Early English Meals and Manners Part 46

[Transcriber's Note: Line note "67/991", originally printed here, has been renamed "l. 991" and moved to the appropriate location.]

l. 300. Jet.

Rogue why Winkest thou, Jenny why _Jettest_ thou.

are among R. Holme's Names of Slates, Bk. III. ch. v. p. 265, col. 1.

l. 328. Forks were not introduced into England till Coryat's time. See his _Crudities_ p. 90-1, 4to. London, 1611, on the strange use of the Fork in Italy. "I observ'd a custom in all those Italian Cities and Townes through the which I pa.s.sed, that is not used in any other country that I saw in my travels, neither do I thinke that any other nation of Christendome doth use it, but only Italy. The Italian and also most Strangers that are comorant in Italy, doe always at their meals use a _Little Forke_ when they cut their meat." Percy's notes, p. 417-18, North. H. Book.

l. 348-9. Fumositees. But to wash the feete in a decoction of Baye leaues, Rosemary, & Fenel, I greatly disalow not: for it turneth away from the head vapours & _fumes_ dimming and ouercasting the mynde. Now the better to represse _fumes_ and propulse vapours fro{m} the Brain, it shalbe excelle{n}t good after Supper to chaw w{i}t{h} the teeth (the mouth being shut) a few graynes of Coriander first stieped in veneiger wherin Maiora{m} hath bin decocted, & the{n} thinly crusted or couered ouer w{i}t{h} Sugar. It is scarrce credible what a special co{m}moditye this bri{n}geth to y^e memory. No lesse vertuous & soueraign is the co{n}fection of Conserue of Quinces. Quinces called _Diacidonion_, if a prety quant.i.ty thereof be likewise taken after meate. For it disperseth _fumes_, & suffreth not vapours to strike vpwarde, T. Newton, _Lemnie's Touchstone_, ed. 1581, fol. 126. See note on l. 105 here.

l. 358. _Forced_ or _Farced_, a Forced Leg of Mutton, is to stuff or fill it (or any Fowl) with a minced Meat of Beef, Veal, &c., with Herbs and Spices. _Farcing_ is stuffing of any kind of Meats with Herbs or the like; some write it _Forsing_ and Farsing. To _Farce_ is to stuff anything. R. Holme.

l. 378. Brawn. In his chapter on Pygge, Brawne, Bacon, Andrew Borde says of bacon as follows: "Bacon is good for Carters, and plowe men, the which be euer labouryng in the earth or dunge; but & yf they haue the stone, and vse to eate it, they shall synge 'wo be to the pye!'

Wherefore I do say that coloppes and egges is as holsome for them as a talowe candell is good for a horse mouth, or a peece of powdred Beefe is good for a blere eyed mare. Yet sensuall appetyde must haue a swynge at all these thynges, notwithstandynge." _Regyment_, fol. K. iii. b.

l. 382 & l. 515. _Venison._ I extract part of Andrewe Borde's chapter on this in his _Regyment_, fol. K. 4, b.

-- Of wylde Beastes fleshe.

-- I haue gone rounde about Chrystendome, and ouerthwarte Chrystendome, and a thousande or two and moore myles out of Chrystendome, Yet there is not so moche pleasure for Harte and Hynde, Bucke and Doe, and for Roo-Bucke and Doe, as is in Englande lande: and although the flesshe be dispraysed in physicke, _I praye G.o.d to sende me parte of flesshe to eate, physicke notwithstanding_ ... all physicions (phyon suchons, _orig._) sayth that Venson ... doth ingendre colorycke humours; and of trueth it doth so: Wherefore let them take the skynne, and let me haue the flesshe. I am sure it is a Lordes dysshe, and I am sure it is good for an Englysheman, for it doth anymate hym to be as he is: whiche is stronge and hardy. But I do aduertyse euery ma{n}, for all my wordes, not to kyll and so to eate of it, excepte it be lawfully, for it is a meate for great men. And great men do not set so moche by the meate, as they doth by the pastyme of kyllynge of it.

l. 393. _Chine_, the Back-bone of any Beast or Fish. R. Holme.

l. 397. Stock Dove, _Columba nas_, Yarrell ii. 293.

Doues haue this propertie by themselues, to bill one another and kisse before they tread. Holland's Plinie, v. 1, p. 300.

l. 401. Osprey or Fis.h.i.+ng Hawk (the Mullet Hawk of Christchurch Bay), _Pandion Haliaeetus_, Y. i. 30.

l. 401, 482. Teal, _Anas crecca_, Y. iii. 282.

l. 402. Mallard or Wild Duck, _Anas boschas_, Y. iii. 265.

l. 421, 542. _Betowre._ Bittern, the Common, _Botaurus stellaris_, Y.

ii. 571. In the spring, and during the breeding season, the Bittern makes a loud booming or bellowing noise, whence, probably, the generic term _Botaurus_ was selected for it; but when roused at other times, the bird makes a sharp, harsh cry on rising, not unlike that of a Wild Goose. _Yarrell_, ii. 573. The Bittern was formerly in some estimation as an article of food for the table; the flesh is said to resemble that of the Leveret in colour and taste, with some of the flavour of wild fowl. Sir Thomas Browne says that young Bitterns were considered a better dish than young Herons ... ii. 574. 'Hearon, Byttour, Shouelar.

