Viking Apron Dress

In an effort to extend my garb/tunics until I can manage to make more time period appropriate SCA garb for myself I decided to make myself a Viking Apron Dress.

I actually finished this about 2 weeks ago but I was waiting for my broaches to arrive from Raymond's Quiet Press before showing it off. My measurements were off in a few places but overall the dress worked out pretty well. The style was more flattering than I expected. I even got bold and embroidered with some wool twill thread. I apparently need a weave to follow to do anything more complex so it is just a simple chain stitch. Interestingly with all the embroidery I have done, I have never embroidered a garment I made. It actually got me excited about embroidery again and I have pulled out a bunch of old projects to finish.

I am hoping to make a head covering to go with the dress prior to WW but I don't think I will make an embroidered one until after the event. Currently, however I have been waylaid by a modern fun little project instead.

Heraldic Embroidery

This project completed December 2004



Based upon documentation found in Donald King's "Opus Anglicanum: English Medieval Embroidery". From my research, it appears that heraldic embroidery was occassionally done in either plait or cross stitches in silk thread combined with couched metallic thread. This embrodiery is an attempt to learn how to use plait stitch. There are several different types of plait stitch; the one used may not be the period form. I also attempted to try couching in such a way that a pattern was formed--notice the Laurel leaves on the silver. Materials used: silver passing thread, colored silks, linen ground, silver-tone beads (exact composition unknown though they did tarnish) couched with linen thread.

(Device registered to Master John Chandler)

Or Nue

This was completed circa 2003 or 2004? I am not sure which.



I have been trying to find documentation for how or nue was executed. There are lots of examples of pieces that were done but not a lot of good explaination on the techniques used. This is an attempt to try one theorized technique--I stitched the image row by row in the colored thread. This meant that I had up to 6 needles acting at once. I've also seen people lay the gold thread first and then go back over it in colored silks, but I worried that this would cause uneven tension and allow limited access to the image beneath the gold. I would be happy to hear suggestions.

I understand that varying the spacings on various couched colored threads created depth and shading to the image couched on the metallic thread. For this project I was just trying to figure out a plausible way to recreate the style and was thus more concerned about creating an image. I will work with shading as I progress in my skill level.

(Materials used: gold colored passing thread; colored silks; linen ground)

Goldwork Sampler

This was completed circa 2004 as part of my entry for the Laurel Prize Tourney



Goldwork Sampler

Gold and silver threads are a valuable addition to an embroidery, and their use has been abundant throughout history as evidenced by historical writings, scripture, and surviving pieces. This sampler aims to provide aid in how metal threads may be worked and what materials are available.

1). Pearl Purl---This purl, like other forms is manufactured by wrapping gold wire in a spiral tube, however, one side (the exposed edge) is convex creating a look of a string of tiny gold beads. This is generally seen outlining figures of gold that have been appliqued to the ground of another fabric to help round out the edges. There are extant pieces of goldwork showing outer-edges being outlined in gold pearls. I cannot speak with certainty whether or not these were executed with actual gold beads or pearl purl as I have not seen the pieces, however, as most beadwork usually doesn't survive intact my guess is that pearl purl has been used in these cases.

2). Smooth Purl---A smooth round hollow tube made by wrapping wire like a spring. It is a very pliable material. Be cautious when using purl and bullion (the larger form of purl) as stretching too much will distort the material. Purl may be cut to any length. Smooth purl is specifically created by wrapping a flat wire spirally around for a bright polished finish. The flat wire creates a wider surface area for greater reflectivity. Rough purl is similar except it uses a rounded wire giving it a duller appearance. Smooth purl can be seen on the cuffs of a dalmatic from the Royal workshops at Palermo (1130-1140).

3). Check Purl--this type of purl is created by wrapping flattened wire in varying patterns which creates a greater number of surfaces from which the light can reflect. When one looks down the coil, I find that it looks as though it was wrapped around a triangle and then turned so that the next coil is wrapped at a different angle. I have yet to find any documentation for this thread to be used in our period of study.

4). Passing Thread--This is one of the most common examples of metal fibers available. Essentially, it is made by wrapping gold around a core material. Silk is the most durable, but it can also be wrapped around linen and parchment. The Maeseyck embroideries of the 9th C. use passing thread with a core of human hair. The earliest form of gold thread was passing threads. Pure metal was beaten into thin plates and then cut into narrow strips. Several centuries later, it was drawn into wire form. It is known that in the 13th C, English ladies created their own gold thread by spirally twisting gold around a core of silk or flax before working it. Passing thread comes in a variety of sizes.

5). Couching--This is the most common method of applying metal threads to a ground. It is far to valuable to waste by pulling through the fabric, and gold thread is, in fact, usually too inflexible to be much use in regular stitching. Couching is executed by laying the metal fiber on the surface fabric (occasionally, two layers are used for stability) and tacking it down with another thread such as silk or linen. I show couching in three shapes. Generally speaking, it is easier to work from the outside in except when making circles when the shape is more easily maintained by working outside in. Some things to watch for: when turning corners it is sometimes easier to stitch the threads separately to help minimize gapping rather than stitching over two threads as is generally done. Even so, it can be a difficult area to navigate, as is evidence by my example.

6). This was created by cutting check purl into a bunch of little "beads" and randomly laying them at different angles. Pearl purl is couched along the outside to finish the look.

