Pease for Passion Day.

This Sunday is, according to the Christian Calendar, the fifth Sunday in Lent, which is called Passion Sunday or Care Sunday, and is the Sunday before Palm Sunday. It is the tradition in the north-eastern parts of Britain to eat a form of grey peas called carlin peas or carlings on this day. They are also traditionally eaten in the same part of the world on the fifth of November, Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night) – which is when I remember eating them as a child.

The reason for the eating of these particular peas on these particular days is obscure. It seems probable that there is no religious significance at all, given there does not seem to be any connection between Passion Sunday and Guy Fawkes and the Gunfire Plot – and the fact that dried peas of one sort or another were basic fare for peasants for centuries, and for all classes in Lent. Several theories as to the tradition invoke the pease as being the cargo of a ship (usually Spanish) wrecked off the north-east coast of Britain and washed ashore at just the right time to save starving inhabitants or it being discovered and planted by curious gardeners. Other theories that I know of involve supplies of the pease saving besieged soldiers, and of it being a leftover of a pagan ritual of some sort -  but there are likely many more ideas out there in history-space.

First, what, exactly, is the carlin pea? It is a type of field pea, grown specifically for drying, as distinct from a garden pea, which is grown to be eaten fresh. Other common local names include Pigeon Peas (because they were and are still commonly grown to feed those birds), Parching Peas, Black Peas, Grey peas, Maple Peas, and Black, Brown, or Grey Badgers. There is considerable confusion as to the exact species of pea indicated by the common names across the centuries, and it is likely that different varieties have been used at different times in different regions.

The dried peas are prepared by soaking overnight and then boiling till soft, after which their preparation can take several directions, depending on regional tradition. They may be dried (parched) again, and eaten as one would eat peanuts, out of a paper bag (which is how I remember them), with salt and/or vinegar, or they may be fried in butter, and sweetened, or not, and have rum added, or not. Sometimes the soft boiled ‘mushy’ peas are mixed with other ingredients and made into patties or pancakes.

The word carlin, or carling itself is extremely interesting. Nineteenth century dictionaries reference a Gy-carling or Gyre-carling, and give various explanations:

An etymological dictionary of the Scottish language (1808) has a lengthy entry on

Gyre-Carling, of which the relevant points to this discussion are that the name may represent

-         The Queen of Fairies, who might carry off any unspun flax remaining on the last day of the year – causing the women of Fife into a fury of spinning before nightfall.

-         “Or may be allied to Geira, the name of one of the Valkyriur or Fates of the Gothic nations … they received their name from … val, slaughter, and kior, lots …

A Glossary of North Country Words, by John and William (1846) gives:

Gy-carling, a sort of mischievous elf; It was formerly a common instruction, on the Borders that on Carling Sunday a person must eat carlings till he was so full that the gy-carling could not get a “grip of his waim”.

The Scottish Dictionary and Supplement (1843) by John Jamieson has:

Carlin, Carling: an old woman …  A contemptuous term for a woman, although not far advanced in life; a witch …. The name given to the last handful of corn which is cut down in the harvest-filed, when it is not shorn before Hallowmass; when the harvest is finished about the ordinary time, it is called the Maiden …

Other sources describe the carlin or gy-carlin as a Hob-goblin, or as Hecate, the mother-witch of the peasants.

The Oxford English Dictionary has surprisingly little on the topic, giving the etymology of ‘carline, carling’ as arising from the Old Norse kerling = woman, especially old woman, and gives its meaning as:

Carline, Carling: A woman, esp. an old one; often implying contempt or disparagement…

There is clearly much more to discover on the history and folklore of carling peas. In the meantime, please enjoy the following recipe:

Pea Fritters or Cakes.

Cook a pint or three cups more peas than you need for dinner. Mash while hot with a wooden spoon, seasoning with pepper, salt, and butter. Put by until morning. Make a batter of two whipped eggs, a cupful of milk, quarter teaspoonful soda, a half teaspoonful cream tartar, and half a cup of flour. Stir the pea-mixture into this, beating very hard, and cook as you would ordinary griddle-cakes.

I can testify, from experience, that they make a delightful morning dish, and hereby return thanks to the unknown friend to whom I am indebted for the receipt.

Common Sense in the Household (New York, 1874) Marion Harland.

St. Patrick’s Day Meals (1938.)

The Los Angeles Times of March 16, 1938 had a short feature with the header ‘Supper Menu Designed for St. Patrick Fete’ which sounded like a perfect topic for today – as indeed it is, if you don’t mind the rather odd fact that a menu for supper is not actually given in the article. The other three standard meals of the day however, are covered.

