Some Mediaeval Recipes
Two of the most common are shown below
The old custom of wassailing the trees, this was thought to make them bear more fruit and used to be practiced mainly by the farming people of the west country.
For some the ceremony was performed on Christmas Eve, for others the twelth night was chosen.
The ritual is so old that its origin is lost, although the word ‘WASSAIL’ comes from old Norse "ves heil", meaning ‘Be in health', to wassail is to drink a toast..
3 small apples
3oz soft brown sugar
2 pints of brown ale
½ pint dry sherry or dry white wine
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
¼ tsp ground ginger
Cut through the skin round the center of the apples and put them in a 3 pint flame proof bowl. Add the brown sugar and 4 teaspoons of the ale. Cover the bowl and bake in a pre-heated oven for 20-30 mins. until the apples are tender.
Remove the apples from the bowl and put on one side.
Put the rest of the ale and the sherry or wine into the bowl, add the spices and simmer on top of the stove for 5 minutes, then add the apples and serve at once.
ettle Broth
The Cornish peasant could rarely have suffered from poor circulation, spotty skin or warts; the marigold petals sprinkled over his daily kettle broth were believed to keep away such ills.
This simple pottage was prepared in a kettle or cauldron, and it’s ingredients varied according to the prosperity of the times. In the leanest days it consisted merely of the finely chopped green leaves from the tops of leeks; these were seasoned and left to stand in boiling water for a few minutes with slices of stale bread spread with bacon fat. When times were better, whole leeks and good stock were used but the marigold petals were always sprinkled on top.
1 ½ oz dripping or bacon fat
2 peeled and chopped onions
8oz leeks, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 ½ oz white bread with crusts removed
2 pints of chicken stock
Salt
Ground black pepper
Approx. ½ pint of milk
4 marigolds heads (optional)
Melt the fat or dripping, then add the onions and leeks and cook on a low heat until they are soft and transparent. Add the bread and stock and bring to the boil. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 30 mins.
If you like you could pass through a sieve or blender. Return to the pan, and add enough milk to give the consistency of thin cream. Serve very hot with a garnish of marigold petals floating in each bowl.
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