[Sca-cooks] New compost recipe (long)

[Vincent Cuenca]

Ya know, I had mentioned that I was fooling around with compost, but I never
actually posted the recipe.

The original is from a 1947 article by Faraudo de Saint-Germain entitled
"Llibre de Totes Maneres de Confits: Un Tratado cuatrocentista de Dulceria".
  Most of the article is a transcription of the manuscript, which dates to
1380 or thereabouts.  The transcription can also be found on Thomas
Gloning's website.

Here's the original:


CAPITOL .XVIJ.e PER FER LA RASEPTA DE LA COMPOSTA DE L AXEROP E DELS CONFITS

Resepta per fer lo axerop per .xvij. llr. de confits compres en  aquesta
manera, so es, .j.a llr. de prunes seques e .j.a llr. e mige de orallanes e
.j.a llr. de panses e mige liura de rave galesch e .xiij. llr. de tots
confits sens axerop, pendrets les cosses saguents. Primerament  pendreu .ij.
dines de mostalla fina molta e destrempar l eu ab vinagre un poch e un poch
de vin grech solament per trempar  lo vinagre e fer l eu estar .ij. o .iij.
jorns axi. Apres pendreu los confits e metreu los en una ger[r]a o holla e
fareu .j. onz. de
canyella fina picada e ben pessada; metreu primer un poch de canyella dins
la ger[r]a e apres un sostro de tots confits e altre de canyella fins tots
los confits sien composts ab la dita canyella, e estigua axi compost .ij. o
.iij. jorns. Apres pendreu tots los axerops dels dits confits e metreu ho
tot dins un perol e dar li eu un perel de buyls. E ab un altro peroll metreu
la dita mostalla detras dita axi com s esta, e aureu una liura e mige de rop
e un diner de vi de megranes e .ij. tasses de clareya o .iiij. dines de
pimentes si de la dita clarea no podeu aver, e mige tassa de grech fi e les
espisies  saguents ben picades e ben pessades ab un sedas, so es, .j.a oz.
canyella e .j.a oz. gingebre, e .iiij. dines de flor de massis, e .iiij.
dines de nous noscades, e .iiij. dines girofla, e .vj. diners sandils
blanchs, e .ij. dines de sandils vermeyls, e .iiij. dines de grana e mescla
ho
<<114>>tot be. E, com sera tot be mesclat, pendreu l autre perol ab la mel
bulenta e metreu ho tot mesclant be dins l autro perol on son les dites
espicies, e axi calt lansar [h]o eu dins la ger[r]a o olla sobre los dits
confits.

Here's my translation:

Chapter Seventeen To Prepare the Recipe for Compot of Syrup and Confits

A recipe to make the syrup for seventeen pounds of mixed confits in this
manner, which is: one pound of dried plums and one and a half pounds of
hazelnuts and a pound of raisins and half a pound of horseradish and
thirteen pounds of all confits without syrup, taking the following things.
Firstly take two dineros of fine ground mustard and temper it with a little
vinegar and a little Greek wine just to temper the vinegar and let it rest
thus two or three days.  Afterwards take the confits and put them in an
amphora or pot and prepare an ounce of fine cinnamon ground and well sifted;
add first a little cinnamon to the amphora and then a layer of all the
confits and another of cinnamon until all the confits are all together with
the aforementioned cinnamon, and they should rest all together for two or
three days.     Afterwards take all the syrups from the aforementioned
confits and put them all in a pot and boil them a couple of times.  And in
another pot add the aforementioned mustard just as it is, and add a pound
and a half of grape syrup and a dinero of pomegranate wine and two cupfuls
of clary or four dineros of spices if the aforementioned clary is not
available, and half a cupful of fine Greek {wine} and the following spices,
well ground and passed carefully through a sieve, which are: one ounce of
cinnamon and an ounce of ginger, and four dineros of mace, and four dineros
of nutmeg, and four dineros of cloves, and six dineros of white sandalwood,
and two dineros of red sandalwood, and four dineros of grains of paradise
and mix them all well.  And, being all well mixed, take the other pot with
the boiling honey and add it all to the other pot where the other spices
are, mixing it well, and once it is cool toss it all in the amphora or pot
over the aforementioned confits.

So as not to overload the list, I'll post my version of the recipe later.  I
had to fudge some, as this recipe seems to involve mixing other preserved
fruits and vegetables rather than working from scratch.  I've borrowed from
the Menagier and the Forme of Cury recipes as far as the mix of ingredients,
and used this one for spicing and so forth.  Any input you can provide would
be most appreciated.

Vicente
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It's great to be known, but it's even better to be known as strange.
-Takeshi Kaga



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