Strawberye
| Categories: | English Dessert fruit 15th century strawberry |
| Original Source: | Harleian MS 279 |
| Secondary Source: | Anderson, John L. A Fifteenth Century Cookry Boke |
| Cook: | Morwenna Westerne & Gundormr |
| Meeting Date: | 2013-05-19 |
Strawberye. Take Strawberys, & waysshe hem in tyme of зere 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
| 1/2 lb. | strawberries, fresh |
| 1 c. | red wine |
| 1/4 c. | almond milk |
| 2 Tbsp. | rice flour |
| 2 Tbsp. | currants |
| 2 Tbsp. | sugar |
| pinch | saffron, ground w/ sugar |
| 1/4 tsp. | ea. ginger, galengale, cinnamon, pepper |
| 1 tsp. | red wine vinegar |
| 1 tsp. | Crisco |
| 1/4 tsp. | alkanet |
Steps
- Simmered berries in red wine to cover until soft.
- Strained berries, then crushed through a sieve for juic.
- Simmered juice w/ almond milk & rice flour. Added currents, sugar, and spices.
- Added vinegar. Mashed Crisco and alkanet together. Added.
Note
1/2 lb. berries yielded 1/2 c. juice. Proportions are based on that.
Decided to interpret "waysshe hem... in gode red wine" as simmer to soften. Just rinsing in wine wouldn't impart any flavor and fruit was frequently simmered in wine before using.
We used a merlot that had been uncorked ages ago and was on the verge of turning. I'd use a sweet red wine for real.
Saffron probably could be omitted. I don't think it added anything.
Alkanet is insoluable in water, so the whyte grece is probably used to convey the color. We used Crisco, to keep the dish edible for Gundormr, ground the alkanet flakes in a morter and added to the Crisco. It turned faintly pink with flecks of the plant in it. I picked out the biggest flecks and added the Crisco. I think it added nothing, but we only used a small amount.
The result was a little greyish. Pomegranates wouldn't have been in season when strawberries were in the 15th century, but in the 21st century, I had pomegranate seeds in the freezer and garnished with them.
Really good. Nice bite from pepper. Needs vinegar to bring out berry flavor.