[Ansteorra] Gingerbread

[Lisa A. May]

Lisa

Lisa A. May
Maaggie1 at gmail.com



On Feb 8, 2013, at 9:54 PM, Dan Baker <lordrhys at gmail.com> wrote:

> I am familiar with that one, an speculation is it was copied wrong.
> These are the two recipes I used for Elfsea's Christmas Party
> 
> An I had but one penny in the world,
> thou shouldst have it to buy gingerbread.
> Love’s Labour’s Lost Act V Scene I, Shakespeare
> Gyngerbrede
>    Gyngerbrede, or Gingerbread was a favorite treat at festivals and
> fairs in medieval Europe—often shaped and decorated to look like
> flowers, birds, animals or even armor—and several cities in France and
> England hosted regular “gingerbread fairs” for centuries. Ladies often
> gave their favorite knights a piece of gingerbread for good luck in a
> tournament, or superstitiously ate a “gingerbread husband” to improve
> their chances of landing the real thing.
> 
> Two 15th c. Cookery-Books by Thomas Austin, 1888. This book is
> compiled from several period English manuscripts, most notably
> Harleian MS. 279 and Harleian MS. 4016, both circa 1425-1450:
> "Gyngerbrede.--Take a quart of hony, & sethe it, & skeme it clene;
> take Safroun, pouder Pepir, & throw ther-on; take grayted Bred, & make
> it so chargeaunt that it wol be y-lechyd; then take pouder Canelle, &
> straw ther-on y-now; then make yt square, lyke as thou wolt leche yt;
> take when thou lechyst hyt, an caste Box leves a-bouyn, y-stykyd
> ther-on, on clowys. And if thou wolt haue it Red, coloure it with
> Saunderys y-now."
> William Edward Mead in The English Medieval Feast, p. 65, calls this
> "gingerbread without the ginger!" and offers this translation:
> "Take a quart of honey and seethe it and skim it clean. Take saffroun,
> powdered pepper, and throw thereon. Take grated bread and make it so
> stiff that it will be leched (cut in slices). Then take cinnamon
> powder and strew thereon enough. Then make it square as though thou
> wouldst slice it. Take, when thou slicest it, and cast box leaves
> above, stuck thereon in cloves. And if thou will have it red, color it
> with saunders (sandalwood) enough."
> Curye on Inglish, a collection of period cookbooks including Forme of
> Cury, gives this definition: "Gyngebred; not to be confused with the
> cake-like variety, made from breadcrumbs boiled in honey with spices:
> not the modern cake but more like it than the confection." The good
> ladies who are the authors of Curye on Inglish (and of Pleyn Delit, a
> collection of period recipes transcribed for the modern cook), feel
> that the ginger has been mistakenly left out of this particular recipe
> by a forgetful scribe; however, I'm not sure I entirely agree. I have
> made this recipe many times without ginger, and the results were
> always delicious! As it is above, this is like a honey candy, and the
> ginger is neither needed nor missed. But here's what Pleyn Delit says:
> "Do not expect this gingerbread to resemble its modern spice-cake
> descendant. Both texture and flavor will be quite different, though
> equally delicious. But we must make up for the absent-mindedness of
> the scribe who neglected to tell us when to add ginger." Period
> recipes from other manuscripts such as Goud Kokery are similar to this
> but do contain the ginger, so there indeed were several different
> versions floating around during period.
> 1st Batch
> Original: Take goode honye & clarefie it on the fere, & take fayre
> paynemayn or wastel brede & grate it, & caste it into the boylenge
> hony, & stere it will tgyder faste with a sklyse that bren not to the
> vessell. & thanne take doun and put therin ginger, linge pepere &
> saundres & tempere it vp with thin handel; & than put hem to a flatt
> boyste & strawe theron suger, & pick therin clowes round about by the
> egge and in the myudes yf it plece you &c.
> Translation: Take good honey & clarify it on the fire, & take fair
> white bread & grate it, & add it to the boiling honey, & stir it well
> with a flat-bottomed utensil to avoid burning, & take it off the heat
> and add ginger, black pepper & sandalwood, & mix it well with a thin
> handle; & then put it in a flat pan & sprinkle with sugar, & put
> cloves round about by the edge and in the middle if it please you
> Ingredients:
> honey
> bread crumbs
> ginger
> black pepper - as a substitute for "long pepper"
> sandalwood
> sugar
> cloves
> Recipe
> 3/4 C clover honey
> 2 1/2 C fine, dry bread crumbs
> 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
> pinch black pepper
> 1 1/2 tsp ground sandalwood
> sugar
> whole cloves
> Mix crumbs, ginger, pepper and sandalwood. Boil honey and skim off any
> scum that accumulates. Remove from heat and stir in seasoned crumbs.
> Press mixture into a buttered 8" round cake pan Let it sit several
> hours or overnight. Turn onto a plate and sprinkle with sugar.
> Decorate with cloves. Slice and serve.
> 
> 2nd batch From Curye on Inglisch.
> 
> ¾ cup honey
> 1 15 ounce canister of bread crumbs
> 1 teaspoon ginger
> 1 teaspoon cinnamon
> 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
> Bring honey to a boil with spices.  Keeping over low heat, add
> breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly.  Press into 8 or 9 inch square pan and
> let cool several hours or overnight.  Slice to serve.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> TheSmithsonian.com . A Brief History of Gingerbread.
> GodeCookery.com
> Austin, Thomas. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books. Harleian MS.
> 279...and Harl. MS. 4016. London, 1888. Early English Text Society,
> Oxford Series, No. 91.
> Baugh, Albert C. Chaucer's Major Poetry. New York, 1963. Meredith
> Publishing Company.
> Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English
> Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of
> Cury). London, 1985. For the Early English Text Society by the Oxford
> University Press.
> Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery
> for Modern Cooks. Toronto, 1976. University of Toronto Press.
> Mead, William Edward. The English Medieval Feast. New York, 1967.
> Barnes and Noble, Inc.
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 7:41 PM, willowdewisp at juno.com
> <willowdewisp at juno.com> wrote:
>> I just found a period recipe for Ginger bread and it has no Ginger in it? You folks that have made it from period sources is this true in all cases?
>> willow
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