Supper Menu Designed for St. Patrick Fete.

By Marian Manners.

“It’s a Great Day for the Irish Tonight” tomorrow, so we’re suggesting a St. Patrick’s supper menu with all the trimmings.

BREAKFAST

Chilled Tomato Juice

Bran               Cream

Date Muffins             Coffe

LUNCHEON

Canned Oxtail Sou

Crackers

Mixed Vegetable Salad

Potato Chips              Ripe Olives

Cup Cakes                  Tea

IRISH DINNER

Shamrock Cocktail

Irish Appetizers

Spring Lamb with Fresh Vegetables

Clover Leaf Rolls      Marmalade

St. Patrick’s Salad

Emerald Sherbet with Tea Cakes

Tea      Coffee             Chocolate

Mints              Cigarettes

St. Patrick’s Salad.

Cut two avocados in half, discarding seeds. Peel and slice into half inch strips. Add three tablespoons French dressing and chill two hours. Mix one cup each crushed pineapple and cottage cheese, one tablespoon minced parsley, two tablespoons each minced green peppers and mayonnaise, and one-fourth teaspoon each of salt and paprika. Chill. When ready to serve, arrange portions of avocado and cheese mixture on shredded lettuce and pass additional mayonnaise.

I must admit I was rather disappointed that the article only gave one recipe. The Emerald Sherbet sounds rather good, and would be perfect for the hot humid weather we are having in this part of the world at present. Here is a nice green, cooling, and non-alcoholic beverage instead:

Mint Sherbet.

Add the juice of two lemons to the bruised leaves of a bunch of mint. Cover it and leave to stand for ten minutes. Meanwhile make a syrup of half a pound of sugar and one pint of water. Add half a cupful of orange juice and the lemon juice and mint. When it is cold, strain. A little should be put into each glass and filled up with water.

The Manchester Guardian July 4, 1924.

A St. Patrick’s Day Dinner (1933)

Tomorrow, as no doubt you are excitedly aware, is St. Patrick’s Day – the day when you are allowed, Nay! Encouraged! to proudly state, pretend, imply, or wish that you have Irish heritage, and to colour your perfectly good beer and bread a lurid shade of green to prove the point.

To help you prepare for your day - especially if you want it to have a retro feel - I have some menu suggestions and recipes from one of my favourite sources – the scripts for the long-running Housekeeper’s Chat, a program of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Radio Service. 

Wednesday, March 15, 1933

FOR BROADCAST USE ONLY

Subject: "A St. Patrick's Day Dinner," Information from the Bureau of

Home Economics, U.S.D.A.

All of us who have a little of old Erin in our blood — and all of us who wish we had some — will be celebrating the great day of the Irish Patron saint on Friday. How about carrying out the wear in' of the green on your dinner table and serving a meal with a green color scheme? St. Patrick's Day is a fine time for entertaining, especially for giving a company dinner. Emerald green is a refreshing spring-like color that makes the table very attractive. This color is easy to feature both in the food you serve and in the table decorations. Anyone with clever fingers and a little imagination can make all sorts of attractive favors for the occasion featuring different Irish symbols, such as shamrocks, harps, Irish terriers, potatoes, little pigs, a pipe for Paddy, and even woolly lambs or shepherd’s crooks, since, according to the old legend, St. Patrick was a shepherd. A bowl of green ivy makes a simple and suitable centerpiece for the table. White narcissus and green leaves will carry out a green and white color scheme.

But these are the extras after all. The chief point of interest is the dinner itself. Since St. Patrick's Day falls on Friday, and a Lenten Friday at that, we're serving a fish dinner to our guests. Broiled fish is the first item on the menu. Then, boiled white potatoes served with parsley butter; Green spinach or Broccoli; White Cornbread; Shamrock salad made of green peppers stuffed with white soft cheese; and, for dessert, Lime ice or sliced bananas and pineapple molded in green lime gelatin. Once more: Broiled fish; Potatoes in parsley butter; Spinach or Broccoli; Cornbread; Shamrock salad; and for dessert, Lime ice or white fruit molded in green lime jelly. If you want to make this meal a little more elaborate and festive, you can add such extras as green olives and white celery; little white cakes or white cookies to serve with the dessert; and green and white candies to top off the meal.

Shamrock salad is one of the prettiest salads I know of. Select some medium- sized, perfect green peppers. Wash then. Cut off the stem end from each pepper and scrape out the seeds and extra pulp from the inside. Then fill the cavity with white soft cream cheese or seasoned cottage cheese. Press the cheese in very firmly. Then set the stuffed peppers away in the refrigerator to chill. When chilled through and very firm, get out your long, thin, very sharp dicing knife and cut the peppers in thin slices. Lay these slices on crisp lettuce leaves. Serve this simple salad with mayonnaise. The slices suggest the shamrock design with a green edge and a white center.

