tarts-msg - 6/22/08 Period small, open-topped, shallow pies. NOTE: See also the files: pies-msg, meat-pies-msg, fruit-pies-msg, ovens-msg, fruits-msg, pastries-msg, flour-msg, custards-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: Sun, 11 Oct 1998 22:20:48 EDT From: LrdRas at aol.com Subject: SC - Tartys in Applis-NEW recipe-enjoy This recipe would be good for a vegeterian or fast day feast also It is recommended for experienced cooks. * Exported from MasterCook * Tartys in Applis (Apple Tarts) Recipe By : L. J. Spencer, Jr. (copywrite 1998) Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : English Fruit Pies & Pastry Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method - -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 3 apples, peeled -- cored, chopped fine 2 pears, peeled -- cored, chopped fine 1/2 cup figs, dried -- chopped fine 1/2 cup Zante currants, dried -- chopped fine 1/4 teaspoon black pepper -- ground 2 teaspoons cinnamon -- ground 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg -- ground 1/4 teaspoon mace -- ground 1/4 teaspoon cloves -- ground 1 pie shell sugar -- for garnish Mix fruits and spices together thoroughly. Spread the mixture evenly in the bottom of a pastry shell. Bake at 450 deg F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 360 deg F for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Serve at room temperature. Garnish with granulated sugar if desired. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES: Original: Tartys in Applies- Tak gode applys & gode spycis & figs & reysons & perys, & wan they arn wel brayed colour wyth safroun wel & do yt in a cofyn, & do yt forth to bake wel. - Curye on Inglish Although the original recipe doesn't specify seasonings, I chose to do so based on a comparison to other tart/pastry type recipes from this manuscript. I feel that this recipe was meant to convey the main ingredient of the tart and was written for the pastry cook rather than any of the other myriad specialty cooks available at the residence The spices I used are typical of this sort of dish and provide depths of flavor that literally lifts the original out of the depths of insipidity. The spice mixture that I created is well within the acceptable range of other similar mixtures that are listed in COE. Sprinkling a rounded tablespoon of granulated sugar over the top after about a half hour out of the oven makes a nice garnish. Mincemeat-like recipes appear to have been very popular during the middle ages and remained so right up until the end of the Victorian era with very little change in ingredients or method of preparation. The popularity of mincemeat dishes dropped dramatically throughout the first part of the 20th century C.E. The economy of W.W.II brought about a major decline in availability of ingredients as well as a major change in cooking styles, tools, utensils and major product additions. Mincemeat dishes were reduced to the level the old fashioned novelty that they are today. This is a good recipe for the creative period cook because of it's obvious resemblance to similar mincemeat-like recipes. The addition of 1/4 cup finely diced suet and 6 ounces of finely chopped raw venison to the main ingredients would make this tart substantial enough to serve as a first course. More importantly, IMO, it would be as period as any thing we know about and with appropriate documentation could be entered into A & S displays or competitions without fear of 'being out of period'. :-) Enjoy! al-Sayyid A'aql ibn Ras al-Zib, AoA, OSyc Guildmaster (The Guild of St. Martha) Kingdom of Aethelmearc Shire of Abhain Ciach Ghlas Mountain Confederation Clan Ravenstar Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1998 07:05:54 -0500 From: vjarmstrong at aristotle.net (Valoise Armstrong) Subject: Re: SC - Tartys in Applis-NEW recipe-enjoy Tyrca wrote: >Very interesting, Ras, and it brings up a question that I have had for >some time, about mincemeat. I grew up with mincemeat pies for >Christmas as something with _meat_ in them. My mother usually used >leftover roast beef or venison, put it through a hand grinder, and >added the apples and raisins, and canned the filling to use for the >holidays. It is my father's favorite. As I grew older, and went more >out into the world, I discovered that other people I talked to had >never heard of meat in mince pies. They thought I was crazy. > >Did they really use meat in mincemeat pies in period? Or is my family >just an abberation? Any recipes? Anyone? Fruit in medieval meat pies was a very common occurance. Actually, until the second half of the fifteenth century recipes for meat pies with fruit seem to be much more common than for fruit pies without meat. Many meat pies were baked in a heavy flour and water crust that served mostly as a container for the ingredients and could stand up under long cooking times. Some writer's have claimed that the innovation of a lighter and more edible pie crust and suggested that this new pie crust made the fruit pies (which needed shorter cooking times) much more popular. This is all supposition on the part of the historians so I set out to see if I could verify it by scanning a number of cookbooks for recipes for fruit pies that did not include meat. Out of about twenty English, French and German cookbooks from the 14th to 16th century one percent or fewer recipes were for fruit pies in the earlier two centuries while twelve percent of all the 16th century recipes were for fruit only pies. These are imperfect statistics since most of my 16th C. sources were German - - so it might be a regional fad. Valoise Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 17:25:33 -0800 From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com> Subject: Re: SC - Tartys in Applis-NEW recipe-enjoy Ras gave his worked-out version of the following 14th-c recipe: >NOTES: Original: Tartys in Applies- Tak gode applys & gode spycis & figs & >reysons & perys, & wan they arn wel brayed colour wyth safroun wel & do yt in >a cofyn, & do yt forth to bake wel. - Curye on Inglish For comparison, here is a richer version from a different source, with eggs and cream and butter, but with the same ground apples and/or pears and dried fruit as yours; it is 15th c. English and, unlike yours, specifies the spicing. It does specify sprinkling on the sugar at the end--in this case, cinnamon sugar. A Flaune of Almayne Ancient Cookery p. 452/39 First take raisins of Courance, or else other fresh raisins, and good ripe pears, or else good apples, and pick out the cores of them, and pare them, and grind them, and the raisins in a mortar, and do then to them a little sweet cream of milk, and strain them through a clean strainer, and take ten eggs, or as many more as will suffice, and beat them well together, both the white and the yolk, and draw it through a strainer, and grate fair white bread, and do thereto a good quantity, and more sweet cream, and do thereto, and all this together; and take saffron, and powder of ginger, and canel, and do thereto, and a little salt, and a quantity of fair, sweet butter, and make a fair coffin or two, or as many as needs, and bake them a little in an oven, and do this batter in them, and bake them as you would bake flaunes, or crustades, and when they are baked enough, sprinkle with canel and white sugar. This is a good manner of Crustade. [end of original; spelling modernized] 2/3 c raisins pinch of saffron 1/2 c whipping cream 3 pears or apples 1/2 t salt 5 T butter 1/2 t cinnamon 3 eggs (large) 9" pie crust 1/4 t ginger 4 T breadcrumbs 1 T cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on at the end A blender works well as a substitute for a mortar to mash the apples and raisins; mix the liquids in with the apples and raisins before blending. Bake at 375 for about an hour. Elizabeth/Betty Cook (only a week behind the list, now) Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2000 10:17:56 -0800 From: Valoise Armstrong <varmstro at zipcon.net> Subject: Re: SC - Cherry tarts? - Question to