone come away from an A&S competition
with a completely positive experience. They _do_ happen, surely, but
it's been a while since I've heard about one. Thank you for sharing the
experience and the recipe.
I do have one minor quibble, which I mention only as a way to take full
advantage of the ingredients you obviously chose so carefully, something
you might try in the future: the "farmes" [var. "tharmes"] mentioned are
intestines, I believe. These are, I think, supposed to be sausages. You
might check out Markham's other pudding recipes, which seem to be mixed
in with sausages ["links"] and black puddings, for a clear contextual
reference. What you've come up with does sound a marvelous filling for
them, though. Hmmm. I have some sausage casings in the freezer... .
Adamantius
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 20:06:12 -0400
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>
Subject: Re: SC - candied spices and other stuff
And it came to pass on 2 Aug 99,, that Sharon R. Saroff wrote:
> I am also looking for information as to the periodness of pudding using
> grains such as rice and wheat or using noodles. I am particularly
> intersted in a middle eastern connection. Could someone look up noodle
> kugel or rice pudding in "A Drizzle of Honey"?
>
> Sindara
Is Spanish close enough? Here are two recipes from the _Libro de
Guisados_ (1529) for ginestada, which is a pudding-like dish made with
rice flour, dates, and nuts.
GINESTADA (1)
Take rice and make flour of it and sift it through a hair sieve, and take
milk of goats or of sheep and if this is not to be found, take almond milk
and dissolve this rice flour in the almond milk or goat milk, in such a
way that it shall be quite clear and then set it to cook in the pot and into
the pot you shall cast these things: sugar and peeled dates and pine
nuts and whole, clean, blanched hazel nuts: and the dates cut into the
size of fingers, and cast all fine spices into the pot and stir it always
with a stick, and if you wish to make the ginestada white you may
make it thus; and likewise you may put cinnamon instead of sugar upon
the dishes, and seeds of sour pomegranates and it is necessary that
the pot should rest a little while before you prepare the dishes.
GINESTADA (2)
Take blanched almonds and remove the milk from them, and it would be
better with the milk of goats; and take the spices the night before which
are whole cinnamon and ginger and cloves, however everything, and put
them to soak in rosewater and then take for each dish two ounces of
rice flour and one ounce of sugar; and for five dishes take a pound and a
half of almonds; and then in the morning take the milk, and put it in the
pot where it must cook and cast in the flour little by little; and stirring it
always so that the flour does not become like plaster with the milk; and
so go to the fire with great care to cook; and when you see that it is half
cooked, take peeled almonds and cut them into four quarters, and take
dates, and cut them in the same manner; and pine nuts, and mix them
all together; and when the sauce is half cooked cast all this inside; and
then take a little saffron, and grind it well and dissolve it with a little
rosewater; and cast it in the pot, because this sauce should have a lot
of color, and leave it to cook a good while with all these things until it is
cooked; and let it be on a day of eggs, because you will take beaten
egg yolks, and when you want to remove the sauce from the fire cast
the yolks inside; but to be called ginestada there is no necessity for
eggs, and prepare dishes and cast sugar and cinnamon upon them.
notes: the second recipe comes from the Lenten chapter of the _Libro
de Guisados_, hence I assume that a "day of eggs" is one when the
religion fasting laws permitted the consumption of eggs. Those who are
less than fond of saffron may wish to note that the first recipe is for a
saffron-free "white" ginestada, in contrast to the second recipe, which is
meant to be brightly colored. I made the white version once in my pre-
diabetic days (with almonds to replace the hazelnuts I could not find) ,
and found it pleasant. The nuts and the dates give a nice variety of
texture and flavor to what might otherwise be an overly bland dish.
Brighid
Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
Date: Wed, 10 May 2000 11:35:59 +1000
From: "Lee-Gwen Booth" <piglet006 at globalfreeway.com.au>
Subject: Re: SC - Help!!
This recipe from Pleyn Delit is one which I have tried and found very good;
as well, it is served cold and as such should fit your criteria well.
Rice Pudding with Honey and Almonds (Ryc)
1/2c short grain rice [or medium works well too]
1 1/2 c milk, water, or a combination
4 oz (1/2c) ground almonds blanched
1/4c sugar
2 tbsp honey
1c boiling water
Cover the rice with the milk (or whatever combination you wish here)
and bring to a simmer; cook over low heat, very gently, for at least 30
minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water if it shows signs of
drying out. It should be cooked until quite soft. Then remove from heat
and put aside to cool, so that any remaining cooking liquid is absorbed.
Meanwhile, put the almonds, sugar, and honey in a pan and cover with
boiling water. Stir and allow to steep. When the rice has cooled, stir the
almond mixture into the rice and put back on the heat; cook, stirring
constantly, over medium low heat for about 5 minutes, or until pudding seems
quite thick. Remove from heat and pour into serving dish; cool and chill.
The original recipe does not call for any spices. But on the assumption that
the medieval cook often reached for powder douce (or something) almost
automatically, as we do salt and pepper, it seems permissible to sprinkle
the top of the pudding with cinnamon and/or nutmeg.
Gwynydd
Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 22:29:24 -0400
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>
Subject: SC - Recipe: Ginestada (rice pudding)
I posted this translation to the list some time ago, but I only recently
worked out a redaction. I took it today to a baronial gathering, where it
was well received.
Source: Ruperto de Nola, _Libro de Guisados_ (Spanish, 1529)
Translation & redaction: Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann)
Ginestada
Take rice and make flour of it and sift it through a hair sieve, and take
milk of goats or of sheep and if this is not to be found, take almond milk
and dissolve this rice flour in the almond milk or goatís milk, in such a
way that it shall be quite clear and then set it to cook in the pot, and into
the pot you shall cast these things: sugar and peeled dates and pine
nuts and whole, clean, blanched hazelnuts: and the dates cut into the
size of fingers, and cast all fine spices into the pot and stir it always
with a stick, and if you wish to make the ginestada white you may make
it thus; and likewise you may put cinnamon instead of sugar upon the
dishes, and seeds of sour pomegranates and it is necessary that the pot
rests a little while before you prepare the dishes.