Now about the broiled fish. Of all the ways to cook fish, broiling is one of the best and easiest. You can broil over the coals in your wood or coal stove or over an open campfire. If you have a gas range, you'll broil in the oven under the direct flame. If you have an electric stove, you'll broil in the oven under the direct heat. Most oil cooking stoves are equipped with a broiler. Broiling is quick and easy and gives food a delicious flavor.

The markets today offer a wide choice of fish for the housewife to choose from. You can buy fresh fish sold whole. Or you can buy fish fillets — fish that has been cleaned, boned and wrapped in parchment paper before going to market and shipped frozen. You can buy sole, haddock, cod and mackerel wrapped and packaged this way ready for use. Or you can also buy slices of the larger sea fish. But whether you are choosing small fish or fillets or sliced fish like salmon, broiling is a good method to use. You can arrange the fillets skin side down on a greased boiler rack in a baking pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and brush with melted oil before broiling. The same holds for a slice of fish. Broil small fish like smelts without splitting. The head may or may not be removed, as you prefer. Medium-sized fish you split open and lay flat before broiling. Such fish are trout, catfish, croppies, croakers, black bass or even fresh mackerel — all depending on what your market offers. These medium-sized fresh fish are the ones the Menu Specialist suggests for our St. Patrick's Day dinner. And here's exactly how you fix them. Split the fish down the back — or have that done at the market. Wipe it clean, if necessary, and remove any scales as well as the head and tail. Lay the whole fish skin side down on a shallow greased pan. If the fish is oily like mackerel or salmon, you won't need to add fat. Otherwise add enough fat to season well. Now place your fish under the flame in a broiler at moderate heat and cook for twenty to thirty minutes. Slip the broiled fish carefully onto a hot platter. Season with salt and pepper. Pour on the drippings. Garnish with cress or parsley and sliced lemon. Serve at once. If the fish is very large and thick, heat it for from fifteen to twenty minutes in a moderate oven before putting it under the broiler flame. 

Mock Pumpkin Pie.

I am keeping it simple today, folks, on account of severe shortage of time.

Last week, in a post called Protein SupplementPowder, 1904-style, I gave a recipe from the book of the day, for a dessert made from the commercial breakfast cereal called Shredded Wheat. I have a small collection of similar ideas for you today,

Many if not most companies which manufactured breakfast cereals produced small cookery books or pamphlets to promote their products, and many of us love to read or collect them.

Here is my first choice for you today:

Mock Pumpkin Pie

¼ cup boiling water            ⅛ teaspoon ginger

½ cup Grape-Nuts               ¼ teaspoon cloves

 2 cups milk, scalded           ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ cup sugar                          ½ teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons flour              2 eggs, well-beaten

1 baked 9-inch pie shell.

Pour water over Grape-Nuts. Allow to stand 10 minutes, then add milk. Mix sugar, flour, and spices. Add to milk and Grape-Nuts mixture and cook in double boiler until thickened. Pour over eggs, stirring vigorously. Return to double boiler and cook 2-3 minutes longer. Cool. Pour into pie shell. May be served with whipped cream. Makes 1 pie or 12 tarts.

75 Ways To Enjoy A Famous Food [Grape Nuts] (1929)

The wheat-conserving campaigns of the two World Wars were excellent opportunities for cereal companies, as my next two choices demonstrate. Before I give them to you however, I cannot resist passing on to you a rather elegant hint for a very basic breakfast choice from Good Housekeeping magazine (Vol. 69; 1919)

A New Way To Serve Corn Flakes.

Serving corn flakes with a tablespoon is always a slow and difficult task and usually results in many flakes spilled. On our breakfast table we now have a large glass pitcher full of corn flakes and pour them from this into the sauce dishes. The glass pitcher of corn flakes looks very attractive and reduces to a minimum the serving problem.

Cornflake Cookies.

[A wartime wheat-substituting recipe]

2 eggs; 1 cup sugar; 4 cups corn flakes; 1 cup nut meats; ¼ teaspoon salt; flavor with nutmeg. Drop from end of a teaspoon on baking sheet; bake in a quick oven.

Attica Daily Ledger (Indiana), April 20, 1918.

Cornflake Fancies.

Beat 2 egg whites until stiff, and add gradually ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup corn syrup and ⅓ teaspoon salt. Fold in 2 cups cornflakes and ½ cup shredded cocoanut. Drop mixture from tip of teaspoon on well-greased tin sheet 1 inch apart, and spread in circular shape with a fork dipped in cold water. Bake in moderate oven until delicately brown, and remove from pan while warm.

