SC - cuskynoles, continued...

[margali]

<snip>

>I don't have access to an O.E.D. most of the time. I do know, though,
>that in the glossary to Curye on Inglysch, Hieatt and Butler say
>something to the effect that the name is a variant on (or having common
>ancestry with) the word "rissole". Frankly, I feel this is pretty much
>of a guess, based on I can't imagine what. But then this is part of a
>series of notes that also interprets the instruction to cut a hole in a
>capon's skin, insert a pen, and blow air under the skin, as meaning to
>baste it with a feather, so obviously we all have our bad days. COULD be
>true...!

I just checked the O.E.D.  - 'cuskynoles' is not listed, either by itself
or as a variant of 'rissole'.  As a mere speculation, it could be a made up
word merging the word for 'cushion' with the word 'rissole' in the
diminutive.


>> *IF* this is in fact a fruit ravioli, then I agree in theory with Gunthar's
>> 'cook-em-all-together' interpretation.  It would be a far easier way to
>> prepare, esp. in bulk, than cutting the portions apart before cooking.
>
>Perhaps, but it makes the cooking more difficult, basically since a
>large sheet of these guys will have a harder time supporting their own
>weight, especially when being removed from their boiling pot. You are
>also more likely to tear a large sheet in the frying process. Also, what
>price the line about hewing it into many parts? Yes, I'll wait til the
>next line comes around on the git-tar...

I was envisioning the sheet of filled pasta being lowered into the boiling
pot inside a perforated pot or basket.  (One such pot - called a 'foraioro
colmanico' - is depicted in Bartolomeo Scappi's Il Cuoco segreto di Papa
Pio V, 1570.)  They could be cooked inside the perforated pot & then lifted
gently without breaking & put directly on the griddle.


>> But, *what if* the phrase 'hew hit on moni perties' does *not* mean 'cut it
>> in many parts', but rather 'hue it (color it) in many parti(colors)?
>
>It's possible, I suppose. I'm not aware of any other case of the word
>"hue" being used as a verb, though, in the entire medieval English
>corpus. Coloure, yes. Usually even that is a noun, though, as in "if
>thou would give it  a red coloure..."

Yes, O.E.D. lists hue as a verb: "To form, fashion, figure, give an
external appearance to; esp. (in later use) to colour.  In early use
sometimes, To fashion falsely, feign, pretend."  They give an example from
Cursor Mundi, 14th c. "Yee leuedis... studis hu your hare to heu, hu to dub
and hu to paynt."  I think I have seen the word hue in a recipe, but I
can't remember where I saw it.

<snip>
>
>> What we would have then is a large multicolored fruit tart, with the
>> coloring on the inside (since it is to be boiled & the color would wash
>> away otherwise).  The figure would then be representing the checkerboard
>> appearance of the pastry.
>
>An interesting idea. Kinda fun, too. I'm concerned about how well it
>holds up, though, in view of the difficulties of moving or even picking
>up the sheet, without tearing it. As for the color issue, that would
>seem to be a pretty unique approach. Have you ever seen another recipe
>where colors are added to the inside of dough to protect the colors from
>leeching out into the water? I guess the color is intended to be visible
>through the pasta, huh? I mean, the filling is rather a dark brown.
>Also, what is to keep the color from leeching out of the pasta and into
>the moist filling? Not that it would change much of the filling's basic
>brown color, anyway. Once you've got brown, the only other color you can
>get to by adding more color, is black, as far as I can tell.

Why should the filling need to be brown?   "peoren & applen, figes &
raysins, alemaundes & dates; bet am togedre & do god poudre of gose speces
withinnen"  The color depends upon the ratio of apples & pears & almonds
(white) to figs (which could be gold, brown, or black)& raisins, & dates.
If the gose speces (good spices?) are pale in color (ex. - ginger, mace),
the filling need not turn out brown - it could be golden with dark spots.

Here is an example of a coffyn being colored "with-ynne & wyth-oute", but
it's baked, not boiled:

Harleian MS. 279 - Dyuerse Bake Metis
ix.  Malmenye Furne[3].  Take gode Milke of Almaundys, & flowre of Rys, &
gode Wyne crete, or [th]e brawn of a Capoune, o[th]er of Fesaunte, & Sugre,
& pouder Gyngere, & Galyngale, & of Canelle, & boyle y-fere; & make it
chargeaunt, & coloure it with Alkenade, o[th]er with Saunderys; & [3]if it
be Red, a-lye it with [3]olkys of Eyroun; & make smal cofyns of dow, &
coloure hem with-owte, & bake on a ovyn, & coloure with-ynne & wyth-oute;
[th]en haue Hony y-boylid hote, & take a dyssche, & wete [th]in dyssche in
[th]e hony, & with [th]e wete dyssche ley [th]e malmenye & [th]e cofyns; &
whan [th]ey ben bake, & [th]ou dressest yn, caste a-boue blaunche pouder,
Quybibe[3], mace[3], Gelofre[3]; & [th]anne serue it forth.


>> Just a reminder - a portion may not mean a single person's share.  It could
>> mean enough to feed one table.
>
>Sure. I'd be inclined to go with the idea that a portion would be for a
>cover of two persons, but anything's possible.

Two?  I was thinking 4 or 8.

<snip>
>>
>> Also note that both of these recipes neglect to add flour & liquid to the
>> paste - this is a frequent omission in these MSS.
>
>More an assumption that it will be taken as read, I would say. Remember
>that the word "paste", in period usage, is more inclined to equate to
>dough of some sort, rather than simply being something of a pasty
>consistency, where some word like pap might be used.

Eh?  It is not possible to make 'fayre past' with only 'Sugre & Safroun, &
Salt' & have 'fayre flat cakys' as the result.  It is merely taken for
granted that the reader knows well enough how to make 'fayre past', & needs
only to be told to make it special with sugar, saffron & salt.  But we
digress...

<snip>
>
>What would really thrill me, though, in this whole search, would be
>another cuskynoles recipe that would be close enough to the one we're
>dealing with to provide some real insight. Now that I think about it,
>given that there are various other fruit rissole recipes that clearly
>ARE for fruit ravioli, I'm led to suspect that the Cariadoc method of
>interpreting this recipe, as a small sheet of little cells of stuffed
>pasta, could be correct, simply because it appears to have failed to
>evolve to the point where it survived to another generation of recipes.
>If the cuskynoles-as-fruit-ravioli method were correct, then why aren't
>any of the other fruit raviolis called cuskynoles. I'm on the verge of
>inferring that this indicates that cuskynoles and fruit ravioli are
>different animals, and that only the latter survived.
>
>Adamantius, kidding only slightly
>______________________________________
>Phil & Susan Troy
>troy at asan.com

I have no clue why there are not more 'cuskynoles' in evidence.  Perhaps
there are, & we just haven't been looking in the right spots or under the
right names?  Apart from Epulario & Platina, has anyone checked Italian
sources?


Cindy/Sincgiefu
who hasn't had this much fun in years!


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