7). Underside Couching--This technique reached its height in the 13th and 14th C though examples my bee seen as early as the 12th. It almost exclusively existed in England and the technique vanished in the 15th C. It is executed quite similarly to surface couching with one notable exception. When the tacking thread goes back down through the fabric, it exits through the same hole, thus drawing a small loop of metal thread with it. This adds both durability and flexibility as the "hinge" of thread allows more movement and protects the couching thread from wear and tear. Extant pieces illustrated this point more fully; in pieces where the silk has deteriorated on surface couching, the gold threads hang loosely, however, in underside couching pieces of metal threads are perfectly preserved in original form as is seen in the Ascoli Cope.

As the skill of craftsmen progressed, underside couching began to be worked in patterns. The couched threads were staggered from row to row to create zigzags, geometric elements, and foliage. They even used multicolored silks to enhance the effect (though these were usually hidden). When trying this oneself, an embroiderer may wish to draw guidelines on the fabric. This technique is difficult to master as seen in my sample the rows should lay straight and the tension should be even.

8). Raised Work--This technique was much more common in the 14th and 15th C; there is less evidence of its use earlier. One of the most beautiful examples is the badge of the Order of the Dragon from 15th C. Hungary. Wrinkles around the mouth, veins of the wings, and overall "bone" structure of this three dimensional embroidery add more life and charm. The technique is executed by first padding the ground with threads or fabric (usually silk, wool, linen, flax, and/or cotton when available), usually in the opposite direction as the threads being laid, and then stitching over it. Another example of this can be found on the interlacing border of a 15th C chasuble. My example uses gold purl that is wrapped very tightly so as to look like passing thread and is stitched down with silk. The raised threads are waxed cotton that have been stitched down to the thread. To help enhance the design, lay a couching stitch on either side of the raised piece.

9). Or Nue (Shaded Gold)---This technique reached quite heights in Italy and Flanders in the 15th C. The technique creates blocks of stitches in colored silks--the overall effect is that of graphic images highlighted by sparkles of gold. Varying the space of stitches allows the embroiderer to deepen the effect with shading.

Pigment Translation

This project was originally completed sometime in 2003.

Colors: The Story of Dyes and Pigments By Francois Dleamare and Bernard Guineau.
As the title suggests, the book takes a look at the history of dyes and pigments, how new colors were created and how changes within the textile and dying industries were effected by these changes. One of the things that I enjoyed about this book was the amount of information about Roman and Medieval dying methods and the evolution of processes during the time period. I’ve always been sincerely disappointed by the small paragraph of information many authors use to mention any history on an artform that existed during the Middle Ages, so it was definitely refreshing to have an entire chapter with beautiful color photographs devoted to the era. It’s a nice read with some interesting information. In the back there is an appendix of sorts that contains exerts from documents as well as a good listing of books for further reading. One thing I would have liked would be a glossary of commonly used terms for easy reference as I read the book. It’s a nice place to get started if you’re interested in or ever think you could be interested in pigment history.

Pigment Translation:
While perusing this book there was an image taken from an example of a 16th-century recipe recipe for making fine-grained scarlet lake. The recipe was in French and as I could easily see every letter in the image, I decided to attempt a translation. While there are a few words that I am still unable to find any modern equivalent/translation of, the following is what I was able to come up with. Thanks to Eliane for assistance with the translation

Pour Faire Lacca de graine fine.
Pren une livre de tondure d’ecarlate fine, et la mets en une poelle neuve pleine de laissue, qui ne soit point troup forte: puis la fay bouillir tat que la laissiue en prenne la couleur. Ce fait, pren un sachet, large par en haut, et agu par bas, au-quel verseras la-dite tondure d’ecarlate, et la laissiue, mettant un vaisseau dessous: puis presse bien le sachet, tellement que toute la sustance, et toute la couleur en puisse decouleur, apres lave la tondure, et la sac, au-dit vaisseau, ou est la couleur. Et sil te semble que la tondure ait encore d’avantage of couleur, tu la feras bouillier avec autre laissiue, faisant comme par-avant. Ce fait, mettras chaufer au feu la-dite laissiue coulouree, mais ne la laisse point bouillir: et faut tenir toute preste, sus le feu, quelque poelle nette, avec de l’eau nette, la-quelle, estant chaude, y mettras cinq onces d’alun de roche pulverise: Et incontinent que tu le verras dissoudre, pren un sachet, comme le premier: et quand la couleur sera chaude, ote-la du feu, et y boute le-dit alun: puis jette ainsi tout ensemble au sac, mettant dessous quelque vasseau plomme: et regarde si par en bas la couleur en vient rouge, lors prendras de l’eau chaude, et la verseras au sac, y versant aussi tout ce qui estoit coule, au-dit vaisseau, sous le sac: et verse tant de fois ce qui coulera par en bas, que tu verras que la liqueur qui en sorte, ne soit plus rouge, mais claire comme laissiue: ayant ainsi ecoule toute l’eau, la couleur demourera au sac, la quelle tu deferas d’une spatule de bois, la mettant au fond du sac, et la reduis toute en une masse, ou en tablettes, ou comme bon te semblera: puis la mets saicher, sus un carreau neuf et net, a l’ombre, ou a l’air, et non pas au soleil. Et par-ainsi tu auras une chose excellente.

For making a lake of fine seed.
Take a pound of tondure of fine scarlet, and put it in a new pan full of laissiue, that isn’t too strong: then make it boil as long as the laissiue takes in the color. That done, take a small cone-shaped [big on the top and skinny on the bottom] bag, into which, pour the above mentioned tondure scarlet, and la laissiue, put a tiny vessel underneath: then press the bag well, so much so that all the substance and all the color draws forth. After, wash the tondure and the bag as well as the vessel where the color is. And if it seems that the tondure has more color, you should boil it with another laissiue, done as before.

