[Sca-cooks] greengage plums

[Stefan li Rous]

Maire commented:
> I made those (or something very similar) for a feast a few years ago,
> only I opted to use fresh plum halves instead of the cooked puree I see
> delineated below.  Dunno why I left them whole like that (perhaps a
> misreading of the recipe? perhaps expediency?), but they worked nicely.
So, why do you (or others?) think that the plums in this tart are 
supposed to be a puree rather than whole, halved or some other size? 
I've gone ahead and left the entire recipe below in case I've missed 
something, but I see two phrases that might give an idea of the state 
of the plums. The first is the phrase "let them cook beforehand in wine 
and strain them and...". Why do we assume that this means the plums are 
to be put through the strainer rather than the cooked plums put in the 
strainer and the wine and other liquids strained away? Is there some 
other phrase often used in period recipes for the latter procedure?

The second phrase is "Afterwards pour the plums on it and...". But 
cooked plums would be soft, right? So wouldn't cooked plums be soft and 
squishy and pourable into a crust?

Stefan
> David Friedman wrote:
> > I've only made the following with dried plums, but it's for either
> > fresh or dried:
> >
> > 70   A tart with plums, which can be dried or fresh (Sabina Welserin)
> >
> >     Let them cook beforehand in wine and strain them and take eggs,
> > cinnamon and sugar. Bake the dough for the tart. That is made like 
> so:
> > take two eggs and beat them. Afterwards stir flour therein until it
> > becomes a thick dough. Pour it on the table and work it well, until 
> it
> > is ready. After that take somewhat more than half the dough and roll 
> it
> > into a flat cake as wide as you would have your tart. Afterwards pour
> > the plums on it and roll out after that the other crust and cut it 
> up,
> > however you would like it, and put it on top over the tart and press 
> it
> > together well and let it bake. So one makes the dough for a tart.
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THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
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