Home Page

Stefan's Florilegium

mustard-soup-msg



This document is also available in: text or RTF formats.

mustard-soup-msg - 4/3/02

 

Mustard soup. The probable history of the mustard soup introduced to the SCA by His Excellancy Salaamallah and the period recipes it might be based on.

 

NOTE: See also the files: soup-msg, sops-msg, stews-bruets-msg, broths-msg, thickening-msg, porridges-msg.

 

************************************************************************

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.

 

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.

 

Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

 

Thank you,

   Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous

                                         Stefan at florilegium.org

************************************************************************

 

Date: Sat, 13 Sep 1997 15:01:47 -0400

From: marilyn traber <margali at 99main.com>

Subject: Re: SC - favorites

 

Mark Harris wrote:

> And what is this Mustard Soup? It sounds like it might be interesting.

> Does it use mustard seed or mustard greens? Is it possible you could

> get the good Baron's permission to post his recipe here?

>

>   Stefan li Rous

 

As I am not my Baron, but I adore his soup, here is my version of it

1 pint chicken stock, 2 tbsp honey mustard. get piping hot, add 1/2 cup

frozen petit peas. take off the burner, and whisk in a cup of heavy

cream. serve with toast points or with garlic herb croutons. This is a

decent evening meal for me, but if something like sandwitches were

offered it could be for two...

 

margali

 

 

Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 10:18:55 -0400

From: marilyn traber <margali at 99main.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Field Expedient Noodles

 

! 32 oz can college inn chicken broth, 1/2 container of the whole

already peeled garlic cloves, 3 pieces candied ginger, t tsp dried

paarsley, 2 chicken breasts, cut into bit sized pieces. put all in a pot

and simmer 15 min or until the chicken is done

 

1 12 oz can college inn beef broth, 2 tbsp honey mustard-simmer together

until piping hot and mustard is dissolved. take off the heat, add 1 cup

frozen peas, then add 1 cup heavy cream. comes out very much like

Sallamallah the corpulents mustard soup, and garnish with croutons if

youd like.

 

margali

 

 

Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 15:42:47 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Mustard soup

 

James and/or Nancy Gilly wrote:

> I can't find either of my copies of Baron Salaamallah's mustard soup recipe

> (one from the *Nocking Point* a few years back, one from the A&S issue of

> the *Pikestaff* around the same time).  Do any of you folks from the

> Eastrealm have it?  (Margali?  Ras?  Adamantius?)  And does anyone know what

> documentation His Excellency has for it?

 

I regret that I've never tasted His Excellency Salaamallah's mustard

soup, but it does appear to have quite a wide reputation. The only

mustard soup I can think of, offhand, from a primary source, is in le

Viandier de Taillevent. He's got a recipe for egg sops, with a similar

recipe for mustard sops, as a sort of partner to it. I don't recall if

the mustard sops is a variation on the egg sops, or if it is intended

that they be served together.

 

Are poached eggs, or, for that matter, eggs in any form, involved in the

mustard soup you know? This might provide a clue as to whether this soup

has some basis in the Viandier's recipe.

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 15:17:32 -0500

From: marilyn traber <margali at 99main.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Mustard soup

 

Just my quick n dirty version-

1 pint defatted chicken broth [college inn is my preferred storebought

brand]

1-2 tbsp honey mustard, the brand is left up to you, but i like a

coarser stoneground version

*put the broth and mustard in a sauce pan and simmer until the honey is

blended with the broth.

i like to add some freshly cracked white pepper and a bit of nutmeg or

cinnamon

1/4 cup frozen baby peas

*add to the pan, remove from heat

1 pint heavy cream

1 tb cornstarch

*mix these well,and add to the pan. put back on low heat and stir til

thickened slightly.

 

try with cinnamon rasin bagle bites or croutons.

keep the heat gentle as you do not want to curdle the cream, and

everything is cooked already, so nothing needs to be boiled.