That done, heat in fire the previously mentioned laissiue color, but don’t leave to boil: And you must keep ready on the fire, a clean pan with clean water, which is warm, and add 5 ounces of powdered alum: And once you see that it is dissolved, take the bag, like the first: and when the color is warm, take it away from the fire, throw in it a bit of alum: then throw thus all together in a bag, place underneath some lead vessel: Look to see if the bottom color is turning red, at that time take the warm water and pour it in the the bag, in it also pour all that had sunken into the vessel beneath the bag: and pour so many times that which runs in the bottom is a sort of liqueur that isn’t red, but clear as laissiue: having poured off all the water, the color will stay in the bag, that which you defer to with a wooden spatula, and put it in the bottom of the bag, and reduce it all in a lump or in bars or as it seems good to you: then let it dry, in a clean and new box, in the shade or in the air but not in the sun. And by thus you have an excellent thing.

Pears Poached in Port

This originally compiled circa 2000 I believe (I am transferring data from my original website). Not my best work but again an effort to help me mark my progress.

Poached Pears
Pears appear in a multitude of forms throughout medieval cooking and their use dates back thousands of years before period. They were often served at the end of a meal with other sweets and were thought to have medicinal properties. Chiquart’s "On Cookery" includes instructions for baking pears that were thought to help the sick, and scribes from circa 2750 BC recorded medical prescriptions that include a poultice made of pears, figs and thyme. In Siena, in 1326, candied pears were served at the end of every meal of one particular knighting ceremony, and the lower classes of Rome sometimes ended their meals with a dish of grapes, pears, and apples.
Recipes for pears cooked in wine and spices appear throughout English manuscripts. Surprisingly, there are few examples of similar dishes in French, Latin or Italian manuscripts. There was mention in some French and Italian menus of "Pears with Hypocras" however, a recipe did not appear until the 1400s. In fact, Le Ménagier de Paris mentions that they were "like turnips." This is different from sweet pear desserts of the English.
Pears were pureed, baked, or poached with spices in wine. With the poached recipes particularly, there are many variations, almost all include wine, pears, sugar, and cinnamon. Other ingredients include anise, cloves, mace, dates, currants, and vinegar. Also, salt or ginger was used. (Ginger can sometimes be an interesting alternative when trying to cut salt from ones diet). In "Forme of Cury", there is a recipe called Peeres in Confyt which adds mulberries to enrich the color and has the final dish served with the cooked pears in a pyramid shape with the syrup poured over top. This created an interesting variation of color when serving.
Color was important in medieval cooking. The authors of The Medieval Kitchen: recipes from France and Italy state that color "defined dishes an were an element in the cooks choice of ingredients." Meaning, that the kind and color of sauce determined which spices to use to preserve the integrity of the dish—for example, a yellow sauce may have used saffron, etc. The recipe from which mine is based, Perys en Composte from Harleian MS 279 Potage Dyvers, includes the addition of "Sawnderys" or sandalwood. Sandalwood, sometimes called dragon’s blood, adds an old rose/reddish color to dishes. The Boke of Godecookery website recommends the use of red food coloring instead, as the affect is similar without the difficulty of trying to find the spice and the unpleasant taste that sandalwood can sometimes add.
The following is the modern variation that I use when making poached pears:
2 cups of red wine (I prefer port)
1 tbsp sugar
4-6 pears
3 cinnamon sticks
a couple drops of food coloring
pinch of salt
powdered cinnamon to taste
In saucepan, heat through the wine, sugar, food coloring, salt and cinnamon sticks. I let mine simmer slightly to thicken a bit and to remove as much alcohol as possible. Remove cinnamon sticks. Peel and slice pears. Add these to wine mixture and heat at low. When pears are translucent (this may take awhile depending on how many pears and how firm they are), taste and add sugar and powdered cinnamon to your liking. Pears may be served warm or chilled. Keep refrigerated.
While many recipes call for the pears to be parboiled, this isn’t as necessary with modern pears as they are probably sweeter and softer than those available in period. While slow cooking wasn’t really a possibility in a medieval kitchen (hence the parboiling), it can break the pears up too much. I find the flavor to be better when they are simmered with the wine to soften them. For authenticity, or for particularly hard pears, you may wish to parboil them.
Also the original recipe called for 2 tbsp of powdered cinnamon to be added to the simmering process rather than cinnamon sticks. This can make the mixture gritty and requires straining of the cinnamon. For ease and for a subtler flavor I used cinnamon sticks. As mentioned above, you can also add dates or currants along with other spices.
Enjoy!

Bibliography
Hieatt, Constance B, Brenda Hosington, and Sharon Butler. Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks 2nd Edition. Canada: University of Toronto Press, Inc, 1996.

Matterer, James L. "Perys en Composte." 2000. .

Matterer, James L. "Apples & Peres." 2000. .

Redon, Odile, Francoise Sabban, Silvano Servent, and Edward Schneider. The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 1998.

Tannahil, Reay. Food in History. New York: Three River’s Press, 1988.

Roman Necklace

This project originally completed prior to fall of 2004. Exact date unknown



The instructions for the necklace came from Fire Mountain. They based it on a Roman necklace dated from the 2nd C. CE. Their source was the book "Ancient Gold Jewelry at the Dallas Museum of Art" by Barbara Deppert-Lippitz, photography by Tom Jenkins, (ISBN 0-936227-19-2). I haven't compared the model with the original so I'm not sure how closely it mirrors the one in the original source; however, the original model used gold and emerald while my remake is garnet and gold-filled wire. Each link is made with a simple "S" shape.