Choice War Time Recipes (Chestnut Hill, Mass., 1918),

compiled by Mrs. Frank Farnham

And a final few to inspire you to search your pantry for cereal packed dregs.

Cornflake Macaroons.

2 egg whites

1 cup sugar

½ Teaspoon vanilla

½ Cup Cocoanut

2 cups Cornflakes

⅛ [Teaspoon] Salt.

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the sugar gradually, then add the vanilla, cocoanut, and cornflakes. Drop by spoonfuls on a buttered pan, and bake in a moderate oven until the macaroons are a delicate brown.

Philadelphia Tribune, 28 April 1938

Britain came late to the concept of packaged prepared breakfast cereals: here is an early recipe for the ‘new’ American invention:

American Apples.

Line a pie dish with chopped apples and sprinkle with raisins. Flavour with spice or cinnamon to taste. Cover with a layer of cornflakes. Repeat until the dish is full, then pour over some warm water in which honey has been melted. Bake until the apples are tender.

The Times (London, England) 11 September, 1939

Article on ‘Some Economical Dishes.’

A Marriage-feast in Georgia in 1671.

Jean Chardin (Sir John Chardin) was a Huguenot jeweler who moved to England in 1681 to escape the ongoing religious persecution of Protestants in France. During the 1660’s and 1670’s he travelled extensively in Asia, and the first volumes of the narrative of his travels were published in both French and English in 1686.

In 1671 Chardin visited Mingrelia in western Georgia. His account of a marriage feast in that country was repeated over the next several centuries in many books and journals for the general reader. The following comes from Instructive and Entertaining Lessons for Youth (1835) by Noah Webster.

DESCRIPTION OF A MARRIAGE-FEAST AT GEORGIA, IN ASIA,

FROM CHARDIN'S TRAVELS.

1.The nuptial feast was celebrated upon a terrace of the palace, surrounded with estrades, which are beds of state, about six feet in depth, and elevated about two feet above the floor. The terrace was covered with a large pavilion, fixed upon five pillars, twenty feet high. The lining was of cloth of gold and silver, velvet and painted cloth, so neatly and artificially intermixed, that by the light of the tapers, it appeared like a wainscot of flowers and moresco work.

2.In the midst of this room of state, stood a jet, or fountain of water. The floor was covered with handsome carpets, and forty branches of lights illuminated the room. The four branches which hung nearest the prince, were of gold; the rest were of silver. Each branch supported a bowl of pure tallow, which supplied two matches, which gave a great light.

3.The guests were seated on the estrades. The prince in the center had an estrade somewhat higher than the others, and covered with a canopy. His sons and brothers were on his right hand; the bishops on his left, and the bridegroom was seated between them. The music stood at the lower end.

4.Soon after the guests were seated, the bridegroom was introduced by the patriarch, and was saluted first by the prince's relations, and afterwards by other guests, who successively paid him their compliments. Then some presents were made, consisting of gold, silver, and small cups.

5. After this ceremony, the guests took their seats and were served with supper. Before each one was spread a table-cloth, as large as the estrades; then bread was served of three kinds: one as thin as a wafer; another of the thickness of the finger; and the third was sweetened with sugar.

6.The meat was served in large covered silver dishes, each weighing, with the cover, four or five hundred ounces. These dishes were set upon a table at the entrance of the room; then certain attendants placed them before the carvers, who sent pieces of the meat to each guest in plates, beginning first with the princes.

7. The feast consisted of three courses, each containing sixty of the large dishes. The first course consisted of boiled rice, and meat of three different colors. The yellow, was boiled with sugar, cinnamon and saffron,—the red, with the juice of pomegranates,—but the white, or natural color, was the best.

8.The second course consisted of meats baked, stewed and fricasseed; with a variety of ragouts. The third course consisted of roasted meats. To all which were added, fish, eggs and sallads, for the ecclesiastics. The feast was conducted without the least noise, and with perfect order; every attendant performing his duty without uttering a word.

9.The cupboard contained a hundred and twenty drinking vessels, consisting of bowls, cups, horns, flagons and jugs. Some were of polished gold, others of enameled gold, others of silver, or set with precious stones. The horns were those of the rhinoceros or of deer, elegantly formed and embellished. After the third course, eight bowls were filled, and presented to the four persons nearest to the prince, four on each side. They rose when they drank,— those on the right hand first drank a health, being pledged by those on the left, - then the others on the left, - then the same eight bowls were filled for the next eight guests, and in their order the whole company was served.

