Medieval Ingredients
from http://www.celtnet.org.uk/

Foreign Imports

Rice, Sugar, Almonds, and Saffron - introduced between 10th & 13th century

Trends in medieval cookery mark the beginning of early modern European cuisine in many ways. Between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, many foreign ingredients such as rice, sugar, almonds, and saffron were introduced into Western European cuisine on a large scale, as evidenced by their frequent occurrence in Medieval recipes. Early cookbooks reflect what has been referred to as the haute cuisine of the Middle Ages, relying heavily on foodstuffs that were not native to mainland Europe. The ingredients were often highly esteemed for their medicinal qualities, as well as flavor, color, and texture. Ingredients such as almonds, saffron,and sugar occur with great frequency in medieval recipes. According to Melitta Weiss Adamson, one quarter of medieval recipes called for almonds, and one-third called for saffron.

Early imports of rice came from North Africa to Spain and Sicily in the early Middle Ages, and by the thirteenth century it was being traded as a luxury foodstuff in Europe. Originating in Asia and the Middle East, these imported goods were costly contributing to their status as luxury foodstuffs in Medieval Europe. By the fifteenth and especially sixteenth centuries however, many of these once exotic goods were now being cultivated in Europe, thus becoming more widely available to the European plate.

Ingredients such as rice that were once considered part of the haute cuisine of the Middle Ages, became the staple foodstuffs that were grown and traded on a largescale in Europe by the fifteen and sixteenth centuries. By the fifteenth century, rice was being grown in mainland Europe on a large scale, playing a key role in the late medieval cookbook.

Sugar was of course the epitome of a luxury foodstuff during the Middle Ages. Sugar was first cultivated in Asia, and there is no mention of its use in the Apicius manuscripts. It was imported in cones, and white, refined sugar was especially sought after. For the medieval consumer, sugar had to be purchased at the apothecary, and was classified as a spice which was particularly beneficial for the sick. Sugar refineries existed in Venice by 1450, according to Noel Deer‘s History of Sugar, however, according to Adamson, it was sugar that was imported from Cyprus that was still the most prized.

For Medieval recipes the following native ingredients were commonly used.

Herbs

Clary - Clary is the plant Silvia sclarea, also known as Clary Sage, clear eye, eyebright, clarywort, and musoatel sage. This herb is a biennial and relatively easy to grow if you want an authentic taste. However, just about any fresh sage leaves can be substituted. This was used commonly in Elizabethan cooking as it cuts the grease of fatty meats and fish.

Ysope - plural form of ysop, hyssop. Hyssop is a herbaceous plant of the genus Hyssopus native to Southern Europe, the Middle East, and the region surrounding the Caspian Sea. Due to its properties as an antiseptic, cough reliever, and expectorant, it is commonly used as an aromatic herb and medicinal plant. The leaves have a lightly bitter taste due to its tannins, and an intense minty aroma. Due to its intensity, it is used moderately in cooking. The herb is also used to flavor liqueur, and is part of the official formulation of Chartreuse.

Roots

Galingale - Galingale is the plant Cyperus longus, also known as Sweet Galingale is a member of the sedge family. The roots are edible and highly-aromatic. These formed the main constituent of galyntyne, a pungent sauce. Though it will only give a hint of the true flavour 4:1 mix of galangal and ginger can be substituted. Alternatively it may be bought from oriental supermarkets where it is sold as 'galingas'.

Zeodary Root - Zeodary Root, also known as djedwar, zedoar, zeduale, citoval, setwall, cetewale and citouart. It is derived from the dried roots of either Curcuma zedoaria or Curcuma zerumbet and is related to turmeric. Its smell is similar to a cross between turmeric and mango. As a result it has been used in cordials and wines as well as being a culinary ingredient.

Spices

Cubeb - Cubeb is fruit of the plant Piper cubeba, also known as Cubeb Pepper. A native of Java, it is related to cardamom and has a similar flavour to allspice. This spice can be obtained from many specialist spice stores.

Saffron - Saffron is a common Medieval spice, and represents one of the few spices that seems as expensive to us as it did half a millennium ago. To gain the most from this spice grind the spice in a small quantity of water and add the resulting mixture to your dish.

Spice Mixes

Powder Fort - Powder Fort is the Medieval 'strong' spice mix and can be generated by mixing a tablespoon each of cloves, mace, cubeb pepper, grains of paradise along with 4 teaspoons of ground ginger and 4 tbsp cinnamon and 3 tbsp black pepper. Grind in a pestle and mortar and store in an air-tight jar. Recipe for Powder Fort

Powder Douce - Powder Douce is the Medieval 'sweet' spice mix and can be generated by mixing a tablespoon each of aniseed, fennel seeds, and ground hyssop along with 4 teaspoons of sugar. Grind in a pestle and mortar and store in an air-tight jar. Recipe for Powder Douce

Blanche Powder - Blanche Powder is the Medieval spice used in both sweet and savory dishes. It is a simple mixture of equal quantities of ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix in a pestle and mortar and store in an air-tight jar.

Plants Used to Color Foods

Saunders - Saunders, also known as Sandalwood is the plant Santalum album, and is a tree, originally native to India. During the Middle Ages the wood of this tree was pulverized to produce a compound that would colour their food a dark red. Again, sweet paprika can be used as an alternative. Before tomatoes and red bell peppers were introduced in the European kitchens, it was difficult to give your dishes a red colour, so red sandalwood was used especially.

Alkanet - Alkanet is the plant Alkanna tinctoria, also known as Anchusa, Dyer's Bugloss, Spanish Bugloss and Orchanet. The roots of the plant, which were generally boiled in spirit of vinegar to extract the deep red colour, were used in Medieval times. Or the roots were added directly to oily stews. This plant was primarily used for its colourant properties and sweet paprika could be used instead.