A Bodice and Skirt

A good friend of mine agreed to help me make some new garb for the SCA event this last weekend, The Kingdom of Northshield's Coronation for Stephen and Ailleanne. I have gained quite a significant amount of weight since I first joined the SCA so most of my garb either doesn't fit me or has been worn out after 9 years in the Society. I have several tunics which are good for working in the kitchen but are really less than flattering on me.

So we decided to make a cotton bodice and skirt. Nothing terribly fancy as much of my time in the SCA is spent in the kitchen. My garb needs to be comfortable, keep me mobile, and be washable. She drafted a pattern for the bodice using instructions found on the Elizabethan Costuming Page. I was skeptical about it given that bodice's always look smaller then clothing I would normally wear but it worked out perfectly. I found some sturdy cotton fabric and we managed to make it reversible. My friend did most of the work but I think I could make another (except maybe for the cable channels) now that we have suitable pattern.



The skirt was nice and full and just made from my friends own costuming experience. The pleating technique she showed me was amazingly easy and turned out beautifully even with my uneven spacing. I think I was a little too cautious with my hem because I do trip over that but that is fixable and she was correct in her advice to hook the skirt tighter then I would normally wear it because the bodice will pull me in quite a bit. I will need to fix that as well.

The pictures are somewhat wrinkly because I never managed to get photos while I was wearing it. It fulfilled all it's functions and I felt good wearing it. It makes me want to play more actively again. I still haven't changed my mind that costuming is far more fussy then I enjoy but I think I could make this outfit again.

My other task this last week was trying to make a suitable head covering. After years of trying I finally managed to figure out how to make a veil work only I don't really wear the appropriate costume for veils anymore. The only other head covering I have managed is the turban style head wrap that always looks better on everyone else. It will at least stay on my head. I used to use fake hair and do hair wraps/braids similar to what I found in photos. Over the years my hair has become progressively thinner and can no longer support length or the fake braids and that is no longer an option. However, appropriate head dress/style really makes an outfit I think and is something I have been striving to improve.



I wanted to find a head covering more appropriate to my new garb so I tried the coif pattern found at the Elizabethan Costuming site. It definitely did not work out the way I expected. I tried (to the best of my limited costuming ability) to adapt the pattern to fit my head but it was still too small. I used the idea from the Extreme Costuming website of anchoring the coif to a forehead scarf but I don't think I managed to execute it properly. I ran out of time to perfect it so I did some creative pinning to make it look somewhat presentable. However, it kept slipping off my head which is really not a functional option when my garb needs to be something I can work in. I think if I can figure out a way to perfect it I may eventually make an embroidered one. And the Attack Laurel's site definitely gave me a better perspective on how I can improve it. I just need some practice.

A Cambridge Pudding

A Cambridge Pudding.

(John Murrell: A new booke of Cookerie; London Cookerie. London 1615) http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/tx/1615murr.htm

SEarce grated Bread through a Cullinder, mince it with Flower, minst Dates, Currins, Nutmeg, Sinamon, and Pepper, minst Suit, new Milke warme, fine Sugar, and Egges: take away some of their whites, worke all together. Take halfe the Pudding on
the one side, and the other on the other side, and make it round like a loafe.
Then take Butter, and put it in the middest of the Pudding, and the other halfe aloft. Let your liquour boyle, and throw your Pudding in, being tyed in a faire cloth: when it is boyled enough cut it in the middest, and so serue it in.

My initial review of this recipe sounded like a boiled pudding. I have never had or seen one but I had heard of them so I did some online perusal. And found this:
http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=42205
While not identical it gave me some good ratios to start with. I opted to leave the suet out as I had some difficulty finding it and what I did find was in larger quantities then I needed. I wanted to try the recipe first and see how it tasted before investing in ingredients that might go to waste. I also found another pudding recipe from the same Murrell reference that gave the option “If it be a fasting day leaue out the Suit…”

1 ½ cups butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
½ cup warm milk
4 cups (280g) stale breadcrumbs (not dry)
1 cup (150g) wheat/white flour mix
1 cup (150g) currants
1 cup (170g) pitted dried dates, chopped
4 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp pepper

Combine dry ingredients and incorporate the wet ingredients until the dough holds its shape. Form into a round loaf. Tie up into cheese cloth. (I prepped the cloth by soaking it first and then sprinkling the center with flour to form a barrier to hold the moist pudding in and help form the skin needed for the pudding to hold its shape).



I slowly immersed the pouch into boiling water and tied the ends to the handles of the pot and put a lid over. This then boiled for six hours. I had to replenish the water periodically.



After 6 hours I removed the pudding and unwrapped it and allowed it to cool.



The pudding became more firm and darker in color as it cooled.



The flavor was good and I seemed to have found a good balance with the spices. I don’t think that anything is missing by not adding the Suet and since Coronation takes place during Lent in our modern year I decided to leave it out. It had a good flavor but needed a sauce. I couldn’t find anything else with in the same text but I decided I will serve with an almond cream which uses almonds, cream, mace and sugar.

A Thing-A-Week Part 34: Pan Perdy

28. To make the best panperdy
To make the best panperdy, take a dozen eggs, and break them, and beat
them very well, then put unto them cloves, mace, cinnamon and nutmeg, and
good store of sugar, with as much salt as shall season it: then take a
manchet, and cut it into thick slices like toasts; which done, take your
fryin pan, and put into it a good store of sweet butter, and, being
melted, lay in your slices of bread, then pour upon them one half of your
eggs; then when that is fried, with a dish turn your slices of bread
upward, and then pour on them the other half of your eggs, so turn them
till both sides be brown; then dish it up, and serve it with sugar
strewed upon it.