 

margali

 

 

Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 17:18:39 -0500

From: waks at world.std.com (Jane Waks)

Subject: SC - Fo: Mustard soup recipe

 

Forwarded from the East list.  Since I didn't transcribe it myself,

I can't comment on whether there was source info in the A&S article.

- --Caitlin

 

 

ORIGINALLY From sca-east-approval at world.std.com  Mon Oct 27 15:28:01 1997

Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 15:28:01 +0000

From: "Dr. Memory" <JVINCENT at wesleyan.edu>

To: sca-east at world.std.com

Subject: Re: [EK] Seeking a Salaamallah recipe...

 

From Pikestaff A&S '95...

 

Mustard Soup

 

A) Feast Size:

 

Ingredients:

- ------------

2 lbs butter (unsalted if possible)

2 lbs flour

20-50 oz cans of chicken broth

4 dozen eggs

120 oz of Gulden's spicy brown mustard

2 gallons milk

8 pints whipping cream

3 lbs frozen peas

 

Heat the chicken broth and milk together until it is hot but not

boiling (takes about 1 hour on fairly high heat)

Make a roux by melting the butter in the bottom of a large pot,=20

gradually adding the flour while stirring constantly until you have a thick

paste.

Add the chicken broth/milk mix to the roux, stirring CONSTANTLY so

it does not lump.

Beat the egss in a seperate bowl. Add the mustard and mix well. Add

the cream to that mixture and mix well.

Mix a little of the hot broth into the egg/mustard/cream mix to warm

it so the egss don't curdle. Then add the entire mixture to the large pot

of broth.

 

NOTE: The soup is usually made in 2 large pots, so adjust this procedure

accordingly.

 

Rinse the peas in colander with enough water to melt any ice, but

not cook them. Serve the peas in seperate bowls as a garnish for the soup.

 

 

B) "Initmate" size (ie serves 1-6)

 

Ingredients:

- -----------

2 Tbs butter

2 Tbs Flour

2.5 cups chicken stock

2 eggs

0.5 tsp salt

dash of pepper

1 tsp of onion juice

3 Tbs Dijon Mustard (or a spicy brown)

1.25 cups milk

0.5 cup heavy cream

10 oz package of frozen peas

 

Except for the addition of the salt, pepper, and onion to the

egg/mustard/cream mix, this is made just like the feast version.

 

 

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 11:20:17 -0500 (EST)

From: Kimib2 at aol.com

Subject: Re: SC - Mustard Soup

 

<< about Baron Salaamallah's famous mustard soup.  >>

 

Tried this last night on my hubby (who hates anything close to mustard and

makes really ugly faces when I spread mustard on my tomatoes!) and didnt tell

him what was in it (of course). he had 2 bowls (never goes for seconds) and

then I burst into hysterical laughter!!!! I then told him what was in it...he

looked truly disgusted for a minute (I think he was contemplating divorce)

and said that if mustard had always tasted this good, he would have eaten it

earlier!!! I used a brown-like mustard, stone ground it says on jar...but the

thing is he liked it!!! maybe I can change the way he eats yet (we've only

been married nearly 8 years!)

 

kimib2

 

 

Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 01:04:58 +0000

From: James and/or Nancy Gilly <KatieMorag at worldnet.att.net>

Subject: SC - Mustard Soup:  Finis!

 

>From: Tim Whitaker <random at ns1.uconect.net>

>Here's a wrap on recent thread about this soup served at Simple Fares

>past & present.

>

>His Immensity, Salaamallah, said he located this in a now out of print

>book called 'The Delectable Past'.  The mustard soup therein was taken

>from a period reference which was compiled by the cook to Richard II of

>England, who claimed this was a favorite repast of the King.

>

>Salaamallah says his redaction is reasonably close to the original's

>contents. Yeah, he uses Guildon's prepared mustard, but what the hey.

- -----------------------------

James and/or Nancy Gilly

katiemorag at worldnet.att.net

 

 

Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 20:49:44 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Mustard Soup:  Finis!

