SC - A different kind of historical recreation

[Lurking Girl]

Ras writes:

"My take on this recipe is that it is a custardy type concoction having a 
completely different texture than either cream of almonds, almond paste or 
almond milk. I have my almonds soaking in water even as I speak and will post 
results tomorrow evening.  Meanwhile, unless you are acknowledging a far more 
pervasive influence on noble cookery in the medieval Europe than is generally 
admitted to, I see little similarity in the European recipes you posted to 
the middle eastern version other than ingredients and basic cooking style. 

I am not saying you are 'wrong' or 'right' but I am still considerably 
concerned that the soaking step was left out. Apparently this was due to 
supposed similarities to other recipes of European origin. I would still like 
to know the reason for this step being left out of the redaction or more 
specifically a period source that acknowledges the step but suggests it be 
ignored for whatever unknown reason."

I don't want to argue too much about a point that might be hard to prove, but 
I think the directions as to what to do with the almond milk in the Eyroun 
receipt is a short-hand version of Almond Creme, written for cooks who know 
how to make Almond Creme already (two separate detailed sets of directions 
for it are given quite early in Harl. 279). 
 
For reference, here are what I think are the key points of the receipts in 
question:

EYROUN IN LENTYN
. . . (th)an take gode mylke of Almaundys, & sette it on (th)e fyre; (th)an 
take a 
fayre canvas, & pore (th)e mylke (th)er-on, & lat renne owt (th)e water; 
(th)en take it owt on (th)e clo(th)e, & gader it to-gedere with a platere; 
(th)en putte sugre y-now (th)er-to; . . . 

FRIDE CREME OF ALMAUNDYS
Take almaundys, an stampe hem, an draw it vp wyth a fyn thykke mylke, 
y-temperyd wyth clene water; throw hem on, an sette hem in (th)e fyre, an let 
boyle onys:  (th)an tak hem a-down, an caste salt (th)er-on, an let hem reste 
a forlongwey or to, an caste a lytyl sugre (th)er-to; an (th)an caste it on a 
fayre lynen clothe, fayre y-wasche an drye, an caste it al a-brode, an late 
all (th)e water vnder-ne(th)e (th)e clothe be had a-way, an (th)anne gadere 
all (th)e kreme in (th)e clothe, an let hongy on an pin, and let (th)e water 
droppe owt to or .iij. owrys; . . .

Neither receipt mentions boiling or soaking the almonds first, although in 
the several almond milk receipts I have seen the first direction is to blanch 
the almonds, which I have learned to do by boiling them before popping their 
skins off.  This, I assume, would be understood in a receipt that calls first 
for almond milk, or drawing up a thick milk wilth almonds.  Blanching them 
does change the texture of the almonds, no mistake.  I am not familiar with 
any Middle Eastern sources for almond dishes, and neither of the above 
receipts claim Middle Eastern origin.

When I have made the Fride Creme of Almaundys, following the directions as 
closely as I could, it came out like a thick pudding and was easily molded.  
Before wrapping in a cloth and hanging, the consistency is  that of thick 
soup, and the longer it hangs, the firmer it gets.  Once, while making the 
Eyroun, I hung it for five hours (two more than specified in the Creme 
receipt), and the result was too crumbly to pipe into the blown egg shells.  
The final consistency may thus be regulated depending on the cook's tastes 
and needs; thicker for molding, thinner for piping, somewhere in between for 
spooning.  The Eyroun receipt calls for the filled shells to be baked a 
while; I assume to dry out and firm up the filling more.  That at least is 
the result when I have done it.

To return to an earlier strand of this thread, I once made a milk chocolate 
ganache and mixed that into a batch of Almond Creme, which I molded, making a 
very non-period (but yummy) Chocolate Almond Cream.  

Rudd Rayfield

   
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