[Sca-cooks] Assistance interpreting a recipe (long)

[Louise Smithson]

I am currently working on retranslating the the Libro
di cucina/ Libro per cuoco (14th/15th c.) * (Anonimo
Veneziano), as I am unhappy with my first attempt.  
Rather than a literal translation I am aiming for a
more anglicized translation, complete with explanatory
comments where necessary.  I.E. indicating what is
really going on in the recipe.  This one recipe has me
more than a tad confused.  To make matters worse I
haven’t managed to come up with any similar recipes in
other Italian MS of the time or later to give me some
frame of reference.  The translation of the recipe is
given at the end of this message. 

The best I can understand it there are several
different sausage style stuffings that are made, which
are then variously wrapped and cooked somehow.  But
stuff keeps getting lost in the recipe.  
For instance: mixture one consists of 2 lamb
shoulders, cheese, herbs, spices and eggs.  The next
time we hear of this it is being used to stuff a lamb
spleen.  What on earth is done with the rest of it. 
The original ingredient list calls for four lamb cauls
which are never mentioned again. 
The second mixture (pork loin, cheese, spices, eggs
and saffron) is never referred to again.
The third mixture (pork liver, cheese, eggs, onion,
cumin) is made into ravioli (how big?) wrapped in
liver caul fried and powdered with sugar.  Then never
mentioned again. 
Then the spleens turn up and get stuffed with cheese
and eggs etc (colored variously green, white and
yellow). 
The spleens are boiled. 
Then life gets really confusing, two are chopped in
half, two are chopped small (how big can these spleens
be?) and I assume the whole lot of them are fried. 
Then more spices appear and some dried fruit possibly
just thrown on top and the recipe is done. 
My problem is I just can’t envision how this dish is
made or served.  The recipe is just way too garbled. 
So any discussion/light/inspiration you could throw my
way would be gratefully received. 

Helewyse de Birkestad


Transcription of the original Italian, recipe
LXXVII.is available on Thomas Glonings website at: 
http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/%7Egloning/frati.htm
It is not included here for reasons of length.  

My translation: 

LXXVII  Shoulder of ‘castron’ filled.
If you want to make stuffing of shoulders of ‘castron’
two or four, take the shoulder of ‘castron’ lifted
with all the joints (intact) and one needs two
shoulders for twenty people and three for forty
people.  If one wants to make it (this dish) for more
people or for less take these things (ingredients) in
the same ratio.  Take four cauls of ‘castron’, four
spleens (milt) of ‘castron, six pounds of pork loin,
one large pig liver and it’s caul, twenty fresh
cheeses the best that you might have, one (pound) of
dates, a pound of dried currants, half a pound of
sugar, half an ounce of cinnamon, half (an ounce) of
whole ginger, and half a quarter (of an ounce) of
cloves.  Make half a pound of fine (quality) sweet
spices that are warming (rich with cinnamon) and make
half a pound of strong spices.  
Take the shoulders and put them whole to boil and let
them cook well, but not so much that the bones
separate themselves.  Pull them out (of the cooking
water) and take away all the meat, as much as you can.
 Chop/beat it well and add much parsley, sage, mint
and marjoram if you have them.  To this mixture/batter
add salt, and beat, and spices, one cheese, well
chopped fresh or salted lard and as many eggs as is
enough (to bind the mixture).  This will be one of the
mixtures/batters for this (dish).  
Take the pork loin well chopped/beaten and mix with
this six fat (rich and creamy) fresh cheeses, and add
sweet and strong spices and enough well ground saffron
and as many eggs as are enough (to bind the batter). 
This is another mixture/batter for this (dish).  
Take the pork liver boiled, well chopped and put it
into a mortar and grind it.  To this add one large
onion, a quantity of cumin, eggs and cheese and give
it enough spices.  This mixture/batter should be firm
and make ravioli. Take the pork (liver) caul and they
should be fried in fresh lard and powdered with sugar.
 This is another mixture/batter for this (dish).
Take the spleens, well washed and well
scraped/scrubbed.  One of these fill with eggs, cheese
and good green herbs.  The next fill with cheese,
eggs, milk and all the good things you might have that
are white.  The third stuff with cheese, eggs and
saffron rich spices so that it is yellow.  The fourth
fill with the mixture/batter of ‘castron’ that you
have.  When they are full put them to boil so that
they are cooked. 
When they are cooked cut two of them into two large
pieces each, and the other two cut into small pieces
of one hand span each.  These should be fried.  Take
the dates, a pound of dried currants, half a pound of
sugar, half (an ounce) of whole ginger, half a quarter
(of an ounce) of cloves, half a pound of sweet spices
and half a pound of strong.  Thus they are powdered
the best and make in this way if you want. 

Notes: anything in parentheses is an addition to the
recipe by me in order to make it more understandable. 
All punctuation is added in keeping with the rules of
modern English grammar and does not correspond to that
of the original.  
‘castron’ is specifically a castrated male lamb raised
for food.  Scappi (16th C Italian) indicates that the
season for Castron begins at the end of June and lasts
through all of February.  Which if the lambs are born
in February – March (spring) would indicate that they
are between 4 months and a year old, corresponding to
everything from modern spring lamb through something I
count as mutton. 


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