Being yong and fat, be lightlier digested then the Crane, & y^e Bittour sooner then the Hearon.' Sir T. Eliot, _Castell of Health_, fol. 31.

l. 422. Heron. Holland (Plinie, p. 301) gives--1. A Criell or dwarfe Heron; 2. Bittern; 3. Carion Heron, for Pliny's--1. _Leucon_; 2.

_Asterias_; 3. _Pellon_.

l. 437. _Martins_ are given in the Bill of Fare of Archbp. Nevill's Feast, A.D. 1466, 3rd Course. R. Holme, p. 78.

l. 449. Cannell Bone. 'Susclavier. Vpon the _kannell bone_; whence Veine susclaviere. The second maine ascendant branch of the hollow veine.'

Cot.

l. 457. Compare _Rabbet Ronners_ 1 doz., 2 s., temp. Hen. VIII., a^o 33.

_H. Ord._ p. 223.

l. 492. _Custard_, open Pies, or without lids, filled with Eggs and Milk; called also Egg-Pie. R. Holme.

See the Recipes for 'Crustade Ryal,' 'Crustade' (with Chikonys y-smete or smal birdys), and 'Crustade gentyle' (with ground pork or veal), fol.

43, Harl. MS. 279. The Recipe for Crustade Ryal is, "Take and pike out e marow of bonys as hool as ou may. en take e bonys an see hem in Watere or at e broe be fat y-now. en take Almaundys & wayssche hem clene & bray hem, & temp{er} hem vppe w{i}t{h} e fat broe; an wyl e mylke be broun. en take pouder Canelle, Gyngere, & Suger, & caste er-on. en take Roysonys of coraunce & lay in e cofynne, & taylid Datys & kyt a-long. en take Eyroun a fewe y-straynid, & swenge among e Milke e ?olke. en take the botmon of e cofynne er e Marow schal stonde, & steke {er} gret an long gobettys {er}on vppe ry?t. & lat bake a whyle. en pore in comade er-on halful, & lat bake, & whan yt a-rysith, it is ynow, en serue forth."

Sir F. Madden in his note on _Frees_ pasties, in his Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary, p. 131, col. 1, says, "The different species of Confectionary then in vogue are enumerated by Taylor the Water Poet, in his Tract int.i.tled 'The Great Eater, or part of the admirable teeth and stomack's exploits of Nicholas Wood,' &c., published about 1610. 'Let any thing come in the shape of fodder or eating-stuffe, it is wellcome, whether it be Sawsedge, or _Custard_, or Eg-pye, or Cheese-cake, or Flawne, or Foole, or Froyze,[*] or Tanzy, or Pancake, or Fritter, or Flap iacke,[] or Posset, or Galleymawfrey, Mackeroone, Kickshaw, or Tantablin!'"

[Footnote *: Froize, or pancake, _Fritilla_, Frittur, rigulet.

Baret. _Omlet of Eggs_ is Eggs beaten together with Minced suet, and so fried in a Pan, about the quant.i.ty of an Egg together, on one side, not to be turned, and served with a sauce of Vinegar and Sugar. An _Omlet_ or _Froise_. R. Holme.]

[Footnote : Flapjack is "a fried cake made of b.u.t.ter, apples, &c." Jennings. It is not a pancake here, evidently. "Untill at last by the skill of the cooke, it is transform'd into the forme of a _flapjack_, which in our translation is cald a _pancake_."

Taylor's Jack-a-lent, i. p. 115, in Nares.]

l. 500, 706, 730. Pety Perueis. _Perueis_ should be _Perneis_, as the Sloane MS. 1985 shows. Alter text accordingly. Under the head of _bake Metis or Vyaunde Furne?_, in Harl. MS. 279, fol. 40 b, we have No. xiiij _Pety Pernollys_. Take fayre Floure Cofyns. en take ?olkys of Eyroun & trye hem fro e whyte. & lat e ?olkys be al hole & no?t to-broke. & ley .iij. or .iiij. ?olkys in a cofyn. and an take marow of bonys, to or .iij. gobettys, & cowche in e cofynn. en take pouder Gyngere, Sugre, Roysonys of corau{n}ce, & caste a-boue, & an kyuere in cofyn w{i}t{h} e same past. & bake hem & frye hem in fayre grece & s{erve} f{orth}.

xx _Pety Peruaaunt_. Take fayre Flowre, Sugre, Safroun, an Salt. & make {er}offe fayre past & fayre cofyng{is}. an take fayre y-tryid ?olkys Raw & Sugre an pouder Gyngere, & Raysonys of Coraunce, & myncyd Datys, but not to small. an caste al is on a fayre bolle, & melle al to-gederys, & put in in cofyn, & lat bake oer Frye in Freyssche grece.

