SC - Looking for period crabmeat recipes

[Stefan li Rous]

Cindy Renfrow/Sincgiefu answered me:
> >Several weeks ago I bought about half-a-dozen cans of
> >crabmeat when I saw them on sale. I specifically had
> >in mind using them in a period recipe when I bought them.
> >
> >However, last night when I decided I wanted to try a
> >period crabmeat recipe for dinner, I couldn't find a
> >recipe. I've looked in the seafood-msg file in my
> >Florilegium (and some of you thought I had everything in
> >there. :-) ) and all my period cookbooks including ones
> >like "Take a Thousand Eggs", "Pleyn Delit", "Curye on Inglysch",
> >"the Medieval Cookbook" and a few others I can't remember
> >right now.  I didn't bother with "Fabulous Feasts" or
> >"Take a Buttock of Beef".
 
> There are 2 crab recipes in TTEM, plus a number of mentions in the menus at
> the back.  It is included in the indices of both editions, in Vol. 2.  Here
> are the recipes:

Ok. I have the first edition. I was going to point out "crab" is not in
the index. Then I note that it does say "Volume One" on the front cover.
I thought this edition only had one volume. Hmmm. Maybe there is a Volume
Two somewhere around this house. I've already decided to buy a new copy
of the Miscellany, since my copy is probably ten years old, so maybe I
should update this one, too.
 
> Harleian MS. 4016
> 156 Crabbe or Lopster boiled.  Take a crabbe or a lopster, and stop him in
> [th]e vente with on of hire clees, and seth him in water, and no salt; or
> elles stoppe him in [th]e same maner, and cast him in an oven, and bake
> him, and serue him forth colde.  And his sauce is vinegre.
>  
> 156 Crab or Lobster boiled.  Take a crab or a lobster, and stop him in the
> vent with one of her claws, and seethe him in water, and no salt; or else
> stop him in the same manner, and cast him in an oven, and bake him, and
> serve him forth cold.  And his sauce is vinegar.

This is the only one I had in the Florilegium. This one didn't seem like
it would work very well with canned crabmeat.
 
> Harleian MS. 279 - Potage Dyvers
> Cxix.  Vyaunde de cyprys in lente.  Take gode [th]ikke mylke of Almaundys,
> do it on a potte; & nyme [th]e F[le]ysshe  of gode Crabbys, & gode Samoun,
> & bray it smal, & tempere yt vppe with [th]e forsayd mylke; boyle it, an
> lye it with floure of Rys or Amyndoun, an make it chargeaunt; when it ys
> y-boylid, do [th]er-to whyte Sugre, a gode quantyte of whyte Vernage
> Pime[3] with [th]e wyne, Pome-garnade.  Whan it is y-dressyd, straw a-boue
> [th]e grayne of Pome-garnade.
> 
> 
> 119.  Meat of Cyprus in Lent.  Take good thick milk of Almonds, put it in a
> pot; & take the F[le]sh of good Crabs, & good Salmon, & bray it small, &
> mix it up with the aforesaid milk; boil it, and mix it with flour of Rice
> or Wheat, and make it thick; when it is boiled, put thereto white Sugar, a
> good quantity of white Vernaccia Pime[3] with the wine, Pomegranate.  When
> it is dressed, strew above the grain of Pomegranate.
> 
> Vernaccia Pime[3] is a fortified Italian white wine, similar to sherry.
> Unfortunately, the only bottle of vernaccia I've found to date was spoiled.

I'll try this one. I thought at first this might be a crab cake, but upon
re-reading it looks more like a potage or thick stew. Thanks for the
mention of the type of wine. I guess I'll use a sherry. Is that a
Pomegranate wine? Or does it just mean Pomegranate juice? I assume the
"grain of Pomegranate" is ground up Pomegranate seeds? I have no idea
where I would find those. Anyone have any good substitutes for this?

Well, I just found out we are going to my Mother-in-Laws for dinner.
So I guess this experiment will have to wait until later. Probably
after I get back from Pennsic. Thanks, Cindy.

- -- 
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****