History of Food: Boyled Meats & Broth

[wolram]

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/food.html

t resteth now that we speak of boyled meats and broth, which forasmuch as our House-Wife is intended to be general, one that can as well feed the poor as the rich, we first begin with those ordinary wholsome boyl'd meats which are of use in every good mans house; therefore to make the best ordinary Pottage, you shalltake a rack of mutton cut into pieces, or a leg of mutton cut into pieces; for this meat, and these joynts are the best, although any other joynt or any fresh Beef will likewise make god Pottage; and having washt your meat well, put it into a clean pot with fair water, and set it on the fire, then take Violet leaves, Succory, Strawberry leaves, Spinage, Langedebeef, Marygold flowers, Scallions, and a little Parsley, and chop them very small together; then take half so much Oat-meal well beaten as there is herbs, and mix it with the herbs, and chop all very well together, then when the pot is ready to boyl, scum it very well, and then put in your Herbs, and so let it boyl with a quick fire stirring the meat oft in the pot, til the meat be boyl'd enough, and that the herbs and water are mixt together without any separation, which will be after the consumption of more than a third part: Then season them with salt, and serve them up with the meat, either with sippets or without.

 

[wolram]

Apple-Drink with Sugar, Honey, &c..

A very pleasant drink is made of Apples, thus: Boil sliced Apples in water, to make the water strong of Apples, as when you make to drink it for coolness and pleasure. Sweeten it with Sugar to your taste, such a quantity of sliced Apples, as would make so much water strong enough of Apples; and then bottle it up close for three or four months. There will come a thick mother at the top, which being taken off, all the rest will be very clear, and quick and pleasant to the taste, beyond any Cider. It will be the better to most tastes, if you put a very little Rosemary into the liquor when you boil it, and a little Limon-peel into each bottle when you bottle it up.

I just do not know where the thick mother comes from.

 

[wolram]

The amount of food consumed during these feasts, which might continue over a number of days, was enormous. When, in September 1465, the enthronement of George Neville as Archbishop of York was celebrated at Cawood Castle to demonstrate the riches and power of his family, 28 peers, 59 knights, 10 abbots, 7 bishops, numerous lawyers, clergy, esquires and ladies, together with their attendants and servants arrived at the castle. Counting the archbishop's own family and servants there were about 2500 to be fed at each meal. They consumed 4000 pigeons and 4000 crays, 2000 chickens, 204 cranes, 104 peacocks, 100 dozen quails, 400 swans, 400 herons, 113 oxen, 6 wild bulls, 608 pikes and bream, 12 porpoises and seals, 1000 sheep, 304 calves, 2000 pigs, 1000 capons, 400 plovers, 200 dozen of the birds called "rees", 4000 mallards and teals, 204 kids, 204 bitterns, 200 pheasants, 500 partridges, 400 woodcocks, 100 curlews, 1000 egrets, over 500 stags, bucks and roes, 4000 cold and 1500 hot venison pies, 4000 dishes of jelly, 4000 baked tarts, 2000 hot custards with a proportionate quantity of bread, sugared delicacies and cakes. 300 tuns of ale were drunk, and 100 tuns of wine, a tun containing 252 gallons according to the usual reckoning. There must have been well over 60 pints of wine for each person.
[R. Mitchell and M. Leys, A History of the English People, 1950]

204 kids

 

[wolram]

These are random choises from the site and its links.

 

[wolram]

1615 Murrell C4a.6 "To bake a Pigge. -- Scalde it, and split it in the middest, flay it, and take out the bones. Season it with Pepper, Salt, Cloues, Mace, and Nutmeg: chop sweet hearbs fine, with the hard yolkes of two or three new layd Egges, and parboyld Currins. Then lay one halfe of your Pigge into your Pye, and Hearbes on it: then put on the other halfe with more Hearbes aloft vpon it, and a good piece of sweet Butter aloft vpon all. Jt is a good Dish both hot and cold."

Only one each.