The recipe for the day, inspired by the story of the wedding feast, comes from an English publication, The Magazine of Domestic Economy (London, 1837,) and purports to be from Turkey. I have chosen it as it specifically mentions rice (pilau) coloured three different ways.

Constantinople Pilau.

According to the quality and number of the guests take either mutton, fowls, or pigeons; boil them till rather more than half done, then put the meat and broth into a basin. Having washed the pot, melt some butter in it, and when very hot, having cut up the half-cooked meat into bits, the fowls into four, and the pigeons in half, throw them into the butter and fry till of a light brown. The necessary quantity of rice being well washed, is then to be placed over the meat in the pot, and the broth to be poured over the rice till it is covered to a full finger's depth; then cover the pot, and keep a clear fire under it, and, from time to time, take out some grains of rice to ascertain if it softens sufficiently or requires more broth; the rice must remain whole though thoroughly done, as well as the pepper which is used for seasoning. As soon as the rice is done, cover the top of the pot with a cloth five or six times folded, and the cover above it; and in a little time melt some more butter and pour it into holes made for the purpose, with the handle of the spoon; cover it quickly again, and let it simmer till served. It is served in large dishes, with the meat nicely arranged at the top. One may be white of its natural colour, another tinted yellow with saffron, and a third red with pomegranate juice.

Though the meat is fat enough for our stomachs, the Turks add as much as three pounds of butter to six of rice, which makes the pilau disagree with those unaccustomed to it.

Some persons prefer rice simply cooked with salt and water: it is served in many ways among the grandees of the Porte; and instead of meat, an herb, omelette, or nicely poached eggs are placed on the rice: in this manner, it can disagree with none.

Another of Chardin’s tales appeared in a previous post here.

Advice to Confectioners (1830)

It would appear from the advice in Gunter's Confectioner's Oracle, containing receipts for desserts ... with an appendix, containing the best receipts for pastry-cooks ... being a companion to Dr. Kitchener's Cook's Oracle (London, 1830) that a classical education (including significant skill in Latin) was assumed. I give you the introductory chapter:-

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE ART.

MY first and most strenuous precept is, that you be at all times cleanly, for otherwise you will be fit only to fabricate the wretched trumpery that is hawked about the streets, in lieu of preparing dainties for the tables of Princes, Nobles, and persons of fortune.

My next piece of advice is, that you cultivate an agreeable temper, which will very materially influence the propriety of your decisions, and will ward off the prevalence and ill consequences of accident. Silly, weak people, have a sort of veneration for that which chance occurrences may produce, particularly if they have had the good luck Once or twice to find their remissness or negligence turn to good account: - but you may rest assured that in the end, they are always unfortunate.

In addition,—you must have a quick eye, a delicate tongue, (both for tasting and for speaking)—a facility of manoeuvring your hands, – an extreme patience,—a sustained vigilance, —and, above all, a thorough love for, and devotedness to, your profession.

Enthusiasm is only made a mockery of among those who are remarkable for unambitious mediocrity: it is the surest test of latent excellence in a young mind,—and therefore, never attempt to conceal or subdue the feelings which attach you to a laudable pursuit: on the contrary, give all your better energies an unreserved exercise: remember—

Paulum sepultae distat inertiae celata virtus

[Little separates hidden worth from buried indolence].

Although you may have been tolerably educated, I think it more than probable that you are unacquainted with the history of your art, and as patience is one of your chief characteristics, (if you are good for any thing) you will read attentively what I am now about to write,—by which means, you will, I expect, find all that I shall recount to you.

Notwithstanding the numerous festivities celebrated in the Iliad and Odyssey, yet I do not recollect a single instance wherein any word may be distinctly applied to cates or beverages, of whose components we can form a just conception—This, I think, is easily to be accounted for: an epic poet can only make allusions: if he descends to the mere mechanism of art or science, he becomes a driveller at Once.

This exemption from detail does not however apply to the historian, and therefore I cannot do less than exceedingly blame Herodotus, who, makes no mention of them, notwithstanding the many opportunities he possessed of expatiating learnedly on the nature of confections. Were it not for the note of one Joachim Camerarius, which I have read in a rare edition printed at Milan in 1703, I should have been no wiser, after going through his ten thousand pages than before.

By this I learn that one of the Ptolemies having conveyed his bevy of beauty up the Nile, as far as the island of Elephantina, entertained them and the Nobles of his household with a collation served in double vessels lined with ice, brought from the hills of Wady Halfa.

