SC - New Book

[Isha ArrowHawk]

A recipe in Das Buch von Guter Spise caught my eye, and I was a little
puzzled by Alia Atlas' translation, so I decided to have a go at
translating.  Other than reassuring myself, my German is still abominable,
I've had some fun.  I'm putting the results out on the list, so the more
linguistically gifted can show me the error of my ways.

I'll try out the recipe later.

Bear


Alia translation:

74. Ein kuchen (A cake)
So du wilt mandelkuchin machen. so mache von mandelkerne gute milch. und
siut die. und rüere die abe mit eime zuckere. und schüt daz uf ein tuch. und
ein schaub drunder. und mache ein teyc von semeln melwe. und wille daz mit
einer wellen. und leg des gesoten mandels dor uf. und snit daz abe. und
backez in einer pfannen in smaltze. daz heizzet ein mandel kuchin.

How you want to make an almond cake. So make from almond kernels good milk.
And boil it. And encourage it down with a sugar. And pour that on a cloth.
And tangled straw there under. And make a dough from semmel meal. And will
that with a wave (possibly, roll it out). and lay the boiled almonds
thereon. And cut that down. And bake it in a pan in fat. That is called an
almond cake.

My translation, notes, and comments:

A cake.

How you make an almond cake.  Thus, make a good milk of almond kernals.  And
seethe (1) this.  And stir (2) it down with a sugar.  And pour that upon a
cloth.  And a schaub (3) there under.  And make a dough (4) of semmel meal
(semolina).  And wille that with a shaft (5).  And lay the boiled almonds
thereon.  And cut that down.  And fry it in a pan in fat (6).  That is
called an almond cake.

(1) siut  -  sieden - to seethe

(2) rüere  -  rühren - to stir or to beat

(3) Alia Atlas translates schaub as tangled straw.  I can't find a
reasonable translation of the word in my dictionaries.  I'm curious as to
why one would waste a good sweetened almond milk by draining it onto straw.
I am wondering if this may not be a regional colloquialism.

(4) teyc  -  Teig - dough, paste

(5) Wellen can translate as shaft or axle, as well as wave (or billow),
which suggests this is an instruction to roll out the dough as Alia Atlas
notes.  Wille appears to be a conjugation of the verb wollen, but it really
does not fit the sentence, suggesting that there is another meaning.

There is also the possibility that wille is a conjugation of the verb
wellen, to boil, which would make this an instruction to boil tthe dough
until it billows.  Given the later instructions, I do not think this is the
case.  I also don't think this fits the conjugation of wellen, but I am
uncertain of the proper conjugation.

Again, it is possible wille may be a regional colloquilism.

(6) As per discussions with Valois Armstrong, this is an instruction to fry
the pastry.


In working with this simple translation, I've found my German is terrible
and my dictionaries are worse.  I think I need a copy of the Deutsches
Wörterbuch, except it is sure to be in German and I would have another
translation problem.

Are the almonds blanched or unblanched?  I think I would used blanched for a
pleasing visual effect.

Since sugar is added to the almond milk, how thick is it?  As the recipe
dates from 1350, I would speculate that the sugar is used in moderation,
although it is possible that the almond milk was cooked very thick to give
the almonds a heavy sugar coating.

The dough is a semmel dough which I would expect to be made of at least 0
fine semolina flour.  I'm also of the opinion this is a leavened dough,
which would get some rise when fried, and make a finer, lighter pastry (a
cake) suitable for the topping of sweetened almonds.  Krapfen and fladen
apparently use pastry dough, kuchen dough appears to be made from finer
ingredients and is intended to be a lighter pastry.

The dough would be rolled thin and cut into pieces, so it would cook quickly
and thoroughly in the fat.  The almonds would probably be pressed lightly
into the top of the dough to keep them from falling off.

Now I need to get some semolina flour of a decent grade to experiment.