the list. (long) Just got back from Wash DC and found an amazing number of digests to wade through, but glancing through the subject headings, it doesn't look like anyone has replied to this. Following are a couple of cherry pie recipes from Sabina Welserin, only one of them redacted. I'm sure there are more in other cookbooks, but these are the only ones I've got translated and on my hard drive. Valoise 123 To make a very good sour cherry tart Take a pound of sour cherries and remove all of the pits. Afterwards take a half pound of sugar and a half ounce of finely ground cinnamon sticks and mix the sugar with it. Next mix the cherries with it and put it after that in the pie shell made of good flour and let it bake in the tart pan. 130 To make a sour cherry tart Take the sour cherries, take out the stones and make a pastry crust as for the other tarts. Take bread crumbs from grated white bread and fry them in fat. Pour them on the crust, sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top, Put the sour cherries in it, leaving their juice in the bowl, sprinkle it well with sugar and with cinnamon, make a crust on top of it, let it bake, as it is customary. Pastry for a two-crust pie 1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs 1/4 cup butter or lard 3 cups pitted sour cherries (fresh or frozen, canned in water as a last resort) 2/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon Drain cherries. Melt butter in pan. Add bread crumbs and brown lightly. Set aside to cool. Arrange bottom crust in pie pan. Add bread crumbs and sprinkle with a third of the cinnamon and sugar. Add remaining sugar and cinnamon to drained cherries and place on top of bread crumbs. Cover with remaining pie crust. Trim and flute edges and cut vent holes. Bake in preheated oven 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake until brown (Approximately 35 more minutes). Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2000 13:19:00 -0600 From: Magdalena <magdlena at earthlink.net> Subject: SC - sour cherry pie Someone asked for a cherry tart recipe a while back. I don't think this is what she? had in mind, but I thought I'd post it. Platina 8.40 40. Sour Cherry Pie Pound in a mortar pitted sour cherries which can be called 'merendae'. When they are pounded, mix into them well cut up roses, a little fresh cheese, and ground aged cheese, a bit of pepper, a little ginger, a little more sugar, and four beaten eggs. When they are mixed, cook in a well-greased pan with a lower crust on a slow fire. When they are taken off the fore, pour sugar and rosewater over them. This does not differ much from the above in force and pleasantness. (the above is millet pie) - -Magdalena Date: Tue, 07 Mar 2000 02:44:51 +0100 From: Thomas Gloning <gloning at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE> Subject: SC - cherry tarts & A tarte to provoke courage" To make a good tart of Cheries. Take your cheries and pick out the stones of them: then take raw yolks of egs, and put them into your cheries, then take sugar, Sinamon and Ginger, and Cloves, and put to your Cheries + make your Tart with all the Egges, your tart must be of an inche high, when it is made put in your cheries without any liquor, and cast Sugar, Sinamon, and ginger, upon it, and close it up, lay it on a paper, + put it in the Oven, when it is half baken draw it out, and put the liquor that you let of your cheries into the Tart: then take molten butter, and with a feather anoint your lid there with. Then take a fine beaten Sugar and cast upon it: then put your Tarte into the Oven again, and let it bake a good while, when it is baken drawe it foorth, + cast Sugar + Rosewater upon it, and serve it in." (The good huswifes handmaide for the kitchen (1594?), ed. Stuart Peachey, Bristol 1992, 36f.) "To make a Tart of Cherries, when thestones be out, another waye. Seeth them in White wine or in Claret, and drain them thick: when they be sodden: then take two yolks of Egges+ thicken it withall: then season it with Synamon,Ginger, and Sugar, and bake it, and so serve it." (ib. 37.) T. Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 08:44:58 +1000 From: "Drake & Meliora" <meliora at macquarie.matra.com.au> Subject: RE: SC - WANTED Period recipe for an apple & chestnut pie Lorix, > I had a really nice period recipe for an apple & chestnut pie. Alas, I > cannot find where I saved it to ;-( I'm currently way behind at Uni at the moment, so sorry if this has already been answered. Is this the recipe you are looking for? It is from Alia Atlas' Ein Buch von Guter Spise. Regards Mel. Ooops, just noticed it is walnut not chestnut - sorry. 61. Einen krapfen (A krapfen) So du wilt einen vasten krapfen machen von nzzen mit ganzem kern. und nim als vil epfele dor under und snide sie wrfeleht als der kern ist und roest sie mit ein wenig honiges und mengez mit wrtzen und tu ez uf die bleter die do gemaht sin zu krapfen und loz ez backen und versaltz niht. How you want to make a fastday krapfen of nuts with whole kernels. And take as many apples thereunder and cut them diced, as the kernel is, and roast them well with a little honey and mix with spices and put it on the leaves, which you made to krapfen, and let it bake and do not oversalt. Recipe 61: An Apple and Walnut Tart copyright 1994 Alia Atlas 4 apples, peeled and diced. (about 2 cups) (used Granny Smith) 2 cups walnuts 1/2 cup honey 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp ground mace 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1 pie crust (made of flour, butter, water and salt) Cook the apples in the honey until they are starting to become soft. (This takes approximately 10 minutes.) Mix the cooled apples and honey with the walnuts and spices. Roll out pie crust and put in pan. Fill crust with mixture. Cook in the oven at 3508 F until crust is brown (approximately 30 minutes). Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001 00:58:00 +0200 From: tgl at mailer.uni-marburg.de Subject: SC - parma tarts There is a recipe "De torta parmesane" in the "Liber de coquina ubi diuersitates ciborum docentur", part V, #6. This cookbook is extant in two codices, according to the editor, Marianne Mulon, both probably written in the early 14th century. Thomas PS.: In case you want (or somebody else wants) to take a look at the Latin text, I append it here: 6. -- De torta parmesane: ad tortam parnesanam, [ed!] accipe pullos bene depilatos et incisos uel demembratos et suffrige eos cum cepis bene cisis <<418>> cum lardo in bona quantitate. Et decoctis ipsis pullis, pone desuper species trittas cum sale ad sufficientiam. Accipe etiam herbas odoriferas in bona quantitate, tere fortiter et super pone de safrano. Postea, accipe uentrem porci; elixa fortiter; excoria eam, in pinguedinem eius fortiter percute cum cutello et misce cum herbis predictis et aliquantulum de caseo grattato et distempera cum ouis. Et fac inde rauiolas albos. Et si in eisdem addideris petrosillum et alias herbas odoriferas, potes facere rauiolas uirides. Item, accipe amigdalarum mondatarum aliquam quantitatem et tere eas fortiter. Et diuide per medietatem, in quarum una parte pone de speciebus in bona quantitate et in alia ponas zucaram et de utrisque facias rauiolos semotim. Item, accipe budella porcina bene pinguia lota et imple ea de bonis herbis et caseo et lixa. Item, recipe presucum et ettiam salcicias et inscinde subtiliter et oua fracta commisce cum eis et ibi pone pullos prius dictos et sepe misce cum cocleari, donec sit spissum. Postea, remoue ab igne et assapora cum sale. Vltimo, recipe farinam albam mondatam et fac inde pastam solidam. Postea, forma ad modum testi et appone farinam parum inter pastam et testum cum cocleari. Postea, de brodio dictorum pullorum inunge pastam et facias in predicta pasta plura solaria. In primo solario pone carnes pullorum; in secundo solario pone rauiolos albos et saporem desuper; in tertio solario, pone presuccum et salcicias; in .4o. solario, de eisdem carnibus; in .5o. solario, de ceruellatis; in .VIo. solario, de rauiolis amigdalarum; et sic deinceps si habeas fercula. Et in quolibet solario, pone dactilos et species ad sufficientiam. Postea totum cooperias pasta et pone super prunas et testum desuper. Et postea, cooperi de prunis super et subtiliter et frequenter dictam tortam discooperias et unge cum lardo. Et si forte frangatur dicta torta, accipe pastam subtiliter operatam et balnea cum aqua et pone super fracturam et pone testum calidum desuper. Postea, quandoque uidebitur esse cocta, porta coram domino cum magna pompa. Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001 10:44:32 +0200 From: Jessica Tiffin <melisant at iafrica.com> Subject: Re: SC - parma tarts >"E. Rain" wrote: >> so I'm wondering, what's the earliest known form of the Parma Tart recipe >> out there? I'm currently looking at the version in the Anonimo Toscano late >> 14th c. at the same time it also appears in the Anonimo Veneziano, and in Le >> Viander de Taillevant, but it is not found in Forme of Cury (or the other >> manuscripts contained in Cury on englysch). As Adamantius said, there are two articles on Parmesan Pies in Petit Propos Culinaires #59 and #61, by Anna Martellotti; the pie seems to consist of layers of meats, including fowl, in a dough case, with some smaller rolls or filled pasta included under the main crust. The author finds parallels in Babylonian recipes (1700 BC), Athenaeus (300BC) and some 12th-century Arabic dishes, although these are similar constructions which do not have the same name. Later versions are not quite as elaborate as earlier ones. JdH Lady Jehanne de Huguenin (Jessica Tiffin) Chronicler, Shire of Adamastor, South Africa Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001 08:32:52 -0400 From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com> Subject: Re: SC - parma tarts "Laura C. Minnick" wrote: > Stefan li Rous wrote: > > And what is a good definition of a "tart", and I mean the food item. > > Aw, Stefan- you're no fun! ;-) > > I think of a tart as: > > *small > > *open-top (no top crust) > > *and fairly shallow > > Thought I'm sure someone else has a better definition (the GIANT > dictionary of food is in the next room, but I'm too lazy to go look it > up...) Be that as it may, a tourte parmerienne, a.k.a. parmesan tart, a.k.a. parmesan pie, as described in Thomas's Latin recipe, in Taillevent and in a reelly reelly detailed dual account for meat and fish versions in Chiquart, is a fairly massive layered dish of cooked poultry, fruit, custard, pork, cheese, and various other delicacies layered in a large covered pie. Sometimes the layers are separated with pastry, sometimes with wafers inside the pie. I think of them as being about the size and shape of a hatbox. I could be wrong about that, though. Adamantius Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001 18:48:13 EDT From: LrdRas at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - parma tarts stefan at texas.net writes: << Okay, for those of us who have little idea of what you are talking about,...>> Fishing again? :-) <<And what is a good definition of a "tart", >> This definition is about as good as any: tart [2] (noun) [Middle English tarte, from Middle French] First appeared 15th Century 1 : a dish baked in a pastry shell : PIE: as a : a small pie or pastry shell without a top containing jelly, custard, or fruit b : a small pie made of pastry folded over a filling 2 : PROSTITUTE >From Merriam-Webster. Ras From: "Olwen the Odd" <olwentheodd at hotmail.com>To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.orgSubject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Why is saffron a mistake?Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 19:50:03 -0000 >I'm sure that there are others on this list who can give you a more scholarly>answer, but I suspect that the recipes calling for saffron are using it mostly>as a coloring agent. Most recipes don't call for that seasoning...at least>the ones I've seen. KiriI know this is only one example, but may I submit the following recipe asone that calls for saffron as a spice;Tart in Ymbre day(Curye on Inglysch, Forme of Cury recipe # 173, page 136)Take and perboile oynoun & erbis & presse out the water & hewe her smale.Take grene chese & bray it in a morter, and temper it up with ayren. Dotherto butter, safroun & salt, & raisouns corouns, & a litel sugur withpowdour douce, and bake it in a trap, & serue it forth.In more modern English:Take and parboil onion[s] and herbs, and press out the water, and chop themsmall. Take green cheese and grind it in a mortar, and temper it up witheggs. Add butter, saffron, and salt, and currants, and a little sugar withpowder douce, and bake it in an open crust, and serve it forth. Olwen Date: Sat, 12 May 2001 09:01:44 +0200 From: Jessica Tiffin <melisant at iafrica.com> To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Strawberry Recipes? I gave Sabina Welserin's strawberry tart recipe: >>89 To make a strawberry tart >>Make a pastry shell and let it become firm >>in the tart pan. Afterwards take strawberries >>and lay them around on top as close together as >>possible, after that sweeten them especially well. >>Next let it bake a short while, >>pour Malavosia over it and let it bake a while, >>then it is ready. and Gunthar asked: >Sounds nice. One question though. When it says to >"let it become firm in the tart pan" does that >mean to prebake the pie shell or let it sit out >to stiffen? I interpreted it as baking it blind - the filling is very liquid, I'd worry about ending up with very mushy pastry if I didn't harden it first. Valoise may be able to give us more pointers from the original German. Lady Jehanne de Huguenin (Jessica Tiffin) Chronicler, Shire of Adamastor, South Africa From: BaronessaIlaria at aol.com Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 01:49:12 EDT Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Too many peaches? NEVER To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Normandy Tarts... The original is made with apples, but I have it on good authority (Duchess Melisande de Belvoir) that many other fruits, including peaches, work beautifully... Pastry: 1 1/2 cups flour 2 tablespoons sugar a pinch of salt 1 stick of butter 3 egg yolks 1 tablespoon water 1. Sift flour, sugar and salt together. Cut in butter til well blended with lumps no bigger than peas. Add egg yolks and water and blend well. 2. Knead until smooth and use to line ungreased muffin cups, pressing into a shell. Filling: 2 1/2 cups apple slices 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup flour a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon 1 cup of heavy cream 1. Peel and slice apples. Make the pieces fairly small so they will fit into the shells. 2. Toss the apples with flour, sugar and spice 3. Place in tart shells and bake at 375 for 10 minutes 4. Pour a dash of cream into each tart 5. Bake another 30 minutes or until crust is golden and apples are tender 6. Cool before serving Note that some ovens bake hotter than others so keep an eye on things during the 30 minute bake. They may not take that long. This is also successfully tested on peaches, raspberries and pears. Date: Sun, 07 Oct 2001 11:30:51 -0600 From: Mem Morman <mem.morman at oracle.com> Organization: Oracle Corporation Subject: [Sca-cooks] cheese and mushroom tarts - reprise Cordelia=E2=80=99s Cheese and Mushroom Tarts =E2=80=9CMUSHROOMS of one night are the best and they are little and red within and closed at the top; and they must be peeled and then washed in hot water and parboiled and if you wish to put them in a pasty add oil, cheese and spice powder. Item, put them between two dishes on the coals and then add a little salt, cheese and spice powder.