SC - Attn Henry: Mincebek fritters

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Hullo, Henry of Maldon and the list!

Was it you who was working on English and Italian versions of
nysbeke/myncebek fritters, as tough as any lime or perhaps sorbet?

I ran across this today, thought you might be interested in a recipe
that specifies only that it should be of a pourable/extrudable consistency:

>From MS BL Additional 32085, fols 117v-119v, late 13th century:

"4. Mincebek. E une autre viaunde, ke ad a noun mincebek. Pernez amydon
e myncez le en un morter, e si vos n'avez ceo, pernez flur demeyne; e
pernez let de almaundes ou ewe teve, e metez dedenz un poi de gest ou un
poi de past egre; e puys festes temprer; e pernez une esquele e festes
un pertez parmy, e festes culer le mincebek parmy cel pertuz en oile ou
en gresse; e puys pernez sucre e festes sirop boiller; e festes bainer
le myncebek dedenz, e metes du cel desus; e puys les dressez."

Constance Hieatt's and Robin Jones's translation, from "Two Anglo-Norman
Culinary Collections Edited from British Library Manuscripts Additional
32085 and Royal 12.Cxii", Speculum v. 61, October 1986, pp859-882.

"4. Mincebek [fritters]. Here is another dish, which is called mincebek.
Take wheat starch and crumble it in a mortar, if you do not have any,
take best white flour; and blend (the starch or flour) with almond milk
or tepid water, and a little yeast or sourdough; take a bowl and make a
hole in it, and pour the mincebek through the hole into (hot) oil or
grease; and then take sugar and boil up a syrup; immerse the mincebek in
this, and sprinkle with salt, and then serve."

It's fun to see how recipes for similar dishes evolve over time and
strange things get added to simple recipes. Perhaps I should mention:
there's a cuskynole recipe in the same MS that appears to predate the
one in Curye On Inglyshe by around 75 years...heh heh heh!!! Which, BTW,
is _not_ the only recipe in that MS that has a diagram with it...

Adamantius   
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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