Ginestada (Rice Pudding with Dates and Nuts)
1/2 gallon milk
12 ounces rice flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup dried dates, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup blanched hazelnuts (filberts)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
saffron (optional)
Place the milk in a large pot. Add the rice flour and stir with a whisk
until thoroughly dissolved. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Place the pot over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly. The rice
flour will begin to thicken as it cooks. When it begins to boil, remove
from heat. Allow to stand a few minutes before serving. The ginestada
may also be refrigerated and served cold.
Notes:
Ginestada gets its name from "ginesta", the Spanish name for broom, a
shrub which has bright yellow flowers. Most recipes for this dish call
for saffron as an ingredient, which would give the ginestada a yellow
color. The 14th century Catalan cookbook _Libre de Sent Sovi_ instructs
the cook to add saffron so that it will turn the color of broom. However,
this particular recipe from the _Libro de Guisados_ specifies that one
may leave the dish white, if so desired. I tried adding a pinch of saffron
to one of the batches I made, and discovered that it was barely visible. It
would take much more saffron than I am willing to expend in order to
make ginestada the color of broom.
Ingredients used in other period recipes for ginestada include: blanched
almonds, dried figs, raisins, currants, honey, rosewater, cinnamon,
cloves, pepper, and egg yolks.
This recipe uses the milk of goats or sheep, or almond milk. A later
recipe in the _Arte de Cozina_ (1599) calls for cowís milk. I tried both
cow's milk and goat's milk, and found no noticeable difference in taste
or texture.
The _Arte de Cozina_ says that ginestada may be served hot or cold,
and that it will keep 4-5 days in winter.
Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 19:55:31 -0400
From: Ann & Les Shelton <sheltons at conterra.com>
Subject: SC - Re: Ginestada
I just bought Scully's new "Cuoco Napoletano" and have started to thumb
through it. It contains a similar recipe to that from the "Libro de
Guisados." Genestra is the Italian word for Spanish Broom. Scully dates
the "Cuco Napoletano" to mid-15th cen., so this recipe is theoretically
"older" than the "Libro de Guisados" version, but they're pretty
similar. It shows there was a flow of cooking information across
countries. Too bad we have no way of knowing how many additional
manuscripts have been lost to antiquity.
John le Burguillun
39. White Genestrata (Scully Translation)
Get almonds, peel them and grind them up thoroughly and, when ground,
strain them; put them in a pot with sufficient sugar; then make rice
flour and mix it with the almond milk and set it to cook, stirring
constantly; when it begins to thicken, add in dates and pinenuts and
cook them; when you see it thickening, take it off the fire and set it
on some warm cinders; then dish it up, putting sugar, rosewater and
cinnamon on top.
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 21:57:24 -0400
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Re: Ginestada
And it came to pass on 10 Jul 00,, that Ann & Les Shelton wrote:
> I just bought Scully's new "Cuoco Napoletano" and have started to thumb
> through it.
That one's on my wish-list for Pennsic shopping.
> It contains a similar recipe to that from the "Libro de
> Guisados." Genestra is the Italian word for Spanish Broom. Scully dates
> the "Cuco Napoletano" to mid-15th cen., so this recipe is theoretically
> "older" than the "Libro de Guisados" version, but they're pretty similar.
The oldest version I've found is the one in the _Libre de Sent Sovi_,
which is believed to be early 14th century.
> It shows there was a flow of cooking information across countries.
There is *so* much overlap between the Catalan/Spanish/Italian
cuisines...
Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 11:00:13 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - My First Feast as Head Cook
> Grain dish, "cheap and filling" - Last year's barley pottage was
> horrible and nobody ate it. I'm thinking Frumenty with cracked wheat.
> Any other suggestions?
Another suggestion, rice pudding. Platina has a good recipe. And the one
I've prepared for this weekend is:
Rice Puddings. Take halfe a pound of Rice, and steep it in new Milk a whole
night, and in the morning drain it, and let the Milk drop away, and take a
quart of the best, sweetest, and thickest Cream, and put the Rice into it,
and boyl it a little. Then set it to cool an hour or two, and after put in
the yolkes of half a dozen Eggs, a little Pepper, Cloves, Mace, Currants,
Dates, Sugar and Salt, and having mixt them well together, put in a great
store of Beef suet well beaten, and small shred, and so put it into the
farms, and boyl them as before shewed, and serve them after a day old.
Gervase Markham
The English Hous-wife, 1615
1 cup rice
3 cups milk
1 cup cream
3 egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar (brown or white)
1/4 cup currants (raisins)
1/4 cup chopped dates
3 Tablespoons minced suet
Put the rice and milk in a pan. Bring to a gentle boil. Cover pan. Reduce
heat and allow to simmer until rice is soft (about 30 minutes) and the milk
is absorbed.
Drain off any excess milk.
Add the cream. Bring to a low boil. Reduce heat. Simmer for 3 to 5
minutes. Cover and remove from heat.
While the cream is absorbed and the rice cools, mix the remaining
ingredients together in a bowl.
Stir the mixed ingredients into the rice. Cook over low heat for about 5
minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and thoroughly blended into the rice.
Remove to a bowl. Serve hot or cold.
Notes: The overnight soaking of the rice in the milk appears to be for the
purpose of softening older grain, which will not cook up immediately.
Markham's instructions are to put the rice pudding into molds and serve it a
day old, presumably to allow the flavors to meld. The dish was probably
eaten cold.