=E2=80=9D Le Menagier de Paris, 1395 I know lots of people in the SCA who make these tarts in various ways, but since eating Cordelia=E2=80=99s tarts in about 1993 I=E2=80=99ve never bothered to try anything else. These are wonderful. They are fantastic. They might be better than sex. No matter how many you make, there will never, ever be any left and people will still be asking for more. INGREDIENTS: 1/2 lb mushrooms 1/2 lb grated cheddar cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 grinds fresh black pepper 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder 1/4 teaspoon garlic Prepared pie crust PROCEDURE: =C2=B7 Preheat oven to 400o (F). =C2=B7 Cut out 48 2" rounds from the pie crusts. =C2=B7 Line cup cake tins with half of the pie crusts, pierce with fork. =C2=B7 Meanwhile, bring pot of lightly salted water to boil. Clean and tri= m mushrooms. Lightly parboil them in boiling water (30 seconds) =C2=B7 Drain mushrooms, pat dry, and chop or slice them thinly. =C2=B7 Add oil, cheese, and seasonings. Mix to blend. =C2=B7 Fill prepared pie crusts almost full. =C2=B7 Top with reserved pie crust rounds. Seal with a beaten egg brushed around the edges. Pierce top once to vent. =C2=B7 Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 13:52:13 -0500 To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org From: "Cindy M. Renfrow" <cindy at thousandeggs.com> Subject: [Sca-cooks] colored tart lids, was Re: Cookcon >Colored tart lids? I'm not sure exactly what we are talking >about here. I hope it's not hats.... Bad boy. They're removable pie top-crusts, colored with baked-on jellies of assorted colors. If you look in Robert May's "The Accomplisht Cook", you will see he has diagrams for "cut-laid tarts". A few of these specifically say they are to be colored tarts (but I haven't found detailed directions from him). "Banquetting Stuffe" mentions these, too (pp.82, 91). The plain top crusts of tarts were sometimes cut off & replaced with reusable decorated ones for service. Robert May uses both short crust or hot water pastry for these. For convenience I used pre-made pie shells for the conference. The first ones into the oven puffed up, which they were not supposed to do, so we pricked the others with a fork before baking them. This worked fine. The method is fairly simple. Separate an egg. Mix the yolk with a teaspoon of milk (or not) & set aside. Mix the white with a teaspoon of water & set aside. Roll out your dough. If you want a raised-up lid, instead of a flat one, drape the dough on the *outside* of a pierced pie tin & smooth it down. If you want a flat lid, place an appropriatly-sized circle of dough on a pierced pizza pan (allow a little extra dough for shrinkage). (The piercing is important because this allows the dough to dry better in the oven.) Brush the dough with eggwhite. Using extra strips of dough, make a pattern on the lid. (Robert May gives several patterns.) The strips serve to show the pattern as well as to keep the jellies separated, one from the other (think stained glass window). Make sure there are no gaps for the jelly to seep through. The eggwhite serves as glue & helps seal the crust. Brush the crust all over again with eggwhite before baking. Bake at 400 degrees F. for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the crust looks a little golden, and is slightly firm to the touch. You don't want it to brown. Take it out of the oven & let it cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Melt some different colored jellies in small cups. Use a toy paintbrush, a tiny spoon, or a feather to put a modest amount of jelly in each pastry 'compartment'. A thin layer of jelly about 1/8 inch thick is sufficient. Don't overfill the compartments, or the jelly will leak. Bake the colored crust for about 10 minutes and remove it from the oven. Let it cool. Using a toy paintbrush, highlight the pattern with the egg yolk mixture. Bake another 10 minutes & remove from oven. When cool, if necessary, you can repeat the egg yolk wash and return it to the oven for another 10 minutes. Now you want to dry it out slowly. You can put it in & out of the oven several more times, or put it in the oven & turn off the oven, or place it on a wire rack, or do whatever you usually do to dry a baked item. Tip: remove the raised-up pie shell from the pan as soon as it is firm enough to handle. It will shrink as it dries, & will crack if left on the pan. These can be stored unwrapped in a dry place. I kept mine in the cold oven for 3 weeks (before I got tired of looking at it & threw it away) and it dried out completely. Even the jelly was dry & not sticky to the touch. Cindy Date: Sat, 09 Feb 2002 10:26:10 -0500 From: "Louise Smithson" <smithson at mco.edu> To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org> Subject: [Sca-cooks] Rice Tart and orenge tart I can't find a recipe for a rice tart that has both oranges and rice, but I found recipes for both in original manuscripts. >From The Second part of the good huswives jewell. 1597 To bake a citron pie Take your citron, pare it and slice it in peeces, and boile it with grose pepper and ginger and so lay it in your paste with butter and when it is almost baked put theretoe vineger, butter and suger, and let it stand in the oven a while and soke. An other way to bake Citrons When your citrons be pared and slyced laye it in your pasts with small raysons and season them with pepper, ginger and fine suger. >From a book of cookrye 1591 How to bake Orenges Faire peele your orenges and pick away all the white that is under the peele, and so lay them in fine paste, and put into them sugar, very little sinamon or none at all, but a little ginger and bake them very leisurely. >From Epulario or The Italian Banquet 1598 To make a fat tarte with rice Wash the rice well and make it cleane and boyle it in fat broth, and being boyled, take it out and dry it, then take a little new cheese stamped with egges, sugar and rosewater according to the quantity you will make, and if you will you may adde a little milke, and this being mixed together bake it in a pan and observe the order prescribed for white tarts but it must have less chese then the other aforesaid. To make tarts in fleshtime and first to make a white Tarte Take two poiunds of good new chese and cut it smal and then stampe it, then take fiftene or firten whites of egges and temper and mire them with the cheese putting thereto a pound of sweet butter and some milke as much as will sufice, then make your paste and let it be some what thin, and let it bake with a soft fire both under and over it, and let him bee some what brown, and when hee is baked straw sugar and rosewater upon it. Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 09:13:11 -0800 To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org From: david friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com> Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Rice Tart and orenge tart >I can't find a recipe for a rice tart that has both oranges and rice, >but I found recipes for both in original manuscripts. > >>From The Second part of the good huswives jewell. 1597 >To bake a citron pie In modern use, at least, "citron" is a distinct fruit, related to but different than an orange. I will be happy to show you one, but not quite yet--the tree is only about waist high. >From Epulario or The Italian Banquet 1598 >To make a fat tarte with rice Note that, despite the date, this is not the same cuisine. Epulario is an English translation of an Italian cookbook, and is very closely related to two fifteenth century Italian cookbooks (Platina and Martino). So there is not much reason to think that a combination of the two recipes is a likely guess at something that would have been made. To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Good Huswife's Jewell recipes, Typos Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 13:44:46 -0500 From: Kirrily Robert <skud at infotrope.net> Elizabeth wrote: > Does he earlier say anything about crusts on all these tarts? OK, he doesn't say anything *earlier* but he does say some stuff later. Specifically: To make a fine paste Take faire flower and wheate & the yolkes of egges with sweet Butter melted, mixing all these together wtih your hands, til it be brought dowe paste, & then make your coffins whether it be for pyes or tartes, then