33 – knitting
34 – knitting
35 – oyster recipe research, and Conyng, Hen or Mallard from Two Fifteenth Century Cookery Books (recipe)
In the Middle Ages, the Advent period, the four weeks leading up to Christmas, was a time of reflection, penitence and fasting. This meant that people were not supposed to eat meat or dairy, but instead ate vegetarian foods, fish and shellfish. While poorer people living near the ocean might have access to fish and shellfish, futher inland only the wealthy could afford to import items like sturgeon, eels and oysters. Depending on geography and religious practice, Christmas feasts took place on 25 December, on 1 January or on 6 January. (1)
OYSTERS IN GRAVY from Forme of Curye [Rylands MS 7], found in Curye on Inglysch: English culinary manuscripts of the fourteenth century (including the Forme of cury). Early English Text Society. Constance B. Hieatt, Sharon Butler (eds.). London: Oxford University Press. 1985:
Cxvix. Schyl oysters and seeth hem in wyne & in har owne broth, cole the broth thorow a cloth, take almaundes blaunched, grynde hem & drawe hem up with the self broth & alye hit with flour of ryse & do the oysters therinne, cast in poudour ginger, sugur maces, qbybus & salt, seeth hit not to stondyng & serve hit forth.
OYSTERS IN GRAVEY:
XX.VI. I. Schyl Oysters and seeþ hem in wyne and in hare own broth. cole the broth thurgh a cloth. take almandes blaunched, grynde hem and drawe hem up with the self broth. & alye it wiþ flour of Rys. and do the oysters þerinne, cast in powdour of gyngur, sugur, macys. seeþ it not to stondyng and serue forth.
OYSTRES EN GRAUEY from Ms. 279, found in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books: Harleian Ms. 279 (Ab. 1430), & Harl. Ms. 4016 (Ab. 1450), with Extracts from Ashmole Ms. 1429, Laud Ms. 553, & Douce Ms. 55, edited by Thomas Austin for the Early English Text Society, 1888:
ixl. Take gode Mylke of Almaundys, an drawe it wyth Wyne an gode Fysshe brothe, an sette it on the fyre, and let boyle; and caste ther-to Clowes, Maces, Sugre an powder Gyngere, an a fewe parboylid Oynonys y-mynsyd; than take fayre Oystrys, and parboyle hem in fayre Water, and caste hem ther-to, an lete hem boyle to-gederys; and thanne serue hem forth.
Another version from the same book:
Oystres in grauey. Take almondes, and blanche hem, and grinde hem, and drawe hem thorgh a streynour with wyne, and with goode fressh broth into gode mylke, and sette hit on the fire and lete boyle; and cast thereto Maces, clowes, Sugur, pouder of Ginger, and faire parboyled oynons myced; And then take faire oystres, and parboile hem togidre in faire water; And then caste hem there-to, And lete hem boyle togidre til they ben ynowe; and serue hem forth for gode potage.
OYSTERS IN BREWETE from Thomas Awkbarow’s Recipes in Liber Medicinarium (MS Harley 5401), England, 2nd half of 15th century, found at Thomas Gloning’s website:
72. Recipe ostyrs, & shell þam & seth þam in clene water. Grind peper & saferon, brede & ale, & temper it with þe broth of þe ostyrs þerin, & boyle it & cast in salt, & serof it forth.
OSTYRS IN GRAVY from the same manuscript:
77. Recipe ostyrs, & shell þam & seth þam in wyne or in watur; grind þam & draw þam vp with þe brothe, & alay it with þe flour of ryce, & do þerto þe ostyrs; & cast þerto powdyr of gynger, sugur, maces, quibibs, salt, & seth it to it be standyng & serof.
OYSTERS IN GRAVY from Enseignements qui enseingnent a apareillier toutes manieres de viandes, (France, ca. 1300 – D. Myers, trans.), found at MedievalCookery.com:
Oysters in gravy, first cooked in water and onions, with pepper and saffron and with an aillie of almonds. Oysters again with salt and bread well leavened.
WIE MAN OSTER MACHEN SOLL / HOW ONE SHOULD PREPARE OYSTERS From Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin (Germany, 16th century), found in German at Welserin/Gloning and in English translation at Welserin/Friedman
197 Ostergi wascht saúber sý saúber vnnd thúts aúf, saltzts vnnd pfefferts/ vnnd legts aúf den rost jn den halben schalen, darin jr gefonden habt, vnnd giest pútter daraúff, als jn
der schallen, vnnd last es jn ainer gúten glút pratten/ als ainer ain bar air jset/ alsdan gebts aúf den tisch warm, das der pútter darbeybleibt.
How one should prepare oysters. Wash the oysters very clean and open them, salt and pepper them and lay them on the grill in the half shells in which you have found them. And pour butter on them, that is, in the shells, and let them roast in a good heat as long as one roasts eggs. Then bring them warm to the table, so that the butter remains in them.
HOW OYSTERS ARE COOKED from The Art of Cooking: The First Modern Cookery Book by Maestro Martino de Como, translated by Jeremy Parzen, University of California Press, 2005, p. 102:
Oysters are cooked over hot flaming coals, and when they open they are done, and they can beaten. They should be removed from their shell, fried in a little oil, and topped with some ver-juice and strong spices.
HOW TO COOK OYSTERS from Libre del Coch (Italian, 1529), found at Libre del Coch:
229. Oysters are eaten fried with oil, and your pepper, and saffron, and your spices, and orange juice; and cast into your escabeche with your bay leaves.
And they are eaten roasted with your pepper.