I started with:
6 eggs
2 tbsps sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each mace, clove, nutmeg.

I ended up with WAAYYY too much spice so I added 2 more eggs and some milk (I was bad I know but I just couldn't see making "french toast" without milk...I am weak!)

I also baked the toast more because I wanted a faster way to make a lot of it and I wanted to see if it would work so I put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees flipping half way through.

It was yummy and I got about a dozen slices. I wasn't true to the original recipe but if my next experiment goes well...I have breakfast!!! *fingers crossed*

A Thing-A-Week Part 33: Makshufa

A number of years ago Matthias of Rolling Oaks lent me all of his back issues of Tournaments Illuminated. From there I got a bunch of feast/recipe/cookery type articles that I periodically refer to mostly when I have feast planning questions. They have come in handy a number of times.

There was one from the Winter 92 by Elizabeth Cook on an Islamic Dinner. I wanted to find some thing sweet dessert type thing to serve with my lunch and one of the first recipes I tried might be the winner...Makshufa.

The recipe reads:
"Take equal parts of sugar, almonds (or pistachios), honey, and seasme oil. Grind the surgar and almonds, and mix together. Add saffron to color, mixed with rose-water. Put the sesame oil into a basin and boil until fragrant: then drop in the honey and stir until the scum appears. Add the sugar and almonds, stirring all the time over a slow fire until almost set: then remove"

I don't know about the authenticity of above but it looked interesting. I stuck with the original redactors proportions as they seemed reasonable. It turned out like an almond brittle (the rose water is a bit weird) but the rose water masks the caramel/buttery flavor. While strange at first I have to say it has really grown on me. And I can make it a week ahead of time. The only problem is that it has to stay cold or it is really sticky but that may be a fault on my part. I may have needed to cook it longer. I am thinking of making an almond, a pistachio, and a sesame variety for lunch.

Currently testing my kebab recipe and the lentil salad. More on that later.

A Thing-A-Week Part 32: A New Hat

One of my assignments is to make a hat. This is my first attempt. I couldn't really find any instructions on how to make it so I guessed. It turned out vaguely hat shape so I count that as a win. I am not really into big extravagant hats but I always liked this style and hoped it would help me keep the veil and wimple actually on my head. Despite my best efforts circlets pop off my head and veils fly away. I am not so devoted that I want to staple it down so I am hoping some extra weight will help. I have an oddly shaped head, fine hair, and apparently eyebrow muscles with a purpose so most hats find comical ways to be anywhere but on my head. This has lasted a half hour so we shall see this coming weekend how well it works.

I didn't do that great of a job (this is a prototype for a better hat hopefully someday) as my sewing skills are really not all that functional. Yes, I know I embroider but embroidery and sewing are not the same thing in my universe. If I mess up embroidery I just end up with an ugly thing and some lost time. If I mess up sewing I could potentially end up naked. But I continue to try because better garb makes me feel more comfortable at events. And, I really don't like showing modern hair so starting with a hat seems like a safer step.

I know this sounds like a kind of grumbly post but I really am sort of excited about my little hat... imperfections and all.

Two Things: Cheese Tarts

Cheese Tarts:

95 Crustless "Sienese" Tart
Sienese tart. Take twenty almonds and blanch them thoroughly, and pound them as fine as possible. Then take half a libra of sugar, twelve eggs, and a fogletta of milk, two quatani of cinnamon, and the proper amount of salt, and half a quarto of fresh probatura cheese, pounded until it need be pounded no more. Then spread a mold with butter, and then flour it, and put the mixture on top. And set the mold or pan far from the fire, covered, with a moderate fire. And note that you can put into the mixture a ladeful of lasagne cooked in good broth. And when it is cooked put sugar and rose water on top. (bu 49v-50)
(recipe can be found here: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/706842.html)

I didn't like the ratio that the tertiary source used so I went a different route with some of my ratios. I didn't want to use 12 eggs so I also tried to cut everything in half. I am not sure I interpreted the measurements correctly. I found differing sources on the web as to the meaning of some of the measurements so my reasoning on this is simply what sounded good to me. I also used a more coarsely ground almond as I don't have the equipment to do a fine grind on almonds (or anything really). I am curious what this recipe would be like with almond paste as ground almonds and sugar if mixed in a certain way (though recipes I have seen vary on this) make almond paste. I opted not to add the lasagna and broth.

a handful of coarsely chopped almonds
1 cup of sugar
6 eggs
1 cup milk
8 ounces of homemade cheese at room temperature
cinnamon
salt
rosewater and sugar sprinkled over the top after it has baked

I gradually whipped all the ingredients together and poured into a greased/floured springform pan (10 inch I believe) and baked at 325 for 45 minutes. the center was jiggly but maintained it's shape. It was a big custardy omelet. This was a little oily and I really don't know why. It was tasty even if the texture is something I don't usually enjoy. I would love to mold this in something next time I make it but I am concerned as to how it will seperate. The springform was just for ease of use but I wish I had some better kitchen molds for baking. My copper molds I have sort of collected from scattered second hand stores so while they all have neat shapes I don't think they are up for oven use.