you may put Saffron and suger if you wil have it a sweet paste, having respect to the true seasoning some use to put to their paste Beefe or Mutton broth, and some Creame. Katherine -- Lady Katherine Rowberd (mka Kirrily "Skud" Robert) katherine at infotrope.net http://infotrope.net/sca/ Caldrithig, Skraeling Althing, Ealdormere Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 15:32:41 -0500 From: johnna holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu> To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Tart of rice recipe Mike Newton wrote:snipped > Does anyone have the Tart of Rice recipe in which you make a rice pudding > with oranges that is then baked without a crust? I have an "idea" of how I > made it last time, but I'd feel more confendent with some words in front of > me. > Beatrix Returning to the original question, this may be your recipe--- To Make a Tart of Ryse Boyle your rice, and put in the yolkes of two or three Egges into the Rice, and when it is boyled put it into a dish and season it with sugar, synamon and ginger, and butter, and the juice of two or three Orenges, and set it on the fire againe. page 17. This is from Thomas Dawson's The Good Huswifes Jewell, the edition STC 6392, published in 1596. Adapted versions may be found in both Dining with William Shakespeare and Sallets, Humbles & Shrewsbery Cakes. Johnnae llyn Lewis Johnna Holloway Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 10:56:57 -0500 To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org From: "Cindy M. Renfrow" <cindy at thousandeggs.com> Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: rice with orange juice, was Lemonwhyt? Again, From Robt. May's Accomplisht Cook, p. 245-6 "To make a Tart of Rice. Boil the rice in milk or cream, being tender boil'd pour it into a dish, & season it with nutmeg, ginger, cinamon, pepper, salt, sugar, and the yolks of six eggs, put it in the tart with some juyce of orange; close it up and bake it, being baked scrape on sugar, and so serve it up." Cindy Date: Mon, 01 Jul 2002 09:11:37 -0700 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Hotel interested in period food From: Yamil O Kiwan <res03l8a at gte.net> To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org> This recipe con be found in: Bartolomeo Scappi's - Opera: cuoco secreto de Papa Pio Quinto (Cooking Secrets of Pope Pius V) 1570 I have a redaction of this recipe if you would like it. Thanks, Jamal > From: LadyAngustias at aol.com > res03l8a at gte.net writes: >> Almond Pear Tart - A tart of pears in marzipan was served to Pope Pius V at >> a banquet. >> > Where is this recipe from, if I may ask? Sounds like something good for a > dessert board. > Angustias Date: Thu, 04 Jul 2002 11:11:56 -0700 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Hotel interested in period food From: Yamil O Kiwan <res03l8a at gte.net> To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org> Sorry for the delayed response, real world interruptions. Almond Pear Tart - A redaction of a pear tart in marzipan served to Pope Pius V at a banquet. Ingredients 8 oz sweet pastry 4 oz apricot jam 12 oz frangipani (liquid marzipan) 3 poached pears, drained, dried, and halved (canned pear halves work just as well) Roll out pastry onto a tart pan, spread a thin layer of jam on the pastry, save 1/2 for glaze. Pour in frangipani, 2/3 full(don't fill the tart pan). Place pear halves on top of frangipani. Preheat oven (350 degrees) bake 20 min., remove when golden brown, let cool slightly. Boil jam and a little of the pear syrup and brush over the slightly cooled tart. Serve warm with fresh cream or custard sauce. Frangipani recipe - Cream 4oz unsalted butter, 4oz sugar, 4oz course ground almond flour, and 2 eggs. Note: Almond Pear Tart leftovers a great for breakfast From: Bronwynmgn at aol.com Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 07:28:46 EST Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Ember Day Tart To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org doc at medievalcookery.com writes: > Are there any versions of this recipe available other than the one in > Forme of Curye? There have got to be, because I've had ones with cheese in, but the recipe I usually use doesn't have cheese. Yeah, the FOC one has cheese. OH, now that's interesting! I just checked the one I usually use, which is the redaction in the first edition of Pleyn Delit. They say the original they give IS from FOC, but it totally leaves out the "erbis", and changes the "bray grene chese in the mortar" to "bray brede in the mortar"! Yep. Just checked the Pegge translation in Cariadoc's manuscripts - that's the one they used for Pleyn Delit. The Curye on Inglysch one is far more likely to be correct. Which is a darn shame, because I LIKE the recipe without cheese in it! A quick scan of a few of my other books did not show any other versions of that recipe. Which version do you have - the Pegge, or the Curye on Inglysch? If you'd like the COI one, I could type it in for you. Brangwayna Morgan Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 11:21:17 -0500 To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org From: "Cindy M. Renfrow" <cindy at thousandeggs.com> Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Ember Day Tart The Curye on Inglysch one is far more >likely to be correct. Which is a darn shame, because I LIKE the recipe >without cheese in it! A note of clarification: There are several extant copies of Forme of Cury. They are not all identical in the number & order of the recipes, nor in the exact wording of the recipes. Some copies call for herbs and green cheese, one specifies sage and parsley, and one omits cheese & substitutes bread. Just because an author presents one version does not mean that is the only version available. Cindy Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 14:42:14 -0500 To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org From: "Cindy M. Renfrow" <cindy at thousandeggs.com> Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Ember Day Tart Pegge wasn't a cook. He was also reading manuscript. There is a bit inset between his pages xxx and xxxi. You can see that the hand is very ornate. See the introduction to CoI, pp. 20-30 for the answers to your questions about the different manuscripts. Cindy >OK. I've only ever seen the versions done by Pegge and by COI. On the >whole, I've worked enough with the Pegge version not to trust it AT ALL - too >many words either skipped entirely (like saying "hit well" instead of "sethe >hit well"), or words that make no sense at all - like describing small birds >as being "ysasted and ystyned" when COI says "yfarsed and ystweyd". I've >always assumed that these are transcription/translation errors by Pegge. Are >you saying that he was working from a different manuscript of Forme of Cury >than those presented in Curye on Inglysch? Is the manuscript he was working >from actually worded the way he worded it? > >Brangwayna Morgan From: Robyn.Hodgkin at affa.gov.au To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Ember Day Tart Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 12:16:31 +1100 I don't know of an ember day tart recipe that doesn't contain cheese, but here are the two I used for a redaction class I ran: 1.Tart in Ymbre day (Curye on Inglysch, Forme of Cury compiled 1390) Take and perboile oynoun & erbis & presse out the water & hewe her smale. Take grene chese & bray it in a morter, and temper it up with ayren. Do therto butter, safroun & salt, & raisouns corouns, & a litel sugur with powdour douce, and bake it in a trap, & serue it forth. 