[Sca-cooks] pumpkins and carrot pudding

[Stefan li Rous]

Haukr Myrkjarten asked:
> Hello all, I am new to this list so I'm sure this has been discussed
> before but I can't find a good answer for my question.

Welcome to the SCA-Cooks list!

> In reading a
> number of 14th century recipes I have foun references to using
> pumpkins.  I have always thought of pumpkins as a new world gourd so I
> assume that they are using the word to describe some other gourd.  What
> might be the closest modern approximation to this old world gourd?

You can find some previous discussions about this topic in this file in 
the FOOD-VEGETABLES section of the Florilegium:
gourds-msg        (99K)  1/22/05    Gourds, pumpkins, squash. Recipes.


>      Also, I am doing a east in April and have been hunting for a 
> recipe
> that I know I once saw but now can find no sign of.(don't you just hate
> that) The recipe was for carrot pudding.  It was a slightly sweet dish.
> If anyone has any period recipes for such a pudding I would bemost
> grateful for the sharing.  My feast is being done on a theme of 14th
> century France.

In doing a search in the Florilegium, I find two files with carrot 
pudding being mentioned. They are:
feast-menus-msg   (73K)  8/22/04    Feast menus from various SCA feasts.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FEASTS/feast-menus-msg.html
Irish-Vik-fst-art (20K)  5/27/01    A feast based on the Irish Vikings.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FEASTS/Irish-Vik-fst-art.html

This is from the latter file and although the source is not period, it 
may give you a start:
> 9. Marog Mheacan Dearg (Carrot Pudding)
> Ingredients: 3/4 lb of carrots, 6 eggs yolks, 1/2 cup butter, 2 Tbs. 
> heavy
> cream, 1/2 cup ground almonds
>
> Method: Serves 4-6
>  Wash and peel the carrots, leave whole and cook in boiling water until
> just
> tender. This will take about 8 minutes. Drain the carrots and dry off 
> any
> excess moisture. Grate on a course grater. Beat together the egg yolks
> and sugar until rich and thick in texture and pale cream in color. 
> Beat in
> the cream. Soften the butter until the consistency of thick cream, but 
> not
> melted. Beat into the egg and sugar mixture along with the carrots. 
> Stir
> in the ground almonds. A few drops of orange-flower water can also be
> added. Pile into the pie dish, bake at 400 F for 20 minutes, then 
> reduce
> to 350 F for a further 35 minutes.
>
> Recipe Source: In an Irish Country Kitchen, Clare Connery, George
> Weidenfeld & Nicholson Ltd., London, 1992, pg. 153
>
> Historical Notes: (reference by C. Connery in book above) 'Take three 
> large
> carrots give them a good warming in boiling water then take them out 
> and
> grate them take the yolk of twelve eggs very well beat half a pound of
> sugar half a pound of butter melted three of four spoonfuls of sweet 
> cream
> and beat all the ingredients together you must put puff dough round 
> your
> dish you may improve it by putting in a quarter of a pound of blanched
> almonds pounded let the sugar be the last thing going in.' 1709 receipt
> book of Charles Echlin from County Down

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****