94. Torta Bianca: White Tart
White Tart. Take a libra and a half of good fresh cheese and cut it up fine, and pound it very well; take twelve or fifteen egg whites and blend them very well with this cheese, adding half a libra of sugar and half an oncia of the whitest ginger you can find, as well as a half libra of good, white pork lard, or instead of lard, good fresh butter, and some milk as much as needed; this will be a good third of a boccale. Then make the pastry, or crust, into the pan, as thin as it ought to be, and cook it nicely with fire both below and above; and make sure that the top is a little colored from the heat of the fire; and when it seems cooked, remove it from the pan and put fine sugar and good rose water on top. (Ma 158)

For this recipe I actually followed a lot of the measurements that the teritary source I used redacted them as. The egg whites were halved but a lot of the other ingredient ratios also seemed to be halved as well so it worked out. I did make a few changes. I add more cheese then they originally wrote simply because I wanted to use it up and I used poudre douce instead of ginger because there was already ginger in the cheese and I wanted something to offset that a little. This meant that it wasn't going to be a truly white tart because the spices would be a little darker.

For the crust: I used flour, butter, salt, and water. I rolled it out and laid it in a pie pan to bake for about 15 minutes at a higher temperature before adding the filling.

12 ounces homemade cheese at room temperature
6 egg whites
about 2/3 a cup of sugar (I think I used a little more)
9 tablespoons of butter, softened
1 tsp poudre douce
1 cup milk
salt

I beat the cheese and butter together, added the sugar, salt, and spices, the egg whites, and then milk. This was poured into a pie shell and baked at 375 for 1 hour.

The top came out really brown and I was worried I had burnt it but the crust looked fine. When I cut into it, it was snow white. The flavor was actually really good and I don't like cheese cake or custard. It was a little oily and I think I will cut back on the amount of butter and maybe the milk as well as it seemed too runny when I poured it in the shell.

I did forget to put the rose water on this one after it baked. I need to remember to do that next time. I remembered with the first tart but forgot with this one.

x-posted

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Redon, Odile, Francoise Sabban, and Silvano Serventi. Translated by Edward Schneider. The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy. University of Chicago Press. 1998.

A Thing-A-Week Part 28: Cheese!

I finally got around to trying the Cook-A-Long recipe for May...a soft cheese. I don't understand enough of the chemistry that goes into making cheese so I tried the original author's recipe as I wasn't brave enough to test a new cooking method and one that didn't have the safety net of portions. It actually isn't really difficult overall it is just somewhat time consuming and you have to really pay attention. I didn't understand what the instructions meant by how much of a curd needed to form before I stopped adding vinegar and I didn't find anything on the internet. I got a pretty soft crumb to my cheese so it doesn't hold together real well. I mashed it up into molds because my patties weren't holding together and I thought I remember reading somewhere that cheeses and butters were sometimes molded in period.

I didn't really like the ginger/honey combination for flavoring. In looking at some of the period recipes I have found I am surprised they didn't mix savory ingredients with their cheeses. Ginger, Cinnamon, Honey, Mace, and Pepper seem to be the common additives. I am also somewhat curious as to how it would work with the ale I see in a lot of recipes but I am not sure I am brave enough to mess with a formula that I know works until I have tried it a few times.

I believe I am going to take Merouda's suggestion of making the cheese into a tart because I think it would work really well. I plan on trying that this weekend. Actually, I spread some of the cheese on a piece of bread and covered it in the conserve I also made and it was mighty tasty.

All in all it wasn't nearly as terrifying of an experience as I thought it would be. I am very boring in my personal tastes I guess because for me my favorite cheese is a smoked mozzarella--salty, smoky, and yet simple and creamy. This wasn't quite to my tastes but I am definitely excited about experimenting.

I also wonder how this cheese would work in place of the goat cheese in a recipe I have for herb encrusted goat cheese.

I am thinking of hosting a cooks day at my place again after WW and having people make cheese and cheese based recipes.

A Thing-A-Week Part 27: Conserve of Strawberries

From "Delights for Ladies"

50. To make conserve of Prunes of Damsons

Take ripe Damsons: put them into scalding water: Let them stand a while: then boile them over the fire till they break: then strain out the water thorow a colander and let them stand therein to coole: then strain the Damsons thorough the colander, taking away the stones and skinnes: then set the pulp over the fire againe, and put thereto a good quantity of red wine, and boil them well to a stiffenesse, ever stirring them up and down; and when they bee almost sufficiently boyled, put in a convenient proportion of sugar: stirre all well together and after put it in your gally-pots.

51. To make conserve of Strawberries.

First, seethe them in water, and then cast away the water and strain them: then boile them in white wine, and work as before in damson; or else strain them being ripe: then boile them in wine and sugar until they be stiffe.

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Redaction:

One of my favorite foods from the modern world are gummi style candies. While I know that it is unlikely that I will be able to ever document gummi bears as we know them today, I decided that it would be interesting to explore all the different way fruit was preserved in period from candying to conserves and gelatins.

I decided to make the conserve of strawberries mostly because it required few ingredients and they were all things I could find easily. I started by boiling the strawberries. I like to use frozen strawberries (I have found a high quality brand that delivers far better results then I am able to get in the produce section) but because the freezing process already weakens the berries cell structure the boiling step sort of became unnecessary. I realized I was loosing color by doing this so I strained them and mashed the fruit up instead so I would essentially have the desired fruit pulp from the conserve of damsons. To make up for the color lost I added a small amount of red wine with the white (I estimate that there was between 1.5 to 2 cups total wine added). I have seen this done in other fruit compotes from period to enhance color and thus felt it was an okay decision. I then boiled the fruit in white wine until it was completely broken down and
added 4 cups of sugar. The 4 cups I used was based on a modern jam recipe that didn't use pectin. My hope was to get something that was somewhat thick and I wanted to avoid too much trial and error. I brought it up to a rolling boil to thicken it and then removed it from the heat to cool. I poured it into a pan (thought it could easily be jarred) and also a small mold more to see how it held up. It didn't but I wasn't surprised. The flavor was excellent. Really amazing. The wine brought a flavor somewhat different from modern jams but it was still nice and rich. The color is beautifully dark so I may keep the red wine in for sheer aesthetic purposes.