2. Tart on Ember-Day (Ancient Cookery 356, 448/38c 1381) Parboyle onions, and sauge, and parsel, and hew hom small, then take gode fatte chese, and bray hit, and do therto egges, and tempur hit up therwith, and do therto butter and sugur, and raisynges of corance, and pouder of ginger, and of cannell, medel all this well togedur, and do hit in a coffyn, and bake it uncoveret, and serve hit forthe. Date: Mon, 04 Nov 2002 10:49:14 -0500 From: johnna holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu> To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: [Sca-cooks] Ember Day Tart Actually it appears twice more. Arundel 334 has it. This manuscript dates from later than FoC, possibly 1420?. Arundel 334 is a part of the text that appears as pages 51-90 in the section that is labeled as "Ancient Cookery" in Warner's Antiquitates Culinariae. Warner was published in 1790, but there was a limited edition facsimile released by Prospect Books in early 1981. That version reads: "Tart on Ember-day Parboyle onions, and sauge, and parsel, and hew hom small, then take gode fatte chese, and bray hit, and do therto egges, and tempur hit up therwith; and do therto butterand sugur,, and raisynges of corance, and pouder of ginger, and of canell; medel all this well togedur, and do it in a coffyn, and bake hit uncoveret, and serve it forthe." pp.69-70 Arundel also appears in: A Collection of ordinances and regulations for the government of the Royal household, made in divers reigns, from King Edward III to King William and Queen Mary. Also receipts in ancient cookery. which was published by the Society of Ant. in 1790. I have the microfilm reel of this one; it was filmed in 1975 as part of the History of Women Collection and is the copy from Radcliffe. The book was reprinted in 1970 in a very limited edition. Ancient Cookery in that book is given as taken from pages 275-445 of the MS. in the Arundel Collection number 344. (numbering is a mistake; should be 334.) Sometime when I have time I will take a look at the Ember day recipe in it, but I am not up to trekking off to the library today to use the rather bad reader that they have locally. Whe doing research on another topic earlier last month, I found that are some minor differences between Warner and the Household Accounts. Johnnae llyn Lewis Johnna Holloway (Sorry not to have gotten to this earlier; I was busy over the weekend.) ------------- Daniel Myers wrote on Sunday November 3rd:> > Ok, so what we have then is the FoC recipe, mutated once or twice in > reproduction, and then further variations upon that during redaction. -> I'm working from the one in Curye on Inglish (thanks anyways). I had > just assumed from the sheer number of references to Ember Day Tarts > that the recipe appeared in a number of different period cookbooks, but > when I started searching through my collection I had much the same > experience as you did. I then thought that perhaps I didn't have the > right books. > - Doc From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US> To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org> Subject: [Sca-cooks] Sabina Welserin #30 Date: Mon, 2 Dec 2002 09:56:16 -0600 > 30 To make Genovese tart > > Take eighteen ounces of chard or spinach, three ounces of grated cheese, two > and one half ounces of olive oil and the fresh cheese from six ounces of > curdled milk. And blanch the herbs and chop them small and stir it all > together and make a good covered tart with it > *************************** > OK, would this be quark, or a rennet based drier curd? And > for the grated cheese would a nice tilsit work? > > margali The original says "12 lott gerente milich, das keslin dar=FAon." Since "quarc" is Middle High German and is not used here, I would probably choose to go with a rennet based curd. I don't know whether Tilsit is contemporary with Welser, but as an ingredient, it should work fime. I think Parmesian would also work in this recipe and it is contemporary. While it makes no difference to the ratios of the ingredients, the original recipe is measured in "lott" or approximately 1/2 troy ounce. The modern "lott" is 15 grams, so in metric measure, it's 540 g. chard, 90 g. grated cheese, 75 g. olive oil and 180 g. curds. Bear From: "Barbara Benson" <vox8 at mindspring.com> To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org> Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 12:46:07 -0500 Subject: [Sca-cooks] Welserin Pear Tarts As promised to the Gorgeous one I have completed my A and S competition and am now prepared to provide the results. I am afraid that the total documentation is around 5 pages long, and that is a bit much, so to start off I am just going to post the redactions. If anyone wants the whole kit & caboodle (including you Stefan ;) I would be happy to send it on: All english translations by Valiose Armstrong. 73 A pear tart Take pears and peel them and cut them into thin strips, take beef marrow, cinnamon, sugar and raisins and let it bake. If you do not have any marrow then use butter or another fat. My interpretation: 2/3 C - Raisins - soak a bit in hot water and drain 5 T - Unsalted butter 2 1/2 t - Cinnamon 2 T - Sugar 3 to 4 - Pears Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small container mix sugar, raisins and cinnamon; set aside. In another container soften butter using a fork. Prepare tart shell (#61) and chill. Peel pears, cutting off stem and bottom. Cut pears into 3 pieces lengthwise. Lay each slice on its flat side and slice into thin strips. Place in bowl of water to avoid browning. After all pears are sliced drain well and transfer to dry bowl. Add spice mixture and toss well. Smooth up to half of the butter onto the bottom of the tart shell. Put pear filling into tart shell and then dot the top evenly with the remaining butter. Place onto cookie sheet and cook in oven for 55 minutes or until done. 80 A pear tart Cut out of each pear eight or twelve slices, according to how large the pear is, fry them in fat, take them after that and lay them nicely around the tart and sprinkle them under and over with sugar, cinnamon, cloves and raisins and let it bake. My interpretation 2/3 C - Raisins - soak a bit in hot water and drain 2 T - Sugar 2 t - Cinnamon 1/2 t - Cloves 3 to 4 - Pears 2 - Sticks unsalted butter Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small container mix sugar, cinnamon and cloves; set aside. Prepare tart shell (#61) and chill. Cut pears in 8 to 12 slices depending on size. Remove seeds and string core - do not peel. Place both sticks of butter in a heavy skillet and melt, allow to get hot enough for frying but do not burn. Set tart shell beside stovetop and sprinkle a good bit of the spice mixture and some of the raisins over the bottom of the crust. Fry slices of pear in butter a few at a time - do not overcrowd the pan. Cook pears until they start to brown a bit - but not too long because when you try to remove them from the butter they will fall apart. Transfer pear slices directly to tart shell and try to place them neatly and attractively in the shell. After you have one layer of pears over the bottom of the crust, sprinkle on more spices and raisins. Continue until all of the pears are done and finish with a layer of spices and a very few raisins. Drizzle a bit of the butter into the tart if you want to. Place onto cookie sheet and cook in oven for 50 minutes or until done. 87 To make a pear tart Then take the pears and peel them and remove the cores and divide the pears into two parts and cut them into slices as wide as the pear is and turn them over in a little good flour. Then heat up some fat and roast them therein, until they are a little browned, afterwards prepare the pastry shell and lay them on top of it, close together. Take cinnamon, sugar and raisins mixed and sprinkle them on the crust and over the top of it, let it bake a while. After wards take Malavosia, put sugar into it and cinnamon, let it boil together, pour it over the tart and let it cook a short while. My interpretation: 1/2 C - Raisins - soak a bit in hot water and drain 2 t + 3 t - Sugar 2 t + 2 t - Cinnamon 3/4 C - Wine made from Malvasian Grapes - also known as Malmsey Madeira 3 to 4 - Pears 1/2 to 3/4 C - Flour 2 - Sticks unsalted butter Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small container mix 2 t sugar and 2 t cinnamon; set aside. Prepare tart shell (#61) and chill. Peel pears. Cut in half lengthwise and