Cooking Ingredients

Almond Milk - Almond Milk is a common Medieval thickening agent It is a cloudy liquid prepared by steeping ground almonds in water, broth, or wine. Almond milk acted as the liquid base and/or thickening agent in a wide variety of medieval and Elizabethan dessert dishes. Recipe for Almond Milk

Amydoun - A common Medieval ingredient, Amydoun is simply white flour soaked in water, allowed to settle then drained and dried. This eliminates any husks and other materials that might be left over in the flour. It is used to thicken sauces and broths. Recipe for Amydoun

Verjuice - Verjuice is the acidic juice pressed from unripe fruit, primarily grapes, but also other sour fruit such as green apples, crab apples, cooking apples and even plums. The name derives from the Old French 'vertjus' meaning 'green juice' and was common in Medieval and Elizabethan cookery. These days verjuice can be bought commercially, but one part cider vinegar, one part water with a dash of lemon and lime juice also makes an acceptable substitute.

Vegetables

Beans - Most of the beans we know today were unknown in the Mediterranean before the return of Columbus from his second voyage to the New World in 1493. This includes our dry, field varieties, such as Navy or Pea Bean, Red Kidney, Pinto, Great Northern, Marrow, and Yellow Eye. It also includes all our edible-podded garden beans called stringless or snap beans and formerly called string beans.

Many recipes of the Middle Ages refer to a bean that needs to be hulled. Apart from chickpeas and lentils the only other commonly-available bean in the Middle ages was the broad (or fava) bean and when the recipes name beans they seem to refer to this.

In medieval Europe both green and dry fava beans were eaten, mainly by the poor and by monks. Beans were a popular Lenten fare, and in times of famine bean meal was used in bread making. Most European upper-class cookbooks of the late Middle Ages contain few if any bean recipes.

Black-eyed peas was the only bean type leguminous plant native to the Old World. It was already grown in Italy by the Romans and called Phasiolum. This pea, which is somewhat smaller than the seeds of the American variety of beans, is now practically totally forgotten in Europe. It is still cultivated in parts of Italy, Spain ... and the United States.

Coleworts - this was a general name for any sort of brassica, which weren't as differentiated as they are now; cole is Old English, from Latin caulis, cabbage, the origin of our modern kale; wort was a general name for a useful plant.

Gourd - Many Medieval recipes refer to an ingredient that is variously translated as 'Gourd' or 'pumpkin'. As many squashes originated in the New World, the only authentic ingredinet would seem to be a green Chinese squash. However, green butternut squash is more common these days and makes an acceptable alternative.

Peas - Peas eaten in the Middle Ages must have been what we call field peas with seeds that dry to gray or brown. The 'garden pea' was not developed until the 16th century.

Wortes - general name for greens, such as cabbage, lettuce, spinach

Fruits

Citrus (Citrus species): oranges (specifically the 'bitter' or 'sour' orange), lemons and citrons were imported from Spain and the Middle East. They were used extensively as flavorings (in meats as well as sweets), but generally not eaten on their own. In the 16th century, 'suckets' of candied orange peels, made by soaking out the bitterness from the peels and crystallizing them in sugar, were a popular comfit and subtlety decoration. Humorally, orange rind was considered hot in the third degree and dry in the first degree.

Cooking Terms

Custarde - We think of custard as a thick vanilla-flavoured cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg yolk similar to a pudding. However, until the 19th century the word 'custarde' had a different definition. A custarde was a kind of open pie containing pieces of meat or fruit, and covered with a sweet and spicy egg and milk sauce (the sauce was rather like today's custard). These pies were also known as crustardes (from the old French croustade, meaning a kind of pie), showing us that the word custard is closely related to the word crust - as in pastry crust. At some point, the pastry crust and meats or fruits were removed from the recipe. We still make "custard pie" today, but there is no meat or fruit added. See Medieval Custards

Leche - lecher - licken - lekker (a slice)

The meaning of 'leche' is somewhat difficult to explain. The Middle English Dictionary does not give an applicable meaning, and glossaries in editions of Middle English cookery books only mention 'slices' or 'in slices' and cite some recipe titles of dishes with no slices whatsoever without offering an alternative meaning. So I thought: could leche be related to the Dutch (or German) word 'lekker' (tasty, pleasant, nice)? According to the Collins English Dictionary the word lecher is derived from Old French lecheor in the twelfth century. And lecheor is related to lechier, 'to lick'. The Dutch adjective lekker ('tasty', 'delicious') is derived from an older version of 'likken' ('to lick'). So, Leche Metys and Leche Vyaundez could both mean 'delicious dishes'. However, sometimes leche just means 'slice', as in the recipe from the same section for Storioun leche, that is not a sturgeon, but a fake sturgeon of pressed veal that is served in slices (in section Leche Vyaundez recipe xv).

Messe - 1250–1300; Middle English mes < Old French: a course at a meal, dish of food < Late Latin missus what is sent (i.e., put on the table), n. use of past participle of Latin mittere to send forth, set out

Mete - In the Middle Ages the word 'mete', meat in modern English, had the wider meaning of food or even meal, just as 'vyaunde' or 'viande' ('meat' in French). The Dutch word proviand ('provisions') is a relic of this obsolete meaning.

Trap - coffin without a lid

Fish

Stockfish – fish, such as cod or haddock, cured by splitting and drying in the air

Spikenard - Spikenard is the plant, Nardostachys jatamansi, an aromatic plant with small leaves and red-purple flowers. This is used frequently in aromatherapy oils. Must be obtained from a specialized supplier. An alternate is to use equal portions of fennel and lavender a fifth of the final quantity of valerian root (note, valerian is a sedative and some people are very sensitive, use sparingly. Lavender should not be consumed by pregnant women).