A lot of jams I have made in the past have used lemon juice and it is amazing how differently the fruit tastes without this ingredient. I like lemon juice because I personally feel it enhances a fruits natural taste. This may have been why there was variation in using the wine.

A Thing-A-Week Part 21: For to make chireseye

For to make chireseye:

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

For to make chireseye, tak chiryes at þe feast of Seynt Iohn þe Baptist, & do awey þe stonys. Grynd hem in a morter, & after frot hem wel in a seue so þat the ius be wel comyn owt; & do þan in a pot & do þerein feyre gres or botor & bred of wastel ymyid, & of sugur a god perty, & a porcioun of wyn. & wan it is wel ysodyn & ydessyd in dyschis, stik þerin clowis of gilofre & strew þeron sugur.

- Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.

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GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION: http://www.godecookery.com/mtrans/mtrans06.htm

For to make Cherries, take cherries at the feast of Saint John the Baptist, & do away the stones. Grind them in a mortar, and after rub them well in a sieve so that the juice be well coming out; & do then in a pot and do there-in fair grease or butter & bread of wastel minced, & of sugar a good part, & a portion of wine. And when it is well cooked & dressed in dishes, stick there-in clove flowers & strew there-on sugar.

I only had one big issue with this recipe and that was the translation of clowis of gilofre to clove flowers. It is a minor thing but clove-gillyflower in looking at the OED was used to reference both the spice or the gillyflower (an ancestor of the carnation) in period text and they are obviously very different things. Again this is a minor detail but it reinforces the point that it is good to look up unfamiliar terms.

I was redacting this recipe to see if it could be made in a crock pot. This meant I had to use some larger quantities then I normally would and I ended up making quite a lot of the chireseye.
I started with:

2.5 lbs frozen dark sweet cherries (cherries are not at their peak at this time of year and where they can be found they are a little expensive. I have generally found that frozen fruit that doesn't contain any additives or a "sauce" are of good quality and these were some of the sweetest cherries I have ever had).

1/2 cup butter (I am guessing this to turn out something like a pudding and many puddings are creamy. I thought adding a little more butter would help balance out the acidity of the fruit. And I had a lot of fruit so in comparison it wasn't really all that much)

2 cups unseasoned bread crumbs

1/2-3/4 cup sugar

1 cup of port wine

I began by mashing the fruit until it was almost a puree. I have neither a food processor nor a mortar and pestle large enough to really work this much fruit so I used a potato masher. It actually worked rather well overall. I opted not to sieve the fruit not because I didn't think it was important but more because I was testing the recipe more for viability for my class. I wasn't looking for a perfect redaction. I plan to bring cheese cloth to class and allow students to make their own choices as to what they want to do. I also wanted to leave the juice in as much as possible as I didn't want it to burn in the crockpot.

I then added a stick of melted butter, the wine, some sugar (this seemed like plenty at this point as the fruit was very sweet), and the bread crumbs. 16 ounces of bread is about how much I have seen for modern bread pudding recipes and it seemed like a good starting point. I personally don't like the texture of sauces thickened with bread crumbs so I tend to lean to the side of less rather than more. I also didn't know how much the bread would absorb and I needed to make sure that the recipe was thick but still moist so that it didn't burn.

This all went into a crock pot on low for a little over an hour. I stirred it frequently to make sure it didn't burn. It also thickened a lot as the bread absorbed the juice from the fruit and I ended up adding some more cherry juice to balance a bit. I also noticed that it became more tart as it cooked so I ended up adding a little more sugar (about 1/2 to 1 cup). It still tasted rather grainy/starchy but I found that this improved with a night spent in the fridge. I warmed some up this morning with a little cinnamon/sugar sprinkled on it (as it really needs a little spicy zing) and had it for breakfast.

For my class I am going to bring in whole cloves and try to find some candied flowers.

A Thing-A-Week Part XVIII: A Pie of Parsnips

As part of this month's Cook-A-Long I also tried to make the Pie of Parsnips.

To make a pie of fresh Parsnips. Take the parsnips well washed, & put them to boil until they are cooked, then take two or three chopped onions & fry in butter, a salted lemon in pieces, nutmeg, & pepper, a little chopped mint, & put all together in the pie, & butter enough.

Note it is necessary to cut the parsnips into pieces, when the pie is half cooked put therein a little Spanish wine.

I was somewhat skeptical about this recipe only because it didn't seem like something that would appeal to my own particular taste preferences but part of this experience is trying new things.

I started by peeling and dicing the parsnips and putting them into water to boil. I decided to season them as they were boiling so that the flavor would be more incorporated so I added some salt, pepper, and about a 1/4 tsp of nutmeg. While that boiled, I zested a lemon and brined the peel in salt water and lemon juice. I had forgotten to salt my own lemons ahead of time and hadn't located any commercially. This may have overall impacted the final product. Once the parsnips were cooked I removed them from the heat and drained them before mixing in onions fried in butter, the brined lemon zest, and the mint. I baked this in a crust made of butter, flour, salt, and water for about 45-60 minutes at 375 degrees F. I didn't have any wine on hand either so there again I missed a step which may have impacted the overall product.