remove core. Place flat side down and cut crosswise. Place sliced pears into a bowl of water to avoid browning. After all pears are sliced, drain well. Place flour into dry bowl and flour each slice of pear, put into bowl. Place both sticks of butter in a heavy skillet and melt, allow to get hot enough for frying but do not burn. Set tart shell beside stovetop and sprinkle a good bit of the spice mixture and about half of the raisins over the bottom of the crust. Fry slices of pear in butter a few at a time - do not overcrowd the pan. Cook pears until they start to brown a bit - but not too long because when you try to remove them from the butter they will fall apart. Transfer pear slices directly to tart shell. After you have one layer of pears over the bottom of the crust, sprinkle on more spices and raisins. Continue until all of the pears are done and finish with a layer of spices and a very few raisins. (Your numbers of layers will vary depending on the size of your tart.) Place onto cookie sheet and cook in oven for about 50 minutes. While the tart is baking put the wine, 3 t sugar and 2 t cinnamon into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce a little bit. After about 30 minutes in the oven, pull the tart out and drizzle wine mixture over the tart (make sure you stir it up before pouring) - resume cooking until done. On this third tart, after the first test that used 1/2 C wine I upped it to 3/4 C wine for this version. After tasting it at the competition I still think there is not enough wine. I am a bit of a wuss when it comes to wine, so I tend to be a bit cautious with it. I would suggest if you do make this that you up the wine yet again. I received full marks from the judges and there were no left-overs. I received extra complimentary remarks on the tart shell (I posted it here a couple of days ago) from a good Mistress who has worked with the same recipe herself. Made me blush good and proper. Serena da Riva Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 02:13:29 +1100 To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org From: Mark Calderwood <mark-c at acay.com.au> Subject: [Sca-cooks] Torta de Cerase One of the oustanding hits of the banquet table at the Yule feast I recently did was the Torta de Cerase, the cherry and cheese tart from the Cuoco Napoletano, so I thought I'd share my redaction for those who are interested (bear in mind all measures are in Australian metric). Original- Cuoco Napoletano (recipe 137) Get red cherries or the darkest available, remove the pit and grind in a mortar; then get red roses and crush them well- I mean the petals alone- with a knife, get a little new and old cheese with a reasonable amount of spices, cinnamon and good ginger with a little pepper and sugar, and mix everything together, adding in six eggs; make a pastry crust for the pan with half a pound of butter and set it to cook giving it moderate fire; when it is cooked, put on sugar and rosewater. My redaction Crust I used a standard pate brisee recipe from Redon et al, which uses only 125g. Blind bake for approx 10 mins to ensure a firm base and let cool. Filling approx 700-750g fresh cherries, the darkest and plumpest available 2-3 red roses 40g ricotta approx 25g aged cheese, I used a creamy Mersey cheddar, finely grated 3 eggs pinch each to taste cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, white pepper Wash and pit the cherries, and chop coarsely if desired. I left mine halved for a more chumpy texture. Pluck the petals from the roses (I used fragrant rosa gallica from my garden), wad them up and give them a solid whacking with the back of a heavy knife to release the flavour. Mix in with the cherries, cover with cling wrap and leave overnight in the refrigerator for the flavours to infuse into the cherries. This is an optional step, based on similar Mediterranean dishes infused with roses like the plate of figs from de Nola. If you don't want to do this simply add a splash of rosewater to the mixture. Mix the ricotta, cheese, eggs, and spices together. In trials I found six eggs as stipulated in the manuscript to be way too much, and cut it down to three which seemed to bind quite well. Next time I'm planning to use six egg whites to see how that affects binding and flavour, I have a feeling that's what the manuscript may mean. I added about three handfuls of fine white sugar, and small pinches of nutmeg, ginger and pepper, larger pinches of cloves and cinnamon (Sorry about the lack of precise amounts, I season by pinches). After tasting I added more cloves and cinnamon as I wanted a light sweet taste, but you can adjust the seasonings to suit yourself. Add the cherries and fold together. The mixture turns out a brownish glug, so I added a good slug of cochineal for a deep rosy pink. Lift the cherries out with a slotted spoon and arrange in the crust, then ladle the mixture over the fruit being careful not to overfill the crust, as it will rise slightly during cooking. Cook for 30-35 minutes at 180C, until the filling is just set. Sprinkle hot tart with rosewater and dust with fine white sugar. I dusted mine several times while they were cooling and again when cold, so they had a sweet topping and an attractive frosted crimson appearance. I was quite pleased with how they turned out: they were quite nice on their own, fantastic with angel's food and biscotti. I had people fighting over them. :o) Has anyone else had a go at these tarts, I'd be interested to compare redactions... Giles Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 10:52:26 -0500 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Torta de Cerase From: Daniel Myers <doc at medievalcookery.com> To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org On Wednesday, December 18, 2002, at 10:13 AM, Mark Calderwood wrote: > Original- Cuoco Napoletano (recipe 137) > Get red cherries or the darkest available, remove the pit and grind in a > mortar; then get red roses and crush them well- I mean the petals alone- > with a knife, get a little new and old cheese with a reasonable amount of > spices, cinnamon and good ginger with a little pepper and sugar, and mix > everything together, adding in six eggs; make a pastry crust for the pan > with half a pound of butter and set it to cook giving it moderate fire; > when it is cooked, put on sugar and rosewater. [snip] > Has anyone else had a go at these tarts, I'd be interested to compare > redactions... This is one of my favorites. The version I make is online at http://www.medievalcookery.com/recipes/cherrytorte.html Like you, I also cut the number of eggs down to three (six seemed like way too many). How did the cheddar affect the flavor? I keep thinking that it'd make the tart too savory to be a good dessert. While I was experimenting with this recipe I tried making it with dried cherries and the tart ended up with a very "raisins & spice" sort of flavor. - Doc -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Edouard Halidai (Daniel Myers) http://www.medievalcookery.com/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 14:44:23 -0500 From: "Nick Sasso" <NJSasso at msplaw.com> To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org> Subject: re: [Sca-cooks] Torta de Cerase From: "Mark Calderwood" <mark-c at acay.com.au> <<SNIP>>> > My redaction > Crust > I used a standard pate brisee recipe from Redon et al, which uses only > 125g. Blind bake for approx 10 mins to ensure a firm base and let cool. > > Filling > approx 700-750g fresh cherries, the darkest and plumpest available > 2-3 red roses I had a go at these tarts on two occasions with gret success as an individual tart, and acceptable, though not great baked in sheet pans for large numbers. My redaction is below. I used rosewater as subsitute for the rose petals as they were not readily available when I made them. I would think the flavor is close, but will use the petals if available. New or Soft cheese, I used farmer cheese (IIRC), and the aged I used a semi-soft like butter cheese available in this area. I decided