Strawberye*
| Categories: | English fruit 15th century strawberry |
| Original Source: | Harlean MS 279 |
| Secondary Source: | Two Fifteenth Century Cookery-Books in Cariadoc collection |
| Cook: | Marian of Edwinstowe |
| Meeting Date: | 1979-03-03 |
Take Strawberys, & waysshe hem in tyme of 3ere in gode red wyne; þan strayne þorwe a cloþe, & do hem in a potte with gode Almaunde mylke, a-lay it with Amyndoun oþer with þe flowre of Rys, & make it chargeaunt and lat it boyle, and do þer-in Roysonys of coraunce, Safroun, Pepir, Sugre grete plente, pouder Gyngere, Canel, Galyngale; poynte it with Vynegre, & a lytil whyte grece put þer-to; coloure it with Alkenade, & droppe it a-bowte, plante it with þe graynys of Pome-garnad, & þan serue it forth.
Ingredients
| 3 oz. | almonds, blanch & smashed (I use a hammer) |
| 1-1/2 c. | water |
| 1/2 package | frozen stawberries, thawed (10 oz. pkg.) |
| 3 Tbs. | rice flour |
| 2 c. | white sugar |
| pinch | saffron |
| 1/8 tsp. | pepper |
| 1/4 tsp. | each ginger, galingale & cinnamon |
| 2 Tbs. | vinegar |
| 2 Tbs. | butter |
| pomegranate seeds | |
| mint leaves | |
Steps
- Make almond milk by simmering almonds in water till drained water = 1 c. (about 10-15 min)
- Add rice flour slowly (prevent lumps)
- Put 5 oz of strawberries in syrup through a sieve & add to almond milk/flour mixture.
- Add sugar, spices & vinegar & butter & boil to the soft ball stage (or leave out butter until the soft ball stage reached -- it comes out a little smoother)
- Cool until starts to harden a little - then beat. Eventually it nearly holds its shape.
- Drop in a large glop on a buttered plate, add pomegranate seeds (as if they were strawberry seeds) & mint leaves (as though they were the strawberry leaves)
Note
I decided the title meant strawberry (ie, a huge one, rather than a lot of little ones), esp. since it is strewn with pomegranate seed, which look something like large scale strawberry seeds, Also, all the other recipes in this section (Cherries, vyolette, rose, etc) call for either sugar or honey, where this one calls for lots of sugar. So I tried to develop a sort of strawberry fudge that would hold its shape & look like a giant berry.
About $1.50-$2.00 (Mar. 1979)
I also made small ones (20 from this amount) using toasted sesame seeds instead of pomegranate & flat parsley leaves 'cause that all that was in season