Papyns - Custard

A custardy dish that was interpreted from "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" Thomas Austin for "Papyns". This dish created a very soft custard that reminds one of the cream of wheat or malted meal cereal that you might eat for breakfast while growing up--without any lumps. The recipe most closely resembled Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - Creme Boylede - Boiled Custard which starts out by soaking bread in milk or cream and heating it until warm.

This is a very fussy dish that requires almost near constant supervision. That being said, it is a very delicious dish when finished. The end result is a dish that is surprisingly "cereal" like in its taste, velvety smooth and quite delicious when bread is dipped into it.

from Two fifteenth-century cookery-books

xx. Papyns.—Take fayre Mylke an Flowre, an drawe it þorw a straynoure, an set it ouer þe fyre, an let it boyle a-whyle; þan take it owt an let it kele; þan take ȝolkys of eyroun y-draw þorwe a straynour, an caste þer-to; þan take sugre a gode quantyte, and caste þer-to, an a lytil salt, an sette it on þe fyre tyl it be sum-what þikke, but let it nowt boyle fullyche, an stere it wyl, an putte it on a dysshe alle a-brode, and serue forth rennyng.

20. Papyns - Take fair milk and flour, an draw through a strainer, an set it over the fire, an let it boil awhile: than take it out an let it cool: then take yolks of eggs drawn through a strainer and caste thereto; than take sugar a good quantity, an cast there-to, an a little salt an set it on the fire till it be somewhat thick, but let it not boil fully, an stir it well, an put it on a dish all broad, and serve forth running.

Interpreted Recipe Serves 1 as a main 2-3 as a side

3/4 C. whole milk
1/4 C. cream
2 Tbsp. flour
1 egg (or 2 egg yolks)
1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp. sugar or to taste
1/4 to 1/2 Tsp. salt or to taste

Make slurry of the flour and milk by adding the flour to 1/2 cup of the milk and shaking it up in a small lidded jar until it becomes a smooth paste. Strain this mixture into a small pot, and then add the remainder of the milk. It is important to strain the slurry as some of the flour may have clumped and this will affect the texture of your final product. DO NOT skip this step.

Heat the milk and the flour until it begins to thicken and then set aside to cool to room temperature. Or, as an alternative you can temper your eggs before adding them to the milk mixture. What you don't want to do is just toss the eggs into the hot liquid or vice versa--you will end up with curdled and partially cooked eggs...yuck!

Return the mixture to the pan and add salt and sugar to taste. I preferred mine sweeter so added 2 tbsp. of sugar; a couple of my taste testers did not like it as sweet and said they would have preferred less. Use your best judgment. Once the papyn's has been returned to the pot you must babysit it. Do not let it boil, and constantly stir it until it reaches the desired thickness. I made mine the consistency of a medium cream sauce. You may want to strain it a second time when serving it on the off chance you have curdled your dish.

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Thomas Awkbarow's Recipes (MS Harley 5401) (England, 15th century)

Papyns. Recipe clene cow mylk, & take þe flour of rice or of whete & draw þe flour with sum of þe mylk, & colour it with saferon & let it boyle, & do a lityll honyþerto; þan tak water & well it in a frying panne; þan cast in brokyn egges & fry þam hard in þe water, & lay .iij. in a dysh & þe colourd mylk þeron, & serof it forth.