 

James and/or Nancy Gilly wrote:

 

> >His Immensity, Salaamallah, said he located this in a now out of print

> >book called 'The Delectable Past'.  The mustard soup therein was taken

> >from a period reference which was compiled by the cook to Richard II of

> >England, who claimed this was a favorite repast of the King.

> >

> >Salaamallah says his redaction is reasonably close to the original's

> >contents.  Yeah, he uses Guildon's prepared mustard, but what the hey.

 

Hmmm...

 

From "The Delectable Past", copyright 1964 by Esther B. Aresty, Award

Books, New York City, 1968. LoC # 64-22415, pp. 23-24:

 

"While Richard Plantagenet's cooks were smiting and hewing their way

through royal menus, a more gently phrased cookery manuscript had been

prepared in the kingdom across the Channel. Le Viandier was compiled by

Guillaume Tirel (Taillevent) about 1375 for the cooks of Charles V, also

a monarch with a taste for the better things. A 'viandier' is a meat

cook, and the manuscript had a special section on roasts which included

- -- along with mutton, kid, and venison -- pigeons roasted with their

heads intact.

 

Among the potages (soups-stews), one recipe employed mustard as a

seasoning for the broth. Using Taillevent's ingredients, a delicious

soup emerges that may be served hot or sold. Either way, its lovely

green color is as refreshing as its taste.

 

Mustard Soup

 

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard

2 tablespoons flour

2 1/2 cups thoroughly skimmed chicken stock, heated

1 1/4 cups rich milk, heated

1/2 teaspoon salt and a dash of white pepper

1/2 teaspoon onion juice

2 egg yolks

2 to 3 tablespoons sweet cream

 

Melt the butter, stir in the flour and blend smoothly. Add the hot

chicken stock and milk, and whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, and

onion juice. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Combine egg

yolks and cream and add to the soup, custard style -- that is, temper

first with a few spoonfuls of the warm broth. Last, add the mustard.

 

If served cold, garnish with a dab of whipped cream. If hot, garnish

with pancake shreds or green peas."

 

So, this appears to be the primary source, more or less. Taillevent's

soup is rather different, but appears to have been the inspiration for

this original recipe. For those of you who may feel inclined to sneer at

the liberties taken with Taillevent, I can only say that it beats the

recipes in "Fabulous Feasts" for edible quality, at least, and in 1968

there wasn't a heck of a lot else available for those who had no access

to the original manuscripts. "The Delectable Past", BTW, still has the

best Daryol recipe I've ever seen, albeit that it appears to be more

reflective of eighteenth-century "Richmond Maids of Honor" Darioles.

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Mon, 03 Nov 1997 10:06:13 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Mustard Soup:  Finis!

 

david friedman wrote:

> In any case, we now know the answer. Salaamalah's mustard soup is the

> result of a modern secondary source taking extreme liberties with

> Taillevent's recipe.

 

Which, in an attempt to respond to two birds with one stone, I will

include, courtesy of Terence Scully's translation. For simplicity I

have reversed the order of the recipes as they appear in the text.

 

"84. Egg Stew. Poach eggs in oil, fry sliced onions in oil, and set them

both to boil with wine, verjuice and vinegar; and when you serve your

bouillon, set it out poured over your meat. it should not be thick. Then

make Mustard Sops as above."

 

"83. Mustard Sops. Take the oil in which you fried or poached your eggs

without shells, with wine and water and chopped onions fried in oil, and

boil everything in an iron pan; then take crusts of bread, toast them on

the grill, cut them into square pieces and add them to boil with the

other; then strain your bouillon, and drain your sops and drop them on a

plate (var. bowl); then put a little very thick mustard into your

bouillon pan and boil everything and pour it on top of the sops."

 

From The Viandier of Taillevent, ed. Terence Scully, copyright 1988

University of Ottawa Press, ISBN 0-7766-0174-1

 

Adamantius

 

<the end>



Formatting copyright © Mark S. Harris (THLord Stefan li Rous).
All other copyrights are property of the original article and message authors.

Comments to the Editor: stefan at florilegium.org