This is something to have gleaned; and then also we have an undeniable testimony in the charming ‘Libanius’ (where he describes an ancient festival) of the existence of Pâtés d'office, Spongati, iced-fruit waters, and even fruits moulded in ice!

Aristotle is too vague for any determinate inference as to the components of a Macedonian dessert, but in Alfarabius, his apologist, we have ample amends: he treats very interestingly of syrups; these were a substitute for the after-invention of Jellies.

Ovid, (not being an epic poet, he was permitted to be discursive) in various portions of his Metamorphoses, makes it extremely evident that either candy or some material extremely analogous to it, was known in his time. Both biscuits (a few varieties only) compotes, and preserved fruits, were known to Suetonius, as we may gather from his description of the petits soupers of Augustus. “Sparsit et missilia variarum rerum et panaria cum opsonio viritim divisit,”[ He also threw about gifts of various kinds, and gave each man a basket of victuals] says he in speaking of Caligula,—by which I am not inclined to understand bread and victuals, but confectionery, - that is, Spanish bread.

From the writers during the reigns of the later Emperors, we can gain neither facts nor valuable opinions: as to confectionery, it is (I am sorry to say) never once alluded to; a circumstance, it will be allowed, that argues a considerable absence of taste.

It was reserved for Goldoni and Bocaccio in a still less remote century to yield us a delightful meed of information: then, the maraschino ice-cream, four varieties of jellies and apricot-marmalade were favourite confections with the beauties and the beaux of Venice and Milan. The French historian, De Thou, or Thuanus, informs us that it was a Count Albufage Caramel of Nismes, who discovered precisely the 7th stage of boiling sugar, termed after him a caramel.

It was not until the time of Louis XIV that our art approached to perfection. That munificent and luxurious Prince encouraged all experiments in it, and rewarded the inventors of marmalade, jujube and orgeat pastes, — spongati,- dents de loups biscuits, —several very delicate liqueurs, especially that à la vanille, –gimblettes, orangeade, —Flemish wafers, - rose whipt cream,- and the family of prawlings.

Comfits were at about the same period invented in Italy, and during the reign of Louis XV the first grand Pièce montée, consisting of a rocher, moulin, cathedral, waterfall and boats was introduced at Versailles during the Fête de Saint Louis: portions of which were set in motion by concealed machinery, to the astonishment and delight of the guests and spectators.

We have now followed up all the records of our art to the dynasty of Louis XV., since which very considerable improvements have taken place in the fabrication of Jellies and in Caramel Work, and indeed in every other department, so that it is probable henceforth the advances will be slow and not very material.

You should therefore study the art, with a view to come up to the excellence of your contemporaries, than to invent; in which last attempt you may injure your health, and render your character ambiguous;—and instead of being a respectable and thriving professor in Regent Street, Bond Street, St. James's Street, or Berkeley Square, - you may end your days in a prison, after having pined away for years, with scarcely the means of keeping soul and body together.

The book contained an appendix which gave information on the essential ingredients used by confectioners. Two phrases stood out here for me, because they say much about the range of varieties of fruit commonly available then, and now. How many of you who are avid dessert-makers would agree that of

Apples … there are about forty-five varieties in use, eighteen of which are for deserts [sic].

Pears … there are forty-one varieties; seventeen of which are for dessert?

Naturally today’s recipe comes from the book. I doubt you will have eighteen varieties of apples from which to choose, if you want to make these fine-sounding biscuits.

Apple Biscuits.

Add to 2lbs. apple pulp 2 ¾ lbs. pulverized sugar, 3 whole eggs, and a portion of essence of clove; stir all well together in a pan, over a moderate fire, adding 3 ¼ lbs. flour, and ½ lb. starch in powder, when the mixture is hot; lay it out with the large screw funnel, ice the biscuits, and bake them.

Medieval Cheesemongers and Talgar Cheese.

I have a story today especially for those of you who love cheese. It comes from Memorials of London and London Life, in the XIIIth, XIVth, and XVth Centuries (London, 1868) and details new regulations proposed by the cheesemongers of London in the fourteenth century to protect their trade.

Ordinances of the Cheesemongers.

