[Sca-cooks] Le Menagier Fine Powder

[Johnna Holloway]

The Brereton/Ferrier version is found on page 270 under Miscellaneous
Cooking Hints II v.
314. reads
Pouldre fine. Prenez gingerbre blanc 1 (degree). 3, canelle triee 3 
(degree),
giroffle et graine de chascun demy quart d'once, et de succre en pierre 
3 (degree).
et faictes pouldre.

I am using (degree) for the super-imposed degree sign that I am sure 
will not
e-mail at all well.

The note for this as found on page 329 states:
Pouldre fine... et faictes pouldre
The quantities prescribed here are difficult to interpret. The 
apothecary's sign 3
indicates a drachm 9cf. lines 29 and 30 where drame is spelt out), and  
I (degree)
may be meant for one ounce. The sign 3 (degree), however, is baffling. B 
has replaced this
by 4 (degree), presumably an abbreviation for 4 ounces. Pichon's suggestion
(ii, 247 n.3) that 4 (degree) means un quarteron is weakened by the fact 
that the usual
abbreviation is iiii (on ----written there as superscript).

{ I will note that what they reproduce in the text to the note looks 
like a funny bold face 3}

I suspect that if my reading of the note is correct that  there may be 
differences between versions of the manuscript.

Eileen Power in The Goodman of Paris on page 298 gives this as:
FINE [SPICE] POWDER. Take of white ginger an ounce and a dram,
of selected cinnamon a quarter, of cloves and grain [of  Paradise] each half
a quarter of an ounce, and of lump sugar a quarter and reduce them to 
powder.

I suspect Hinson stuck more closely to Power's version.

I also have at hand: Le Mesnagier de Paris which is Brereton and 
Ferrier's edition of Le Menagier de Paris translated into
modern French by Karin Ueltschi [Librairie Generale Francaise, 1994] and
the Slatkine Reprints edition of Le Menagier de Paris  [or the Pichon 
edition](Geneve) if you think those versions
might help. I can check those in the morning, but it's too late tonight 
to get into them.

Have you seen my article in the Florilegium---
French & Italian Herb and Spice Mixtures by THLady Johnnae llyn Lewis.
Stefan added it to the Florilegium in December.

Hope this helps---

Johnnae

lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:

> Herein lies a mystery - at least to me.
>
> The Pouldre Fine recipe as reproduced in Scully and Scully, "Early 
> French Cookery" on page 54 reads as follows
>
> Pouldre Fine
> (Menagier de Paris, p. 247/Sec. 314)
> (where through out Scully2, the page no. refers to Vol. II of the 
> Pichon ed.; and Sec no. to the same material in the Georgine E. 
> Brereton and Janet M. Ferrier, pp. 191-283)
>
> Prenez gingembre blanc 1 (degree sign) .3, canelle triee 3 (degree 
> sign), giroffle et graine de chascun demy quart d'once, et de succre 
> en pierre 3 (degree sign), et faicts pouldre.
>
> If i assume the degree sign represents an ounce, my translation is:
> Take white ginger 1 ounce .3, selected cinnamon 3 ounces, cloves and 
> grains [of paradise] of each half quarter of an ounce, and of rock 
> sugar 3 ounces, and make powder.
>
> However, the Janet Hinson version, in Duke Cariadoc's collection and 
> on the web at:
> http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Menagier/Menagier.html#OTHER%20ODDS%20AND%20ENDS 
>
> which says it's from the same Pichon ed. says
> FINE POWDER of spices. Take (probably: Ed.) an ounce and a drachma of 
> white ginger, (probably: Ed.) a quarter-ounce of hand-picked cinnamon, 
> half a quarter-ounce each of grains and cloves, and (probably: Ed.) a 
> quarter-ounce of rock sugar, and grind to powder.
>
> How did she get 1/4 ounce each for the cinnamon and the sugar?
>
> Anahita
> still puzzling over Fine Spices