Blanche Bruet

A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)

To mak blanche Bruet tak hennes and pork half rostid then chop them in peces and put them in a pot do ther to almond mylk and alay it up with flour of ryse or with whet floure and put ther to brothe or wyne hole clowes maces and sesson it with venygar pouder and sugur that is strawed with alkened and serue it.

Du fait de cuisine

1. And for this, to give you to understand the potage called white bruet as it ought to be made, one should take one's fair capons, and clean well the meat which one should put in the dish - whether it be pork, kid or veal, or whatever meat is appropriate to it - and set it to cook well and cleanly in large cauldrons according to what one wants to make; and parboil a little lean pork in it which was first well washed and cleaned; and according to the quantity of the said potage which you would like to make, take a great quantity of almonds, and let them be blanched, washed, and well brayed, and in braying take some of the broth of the said capon to moisten them, and, when your capons are cooked and the meat that is with them, put the capons in one place and the meat in another and, according to the quantity of the said meat, take your broth and strain it into a fair and clean small cask or cornue in which it can fit; and then take good white wine and verjuice and put it in according to the quantity of broth which you have, and take white ginger and grains of paradise according to the quantity of broth, and let your almonds be strained through the strainer; and according to the quantity of the said broth, take the container - that is, fair and clean cauldron or pot - for boiling it, and, according to the quantity of the broth, put sugar to boil in it; and take heed that it is not too much or too little salted; and then afterward take your meat and arrange it in your serving dishes, and your broth on top.

Du fait de cuisine

23. And first, for your white bruet take almonds according to the quantity of the potage which you are told to make, and have them blanched and cleaned and brayed cleanly, and moisten them with the purée of white peas; and when they are well brayed draw them up with the said broth of peas and put it in according to the quantity of the said almonds; and put in good white wine and verjuice and white ginger and grains of paradise, and everything in measure, and salt, and check that you have not put in too much of anything; and put sugar in according to the quantity of the broth; and then take a fair, large, clear and clean pot and put to boil. And when this is at the sideboard put your fried fish on fair serving dishes and then throw the said bruet on top; and on the potages which you make from almonds from here on, when it is to be dressed do not forget the sugar-spice pellets [dragiees] which should be scattered on top.

And when you have ordered to be made your potages according to the quantity of the said potages, take your quantities of fish, both marine and fresh water, and order them to be fried by your diligent assistants; and let them fry them well and properly while the potages are being made.

Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany

Blaunch Bruet. Take hennys or porke rostd & chopyd do hit yn a pott do almonde mylke ther to aley hit up with floure of rye do ther yn a lytyll broth & a quantyte of wyne clovys & macys & sesyn hit up with venyger & pouderes & a lytyll sygure strenyned with alekenet.