that the hard cheese would not make the texture at which I wanted to aim. I chopped the cherries, and added some reconstituted dry ones to intensify the flavor of some rather average tasting fruit. I used the sugar as a spice instead of a sweetner as I read the recipe to say it was a spice like cinnamon and pepper. the result was a fruity tasting, though not entirely sweet custard. Sweeter cherries would have given a little more sweetness as well. 1 lb. Sour cherries 8 ounces fresh/soft cheese 2 oz grated semi soft cheese 25 tsp. Powdered ginger 25 tsp cinnamon (zeylanicum) pinch ground black pepper 2 Tbl white sugar 6 eggs dash of rose water (to taste) Pastry crust (made with one half pound butter) (used pate brisee type crust with the 8 ounces butter . . . see Alton Brown recipes if you need one) Coarsely grind cherries in mortar or food processor, or chop coarsely with knife. Mix together cheeses, sugar, spices and eggs. Add cherries and rosewater. Pour into prepared, pre-baked pastry shell as one pie or as several tarts. Bake at 350F until just set and it moves as one mass when jiggled, about 40 minutes; do not overcook! Remove from over and sprinkle immediately with fine sugar and a dash of rosewater. I also had a brownish red as well, which was more reddish after cooking. The 6 eggs made a somewhat stiff tart. I did not reduce the eggs, but adjusted the type and amount of cheese used. Since the recipe went to the trouble of specifying an exact number of eggs, I figured that was not an error, and that the other ingredients would be the key to the tart modifications. I disagree with your decision to reduce number of eggs for your desired texture. I would suggest changing the cheese types or amounts to get different results. I mean, it ain't often we get exact figures to start with. I believe the whole eggs is correct as the yolks will assist in maintaining the emulsification of the cheeses (preventing separation) and enrich the 'custard'. I am glad to hear of someone out there taking a whack at this. My first shot was in 2000 about 3 months of publication, and there was no one out there to compare with :o( Came out well, and I am pleased with having a new desserty item that isn't so very sweet. Heck, even MY mileage may very on this one :o) pacem et bonum, niccolo difrancesco Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 17:48:05 -0800 (PST) From: Ruth Frey <ruthf at uidaho.edu> To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: [Sca-cooks] A couple tart recipes. I'm working on 12th Night recipe redactions, and I thought I'd pass along 2 that I've gotten to the "quite good" stage. Both are from the Sabina Welserin cookbook (which is webbed somewhere, but I'm too lazy to look up the URL at the moment), and may have been done to death, since they're nice simple recipes with lots of handy proportions given -- apologies if everyone's seen them before. :) I've tinkered with some of the proportions a little, but they're still pretty close to the originals. FWIW, when cooking mass quantities, the cinnamon tart can be made with powdered egg whites instead of fresh, with no difference in flavor. -- Ruth ------------------------------- GENOVESE TART (CHEESE AND SPINACH "PIE") (16th c. German) 2 pie crusts for 9" covered pie 2 - 10 oz. packages frozen spinach, thawed 3 oz. grated parmesan cheese (approx. 3/4 c.) 1/3 c. olive oil (preferably extra-virgin) 6 oz. ricotta cheese (approx. 3/4 c.) Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a pie pan, and put in the bottom pie crust. Drain off any excess water from spinach by putting it into a strainer or colander and pressing down on it with the bottom of a large bowl. Combine spinach, oil, and cheeses in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Spoon filling into pie crust, smooth down, and cover with top crust, sealing edges well. Put into oven, turn heat down to 375 F, and bake for approx. 1 hour. Makes as many servings as you cut pieces - figure about 8. CINNAMON TART (ditto) 1 pie crust for 9" pie 1/2 lb ground blanched almonds (about 2 c. blanched slivered almonds before grinding) 2/3 c. sugar 1/2 tbsp. ground cinnamon 2 tbsp. salted butter, melted 7 egg whites 1 1/2 tbsp. ground cinnamon 3 - 4 tbsp. rosewater Preheat oven to 400 F. Grind almonds to a fine meal in a coffee grinder, blender, or food processor. For a finer result, sift out any un-ground bits of almond. Stir together almonds, sugar, and 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon, then add butter and egg whites and mix thoroughly. Lightly grease a pie pan, and line with the pie crust. Pour in the filling, smooth down, and then sprinkle surface evenly with 1 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon, followed by the rosewater. Put tart in oven, turn heat to 375 F, and bake for 1 hour. About 8 servings. Both from Sabina Welserin's cookbook (mid-1500s). From: "Nancy Kiel" <nancy_kiel at hotmail.com> To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] tart crusts/pans Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:46:10 -0500 >>Hey, love, any chance you might be able to find the pic, or similar pix to >>what you're suspecting? I'm thinking it might be interesting to try to >>reproduce a tarte pan or two- fuctional if not necessarily 100" a >>reproduction of an original. Williams-Sonoma and Kitchen Glamour carry tart pans with fluted sides and removable bottoms in varying depths. They give the same result as the Clara Peeters painting, but I don't know if they're period. Nancy Kiel Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 08:32:42 -0500 To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org From: "Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius.magister at verizon.net> Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Help!! - Recipe needed for Honey & Saffron Tart!! Also sprach Susan Laing: >I'm trying to work up a menu costing and my co-cook has nominated to make >"Doucet Tart" aka Honey & Saffron Tart and I can't find the recipe!!! > >Anyone know the source (I'm *told* 14th century) - anyone got the recipe to >hand?? > >Mari ><slightly frazzled down-under> I think this one is probably the original. (Of course, and regrettably, the original for a lot of old-timey SCAdians is in Maxime McKendry's "700 Years of English Cookery"/"The Seven Centuries Cookbook", which is where the "Honey and Saffron Quiche" name comes from. Bah! Humbug!) I think this is the actual source, from MS. Harl. 279 (which is 15th century), recipe XV in the "Vyaunde Furnez"/"Dyuerse Bake Metis" section : "Doucetes -- Take Creme a gode cupfulle & put it on a straynoure; (th)anne take (y)olkys of Eyroun & put (th)er-to, & a lytel mylke; (th)en strayne it (th)orw a straynoure into a bolle; (th)en take Sugre y-now, & put (th)er-to, or ellys hony forde faute of Sugre, (th)an coloure it with Safroun; (th)an take (th)in cofyns, & put in (th)e ovens lere, & lat hem ben hardyd; (th)an take a dysshe y-fastenyd on (th) pelys ende; & pore (th)in comade in-to (th)e dyssche, & fro (th)e dyssche in-to (th)e cofyns; & when (th) don a-ryse wel, take hem out, & serue hem forth." In other words: Doucettes [Little Sweets?] -- Take a good cupful of cream and put it through a strainer, then take yolks of eggs and add them to it, and a little milk, then strain it into a bowl. Then take enough sugar, and add it, or honey in default of sugar, then color it with saffron; then take your coffins/crusts, and put them in the oven empty, and let them harden, then take a dish fastened to the end of your peel [using the peel to make a really long-handled ladle, so you can fill the coffins without removing them from the oven], and pour your filling into the dish, and from the dish into the coffins, and when they rise well, take them out, and serve them forth. I figure for each tart, you'd want about 2 1/2 cups (20 ounces/~600 ml) milk and cream, mixed, depending on how rich you want it (I think I'd just use commercial half-and-half in this case), with eight egg yolks or four whole eggs (again, dependin