SC - Blanc Desire???

[Gryphon's Moon]

Good Gentles-

I've been looking through Curye on Inglysch (ed. Butler and Hieatt), and
found numerous recipes for "blanc desire". Since I am still fairly new at
redacting, I am looking forward to comparing the different recipes to get a
more accurate view of what the dish should be like.

The main ingredients seem to be almond milk, chicken meat (white meat
only?), rice flour, and sugar. I put all the recipes at the end of this
message. Sorry to take up so much space.

Here are the main questions so far:

- - Has anyone tried this dish successfully? I am not one of those fortunate
cooks who can read a recipe and visualise just what it should look and
taste like. I'd appreciate suggestions for proportions, if anyone has some,
so that I have some starting point from which to begin my experiments.

- - How is blanc desire different from blancmange?

- - Butler and Hieatt suggest that "braun" of fowl means breast meat. Does
everyone concur?

- - How sweet should the final product be?

_ What other recipe collections can this be found in?

Many thanks.

- -Margritte

________________________________________________________________
RECIPES:

1  Blanc desire. Milk of alemaundes, flour of rys, braun of chapoun,
gyngere itried, sucre, hwit wyn; vchon of (th)oes schulen boillen in a
clene possenet, & so(thth)en idon in (th)e vessel hwaryn hit schal beon
imad, in a stude wy(th)outen vul(th)e; & poume gernet to strey3en abouen.
	From Curye on Inglysch, Book I, Diuersa Cibaria. Ed. Constance B.
Hieatt and Sharon Butler; Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985.

Loose translation:
Blank desire. Take almond milk, rice flour, chicken breast, good ginger,
suger, and white wine. Each one of these should be boiled in a clene pot,
and then placed into the vessel where it will be made, which should be
sturdy and without filth. And pomegranite seeds should be sprinkled over
the top.
________________________________________________________________

29  For to make blank de surry, tak braun of caponys o(th)er of hennys and
(th) (th)yes wy(th)owte (th)e skyn, & kerf hem smal als (th)ou mayst &
grynd hem smal in a morter. & tak mylk of almaundys & do yn (th)e braune, &
grynd hem (th)anne togedere
	And tak flour of rys o(th)er amydoun & lye it (th)at yt be
charchant, and do (th)ereto sugur a god perti and a perty of wyt grees and
boyle yt; & wan yt ys doun in dyschis straw vpon blanke poudere, and do
togedere blank de sury & maumene in a dysch & serue yt for(th)e.
	From Curye on Inglysch, Book II, Diuersa Servicia. Ed. Constance B.
Hieatt and Sharon Butler; Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985.

Loose translation:
To make blank de surry, take chicken breast, and thigh meat without skin,
and chop it as small as possible, and grind it in a mortar. And take almond
milk and add the chicken to it, and grind them both together.
	And take rice flour or amidon and mix it until it is stiff. Then
put in a good bit of sugar and lard, and boil it, and when you dish it up,
sprinkle white pwder on it, and serve it with mawmeny.
________________________________________________________________
78  For to make blank desure, tak (th)e 3olkys of egges sodyn & temper it
wy(th) mylk of a kow. & do (th)erto comyn & safroun & flowre of ris or
wastel bred myed, & grynd in a morter & temper it vp wy(th) (th)e milk; &
mak it boyle & do (th)erto wit of egges coruyn smal. & tak fat chese & kerf
(th)erto wan (th)e licour is boylyd, & serue it forth.
	From Curye on Inglysch, Book II, Diuersa Servicia. Ed. Constance B.
Hieatt and Sharon Butler; Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985.

Loose translation:
To make blank desire. Take 3 boiled egg yolks, and mix them with cow's
milk. Add cumin, saffron, and rice flour or bread crumbs. Grind these in a
mortar, and mix with the milk, and boil it, and add chopped eggs to the
mixture. Add small pieces of fat cheese when the liquid has boiled. Serve
it forth.
________________________________________________________________
90  For to make blank de syry, tak almande mylk & flowre of rys; tak
(th)erto sugur, & boyle (th)ys togedere, & dische yt. & tak almandys & wet
hem in water of sugur, and drye hem in a panne, & plante hem in (th)e mete
& serue yt forth.
	From Curye on Inglysch, Book II, Diuersa Servicia. Ed. Constance B.
Hieatt and Sharon Butler; Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985.

Loose translation:
To make blank de syry, take almond milk and rice flour, add sugar to it and
boil it, and dish it up. And take almonds which have been dipped in sugar
water and dried in a pan, and bury them in the meat and serve it forth.
________________________________________________________________
39  Blank dessorre. Take almaundes blaunched; grynde hem and temper hem vp
with whyte wyne, on fleissh day with broth; and cast (th)erinne flour of
rys, o(th)er amydoun, and lye it (th)erwith. Take brawn of capouns yground,
take sugur and salt, and cast (th)erto and florissh it with aneys whyte.
Take a vessel yholed and put in safroun, and serue it forth.
	From Curye on Inglysch, Book IV, Forme of Cury. Ed. Constance B.
Hieatt and Sharon Butler; Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985.

Loose translation:
Blank desire. Take blanched almonds, and grind them small, and mix them
with white wine, or if it's a flesh day, with broth. Add rice flour or
amydoun. Take ground chicken breast; add sugar, and salt. Garnish it with
white anice. Use a sprinkler to shake on some saffron, and serve it forth.
________________________________________________________________
201  For to make blank desire. Take brawn of hennes, or of capouns, ysoden
withoute (th)e skyn, & hewe hem as smale as (th)ou may & grinde hem in a
morter. After, take gode mylke of almaundes & put (th)e brawn (th)erin, &
stere it wel togyder & do hem to see(th), & take flour of rys & amydoun &
alay it so (th)at it be chargeaunt, & do (th)erto suger, a god perty, & a
perty of white grece. And when it is put in dysches, strawe vppon it
blaunche powdour, and (th)enne put in blank desire and mawmenye in disshes
togider, and serue forth.
	From Curye on Inglysch, Book IV, Forme of Cury. Ed. Constance B.
Hieatt and Sharon Butler; Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985.

Loose translation:
For to make blank desire. Chicken breast boiled without the skins, and chop
them as small as possible, and grind them in a mortar. Then take good
almond milk, and put the chicken meat into it, and stir it together and let
it simmer.Add rice flour and amydoun until it is thick. Then add a good bit
of sugar and white grease. When it is dished up, sprinkle white powder
(ginger ground with sugar) on it. Serve the blank desire and mawmenny in a
dish together.
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