Be it remembered, that on the Eve of Corpus Christi in the 51st year of [the reign of] King Edward the Third [i.e. 1377] etc., the reputable men of the trade of Chesemongeres presented in the Chamber of the Guildhall of London, before Nicholas Brembre, Mayor, the Aldermen, and the Commoners, in full Common Council, the Articles underwritten: which Articles were then accepted and approved by the same. –


" To the honourable Lords, the Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen of London, pray the Chesemongeres of London, that whereas our said Lord the Mayor has told them heretofore to devise and ordain how that the price of cheese and of butter may be amended, the said chesemongeres therefore, by their common assent, have well considered how that the said price maybe well amended; if our said Lord the Mayor, and his good Council, will put their hand to, confirm, and enrol, the points underwritten. —

"First, — that foreigners who come to the City with cheese and butter for sale, in carts and upon horses, shall be charged to bring their wares into the market of the Ledenhalle, or the market between St. Nicholas Shambles and Neugate, and nowhere else, before Noon rung at such place where the purchase shall be made: and shall be charged that they shall not put away in "houses or in rooms, privily or openly, either after Noon rung or before, any cheese or butter, on pain of forfeiting the same that shall be so put away.

"Also,—whereas those who carry or bring cheese or butter to the City by water, do sell it in secret to hokesters and to others, against the ancient usage, whereas they were wont heretofore to bring it to, and sell it in, the same markets; they do pray that from henceforth all such dealers shall be charged to bring such cheese or butter to the markets aforesaid, and there sell the same; on pain of forfeiting the thing so sold; and also, on pain of imprisonment, and of making fine at the will and ordinance of our said Lord the Mayor.

"Also,- divers bersters [hucksters] of cheese, from Hamme, Hakeney, and the suburbs of London, are wont to go to divers markets, and to buy up and forestal such wares, which ought to come to the hands of the working-men in London; and such bersters then bring the same into London, and go about through divers streets in the said city, and sell it, to the great damage of the commonalty; saying and affirming that it is the produce of their own cattle, and of their own making ; they do pray therefore that from henceforth such forestallers, regrators, and bersters, and all other vendors of cheese or of butter, foreigners or freemen, shall be charged to sell the same at one of the said markets, on the pain aforesaid.

"Also,- whereas strangers do come and bring to the City cheese of Wales, called -' talgar,' and house the same in Fletstrete and in Holbourne, and other places, as well within the City as without, and there sell it in secret, against the ancient custom, in manner aforesaid; and also, whereas two or three persons from Wales have their serving-men lying in wait in the City all the year through, and when any one from Wales brings talgar cheese to the City for sale, such men go and make false suggestions to the dealers in such cheese, and through such subtlety regrate [request] the cheese in private, and then sell it by retail to the commoners, without it coming to such market,—that they may be charged to bring their wares to the said markets, in form and on the pain aforesaid.

"Also,- whereas the hokesters and others who sell such wares by retail, do come and regrate such cheese and butter before Prime rung, and before that the commonalty has been served; may it be ordained that no such hokesters shall buy of any foreigner before the hour of Prime, on pain of imprisonment at the will of the Mayor, and of the wares being forfeited to the prisoners of Neugate, or in such other manner as shall seem proper to our "said Lord the Mayor to be done.

"Also,- that the good folks of the said trade shall be charged every year, at the Feast of St. Michael, to choose two of the most able men to oversee as to the points aforesaid, that they are well kept and observed in manner before stated. And that the persons so chosen shall have power to seize such manner of merchandize, so forfeitable, and to present the same before the Mayor; in amendment of the price aforesaid, to the great profit of the commonalty in time to come.

"Also,- that each one of the said overseers shall make due execution of his office, without laxity, or doing wrong to any one; and that no one of them shall forestal any thing to his own private profit, against the common profit and the Ordinances aforesaid; on pain of paying 100s. to the use of the Commonalty, on the first default found against him; on the second default, 10l.; on the third default, 20 marks; and that, without any remission of the same: and that he who shall make prayer for such person found in default, shall pay to the use of the Commonalty 2os., without any remission thereof, as above stated.

Afterwards, on the 17th day of June in the 51st year etc., William Sparke and Robert Whyte were here sworn well and trustily to oversee the Articles above-written, and here to present the defaults, if any such they should find.

The most interesting thing for me in this application is the mention of the Welsh cheese called talgar. It is interesting as it is a very early mention of a specific cheese by name. And it is even more interesting on account of the mystery of its popularity far away in London. It must have been very desirable indeed: the black market for the cheese was presumably lucrative, else why would the cheesemongers of that city feel it necessary to attempt legal control of its sale?

Sadly, I have been unable to find out anything about talgar, other than its name is said to suggest it originated in the market town of Talgarth, in Brecknockshire in Wales. It must now, I suppose, be counted as a ‘lost’ cheese – although I do hope someone with local knowledge will be able to reassure us that some artisan producer in the region has taken up its manufacture again.

As the recipe for the day, I need no excuse to give you another version of Welsh Rabbit – one of my favourite and recurring topics as regular readers will know. This recipe is however referred to as a‘rarebit,’ which we all know is quite incorrect. It is also made with canned asparagus, which is really stretching the concept a little too far for me, but does lend a little to the asparagus menu story earlier in the week.