Harl. MS. 279.

l. 501, 701. _Powche_. I suppose this to be poached-egg fritters; but it may be the other _powche_; 'Take the Powche and the Lyno{ur} [? liver]

of haddok, codlyng, and hake.' Forme of Cury, p. 47. Recipe 94.

l. 501. _Fritters_ are small Pancakes, having slices of Apples in the Batter. R. Holme. Frutters, Fruter Napkin, and Fruter Crispin, were dishes at Archbp. Nevill's Feast, 7 Edw. IV. 1467-8 A.D.

l. 503. _Tansy Cake_ is made of grated Bread, Eggs, Cream, Nutmeg, Ginger, mixt together and Fried in a Pan with b.u.t.ter, with green Wheat and Tansy stamped. R. Holme. 'To prevent being Bug-bitten. Put a sprig or two of _tansey_ at the bed head, or as near the pillow as the smell may be agreeable.' T. Cosnett's Footman's Directory, p. 292.

l. 504, 511, &c. _Leach_, a kind of Jelly made of Cream, Ising-gla.s.s, Sugar, and Almonds, with other compounds (the later meaning, 1787). R.

Holme.

l. 517-18. _Potages._ All maner of liquyde thynges, as Potage, sewe and all other brothes doth replete a man that eteth them with ventosyte.

_Potage is not so moche vsed in all Chrystendome as it is vsed in Englande._ Potage is made of the licour in the whiche flesshe is sod in, with puttynge to, chopped herbes, and Otmell and salte. A. Borde, _Reg._ fol. H. ii.

l. 517, 731. _Jelly_, a kind of oily or fat liquor drawn from Calves or Neats feet boiled. R. Holme.

l. 519. _Grewel_ is a kind of Broth made only of Water, Grotes brused and Currans; some add Mace, sweet Herbs, b.u.t.ter and Eggs and Sugar: some call it Pottage Gruel. R. Holme.

l. 521. _Cabages._ 'Tis scarce a hundred years since we first had cabbages out of Holland; Sir Anthony Ashley, of Wiburg St Giles, in Dorsets.h.i.+re, being, as I am told, the first who planted them in England.

Jn. Evelyn, Acetaria, -- 11. They were introduced into Scotland by the soldiers of Cromwell's army. 1854. Notes and Queries, May 6, p. 424, col. 1.

l. 533. _Powdered_ is contrasted with _fresh_ in Household Ordinances: 'In beef daily or moton, fresh, or elles all _poudred_ is more availe, 5d.' _H. Ord._ p. 46. In m.u.f.fett (p. 173) it means pickled, 'As Porpesses must be baked while they are new, so Tunny is never good till it have been long _pouldred_ with salt, vinegar, coriander, and hot spices.' In p. 154 it may be either salt or pickled; 'Horne-beaks are ever lean (as some think) because they are ever fighting; yet are they good and tender, whether they be eaten fresh or _poudred_.' _Powdered_, says Nicolas, meant sprinkled over, and "powdered beef" i.e. beef sprinkled with salt, is still in use. _Privy Purse expenses of Elizabeth of Yorke, &c._, p. 254, col. 1. See note to l. 378, 689, here.

l. 535-688. _Chaudoun._ MS. Harl. 1735, fol. 18, gives this Recipe. '-- Chaudo{n} sauz of swannes. -- Tak y^e issu of y^e swannes, & wasch{e} hem wel, skoure y^e guttys w{i}t{h} salt, sethz al to-gidre. Tak of y^e fleysch{e}; hewe it smal, & y^e guttys w{i}t{h} alle. Tak bred, gynger{e} & galingale, Canel, grynd it & tempre it vp w{i}t{h} bred; colo{u}r it w{i}t{h} blood or{e} w{i}t{h} bre{n}t bred, seson it vp w{i}t{h} a lytyl vinegre; welle it al to-gyder{e}.' And see the Chaudou{n} potage of Pygys, fol. 19, or p. 37.

l. 540. Crane, the Common, _Crus cinerea_, Y. ii. 530.

l. 540. Egret, or Great White Heron, _Ardea alba_ Y. ii. 549.

(Buff-coloured, Buff-backed, and Little Egret, are the varieties.)

l. 540. Hernshaw or Common Heron, _Ardea cinerea_. Y. ii. 537 (nine other varieties).

l. 541. Plover, the Great (Norfolk Plover and Stone Curlew), _aedicnemus crepitans_, Y. ii. 465 (10 other varieties).