Having tasted the pie I am still not particularly crazy about it. There are definitely a lot of flavors going on...the onions and nutmeg added some sweetness, the parsnips seemed sweet and woodsy at the same time but had an interesting bite to them. The lemon and mint kept hitting me at different points throughout. Part of my opinion may have been changed by the ingredients I didn't have access to while I was making this. I also wonder if this would work better as pasties rather than a whole pie so that all the flavors sort of come together at once in a more concentrated way rather than in a larger pie. I am also thinking that pairing this with a creamier dish or a spicy meat might complement it. Overall it was an interesting experience and I am glad I gave it a try.

A Thing-A-Week Part VII: Fine Cakes

Fine Cakes
"To make fine cakes; take a pottle of fine flour, and a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a little mace and a good store of water to mingle the flour into a stiff paste, and a good season of salt and so knead it, and roll out the cake thin and bake them on papers."

Sometimes the recipe redactions one finds on Gode Cookery are fantastic and sometimes they are really off the mark. This one wasn't too bad but I went a different direction with it.

A pottle equals about 2 quarts (8 cups) and that is an awful lot of cake to be stuck with if the recipe doesn't work out so well so I halved it and then halved the recipe again and ended up with this:

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)
4 oz of sugar
2 cups of flour
less then a tsp of mace (I am guessing I used about a half teaspoon)
pinch of salt
enough water to make it all come together.

I mixed all of the dry ingredients together and cut the butter into it with a fork or pastry blender. I then slowly added water to it (I am guessing about a cup but this will vary so go slow) so that it came together. I think I may have added too much water to it as it was rather sticky. I decided to press it into a stoneware pan I have for making shortbread. Bake at 350 F for about an hour. I had to watch it.

I think next time I am going to roll it out as directed. It didn't really bake evenly and didn't pick up the pretty design from the shortbread mold. It might be kind of nice cut into circles with a biscuit cutter and served with a fruit compote. And, the mace was certainly an interesting flavor. I am glad I didn't add any more (I thought I was being a little skimpy) because the flavor really enhances when it bakes and permeates the whole dish. This is something I need to play with a little more. I think I might try a little poudre douce next time. I have seen some similar cake style dishes in Markham that used cinnamon and ginger for flavor and that is something I might enjoy a little more.


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Markham, Gervase. Best, Michael R (ed). The English Housewife. McGill-Queen's University Press. London: 2003. (page 117)

Thing-A-Week Part IV: Fake Fish

Fake Fish:
I don't have a mortar and pestle large enough to crust the apples so I had to be creative using a bowl and a meat tenderizer I don't actually use for tenderizing meat. It worked fairly well actually. I was not ambitious enough to try this with gingerbread as I didn't want to make gingerbread ahead of time and couldn't find an acceptable substitute at the grocery store. I just used the crushed almonds instead. In fact, I used the strained almonds left from an almond milk experiment earlier this week so as not to be wasteful. I mixed all this with a little sugar, cinnamon, and ginger and baked it in a happy fish shaped shell. (It is supposed to be a catfish for the local SCA group's heraldry.) About 10 minutes before I took it out of the oven I brushed on an egg wash with some crushed saffron for a nice golden color. The flavor was very scrumptious and I certainly will be making this again.

Thing-A-Week Part III: Flownys in Lente

Flownys in Lente:

“For to make flownys in lente, take good flour and make a good paste; take good almond milk and rice flour or other starch[i] and boyle them together that they be well chariand. When it is boiled thick, take it up and lay it on a fair board so that it be cold, and when the coffins (pastry crusts) have been made, take a part[ii] and do upon the crusts, and carve them in slices[iii] and do in them good almond milk and figs and dates and carve it in four parts and do it to bake and serve it forth.”

I think my problem with doing redactions is that I am far too literal when I try to translate things. The “ands” in this recipe kept throwing me off. I started by making a flour roux and then adding this to a pot with the unstrained almond milk and a couple tablespoons of rice flour. I cooked this over medium low heat stirring fairly constantly. I ended up with a thick almond porridge. The redaction found at the same source as the original text had taken this mixture and spread it in a thin layer and when it cooled breaking it up into pieces. I can kind of see where they got this interpretation out of the original recipe and as this was the part that was a little muddy for me I tried it this way. I super-cooled this in the freezer to save me some time.

Iohanna had come over to experiment with me and she thought that perhaps the “take good flour and make a good paste” referred to the pie crust itself and so she tried a batch of strained almond milk (we used commercial to try this first before using the limited quantity of “real” almond milk) to see if getting it to boil would have made it more candy/brittle like. However, the rice flour separated a lot and it didn’t seem to thicken. We strained it after a while and set it on a plate in the freezer to cool. It did thicken a bit but became rather blob like and not something that could be sliced.

When the almond porridge had cooled, I was able to break it into soft pieces and lay this in the bottom of the crust. I covered it in diced figs and dates and poured the ½ cup of strained almond milk we got after pressing the thicker stuff. This I baked in the oven for about 40 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

I think the next time I try this I will pour the almond porridge directly into the base of the pie shell as the stuff that I cooled turned back into paste at room temperature. The flavor was interesting. I am not much for custard but I really liked the almond goo. I still am not a big fan of dates or figs but some other dried fruits might be heavenly in this instead.

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[i] “Amydon”. Oxford English Dictionary. Second Edition 1989. Oxford University Press. 9 Sept 2008.

[ii] “Perty” is generally thought to be pretty however later in the same recipe “perty” seems to be used to reference parts as in cutting into “fowre pertys” so I chose this translation.

[iii] “Shive”. Oxford English Dictionary. Second Edition 1989. Oxford University Press. 9 Sept 2008. I could not specifically find references to “schiueris”; however, I found “shiues” and “schyves” both quoted from similar time periods referencing slices or discs and this seemed appropriate to the recipe.