Asparagus Rarebit.

(A Meat Substitute)

Melt l tablespoon butter; add 1 tablespoon flour and mix well. Place in a double boiler, then add ½ cup milk and cook until thick, constantly stirring; add 1 cup grated cheese, 1 tablespoon tomato catsup, ½ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Stir until cheese has melted, then add 2 cups California Canned Asparagus cut into short lengths and thoroughly heated. Serve on triangles of fresh buttered toast.

Asparagus for delicacy and variety : a collection of recipe and menu suggestions for the service of California canned asparagus (undated, but probably mid-1920’s,) prepared by Belle De Graf)

The Bill of Fare for a Wedding in 1526.

I have a treat for you today. It is the bill of fare for the marriage of the daughter of Sir John Nevill in 1526. I came across it (as commonly happens) while searching for something entirely different in Exerpta Antiqua: Or, a Collection of Original Manuscripts, prepared by John Croft of the Society of Antiquities in 1796.

Sir John Nevill, of Chevit, Knight.

The marriage of my Son-in-Law, Roger Rockley, and my Daughter, Elizabeth Nevill, the 14^th day of January, in the 17^th year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King Henry the VIII^th, 1526.

For the FIRST COURSE at DINNER.

First, Brawn with Mustard served alone with Malmsey.

Item, Frumenty to Pottage.

Item, a Roe roasted for Standart.

Item, Peacocks, two of a Dish.

Item, Swans, two of a Dish.

Item, a great Pike on a Dish.

Item, Conies roasted four of a Dish [rabbits].

Item, Venison roasted.

Item, Capon Grease, three of a Dish [fat capons].

Item, Mallards, four of a Dish.

Item, Teals, seven of a Dish.

Item, Pies baken with Rabbits in them.

Item, baken Orange.

Item, a Flampett.

Item, Stoke Fritters [baked on a hot iron, or stoker].

Item, Dulcetts, ten of a Dish [sweetmeats].

Item, a Tart.

SECOND COURSE.

First, Marterns to a Pottage.

Item, for a Standart Cranes, two of a Dish.

Item, Young Lamb whole roasted.

Item, great fresh Sammon Gollis [jowls].

Item, Heron Sewes, three of a Dish.

Item, Bytters, three of a Dish [bitterns].

Item, Pheasants, four of a Dish.

Item, a great Sturgeon Goil [jowl].

Item, Partridges, eight of a Dish.

Item, Stints, eight of a Dish [a type of sandpiper].

Item, Plovers, eight of a Dish.

Item, Curlews, three of a Dish.

Item, a whole Roe baken.

Item, Venison baken red and fallow.

Item, a Tart.

Item, a Marchpane.

Item, Gingerbread.

Item, Apples and Cheese strewed with Sugar and Sage.

The total price of the provisions came to ₤46.5.8 – a stupendous sum at the time.

Now, the item on this bill of fare that I find most intriguing is the final one on the list –Apples and Cheese strewed with Sugar and Sage. Sugar at this time would have been used sparingly, in the manner of a spice, not a heavy sweetening agent. That apples and cheese are natural partners is, I am sure, not in any doubt. There is also an English specialty called Sage Cheese. My search for a dish which features the pairing of apples and sage came up with a left-field entry which is entirely off-topic, but is nonetheless interesting enough to include.

From the Saturday Magazine (Vol. 16), of 1840:-

In the Levant, large galls were seen by Tournefort, growing on the sage, which were caused by the punctures of insects; these galls are firm, fleshy, semi-transparent tumours, swelling out from the branches of the plant, and supposed to be produced in the same manner as oak apples, by the puncture of an insect of the Cynips genus. They form an article of ordinary sale in the markets, and are called sage-apples. When preserved with sugar, these apples are regarded as a great delicacy. Dr. Clarke was regaled with them by the English consul, at the island of Syros, and speaks highly of their excellent flavour. The plant which is subject to these excrescences is much larger than the common sage, and has a more powerful smell. It grows abundantly in several of the Greek islands, and attains the size of a small shrub.

As the dish of the day, inspired by the sixteenth century wedding feast, may I give you a nineteenth century recipe for a wedding-worthy roast goose or duck?

Goose and Duck Stuffing.

Boil a few sage leaves with a couple of onions, chop them fine, with a breakfast cupful of stale bread crumbs, and a bit of apple. Season with pepper and salt, and mix the whole with the yolk of an egg and a little butter.

English Cookery, containing practical directions for dressing

Family Dinners, etc (London, 1843)