And they are eaten boiled in your water, and oil, and spices gently fried first with your onion and oil in a frying-pan; or the onion gently fried alone in the frying pan; and cast in the pot with vinegar to taste, and some good herbs.
And they can be cooked in a casserole with your water and oil and spices and good herbs with onion gently fried in your frying-pan, and cast within, and your little taste of vinegar.
OYSTER RAGOUT from Le Viandier de Taillevant (French, 15th C), found at Viandier:
79. Scald them, wash them well, and fry them in oil. Take browned bread, puree of peas or some of the water in which the oysters were scalded (or other hot boiled water), and wine (mostly), and sieve. Take cassia, ginger, cloves, grains of paradise and saffron (for colouring), steeped in vinegar. Add onions fried in oil, and boil together. It should be very thick. Some do not boil the oysters.
OYSTERS, from Viandier:
135. Oysters. Cook them in water, fry them in oil with onions, and eat them in Oyster Ragout, or with Spice Powder or Green Garlic Sauce.
The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi (1570): L’arte et prudenza d’un maestro Cuoco (The Art and Craft of a Master Cook) by Terrence Scully (University of Toronto Press, 2011) offers many recipes for oysters. There are recipes for oysters crostata (207), with truffles in a thick soup (214), and grilled, braised or fried – served in their shells or on bread, and with herbs, spices, green sauce, or most commonly with orange juice and pepper (184-189). These recipes are all too complicated or expensive for this particular project, so I am leaving them aside for the mm
OYSTERS IN GRAVE from the Wagstaff Miscellany (Beinecke MS 163, about 1460) found at Wagstaff, copyright © 2013 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com
35. Schelle oystrys in to a pott and swette ther withe put ther to fayre watyre perboyle heme take hem up put hem yn fayre watyre peke heme clene blaunche almondys grynde hem tempyre heme up withe the same brothe draw up a goode mylke do hit in a pott withe onyons and hole spycez and a lytylle poudyre of sygure boyle hit to gedyre & doo the oystres ther to & serve hit forthe & caste ther yne zoure[?] dragge of hole spicys a bovyne & blaunche poudyre.
HUÎTRES / OYSTERS from Le Menagier de Paris, 1393 found at Huitres and my translation:
Les huîtres sont d’abord lavées dans de l’eau chaude puis mises à bouillir afin que leur saveur reste dans le bouillon ; il ne faut pas écumer. Oter ensuite les huîtres et les faire frire, si l’on souhaite ; en mettre une partie dans les écuelles et se servir du reste pour faire un plat.
The oysters are first washed in hot water then put to boil so that their flavour stays in the broth; they should not come to a full boil. Then remove the oysters and fry them if you wish, put some in bowls and use the rest to make a(nother) dish.
Civet d’huîtres from Menagier de Paris and and The Good Wife’s Guide (Le Ménagier de Paris): A Medieval Household Book, translated by Gina L Greco and Christine M. Rose, Cornell University Press, 2012:
130. Ecalez et lavez bien les huîtres, portez-les à ébullition et ôtez-les aussitôt du feu ; égouttez-les et faites-les revenir avec de l’oignon cuit dans l’huile. Prenez du pain grillé ou des croûtons de pain à foison, mettez-les à tremper dans du bouillon de légume ou dans le bouillon d’huîtres, ajoutez du vin et passez. Prenez de la cannelle, du girofle, du poivre long, de la graine de paradis ainsi que du safran pour colorer, broyez et délayez dans du verjus et du vinaigre, puis mettez de côté. Broyez alors votre pain grillé ou vos croûtons avec du bouillon de légumes ou celui des huîtres, ajoutez les huîtres au cas où elles ne seraient pas assez cuites.
130. Oyster Civet. Scalde and wash the oysters well. Cook them just until they reach a boil, then drain and fry with onion cooked in oil. Soak toasted bread or plenty of breadcrumbs in vegetable stock or in the water the oysters were boiled in, add plain wine, and strain. Grind cinnamon, clove, long pepper, grain of paradise, and saffron for color, and moisten with verjuice and set aside. Then grind up toasted bread or breadcrumbs with the vegetable stock or oyster water, and also the oysters, since (if) they will not have been cooked enough.
BAKED OYSTERS ON THE HALF-SHELL from Henry Buttes, Dyets Dry Dinner (1599), found in Big Buttes Book by Michelle Enzinas, Five Rivers Publishing, 2016, p. 403.
Dress it with pepper, oil, the juice of sour Oranges: after it be roasted on the embers.
Michelle recommends baking for 15-20 minutes over hot coals (which give a lovely smoky flavour) or in an oven at 450F. The shells will open and the oyster flesh will be firm. Drizzle the oysters with a dressing made of sour orange juice, olive oil and pepper. Buttes says that the oyster “is unfortunate and unwholesome in all months that have no the letter R in their name, because it is then venerious (given to lechery) (Buttes, p. 402). This is the first reference I have ever seen for something I heard regularly about fish shellfish growing up: it was only good to eat in the months with an R in them (ie September to April). Presumably the hot summer months increased the risk of food poisoning.
Now for a confession – I don’t really like oysters. However, I think I’ll be able to do one of these recipes where they are boiled in their shells and then cooked with onions and spices. Until I get a chance to acquire oysters to try cooking, enjoy this lovely image of an oyster from 1350 Flemish bestiary:
Jacob van Maerlant, Der Naturen Bloeme, Flanders 1350, Den Haag, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KA 16, fol. 108v (you can see all sorts of animals from this bestiary here. Click on the “images” link at the bottom to scroll through.
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