[Sca-cooks] Milk Roasted

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On May 17, 2007, at 4:38 PM, Elise Fleming wrote:

> Greetings!  The Hampton Court cooks were trying this recipe when I was
> there and have just posted it on their web site:
>
>> Milke Rostys.
>> Take swete Mylke, an do it in a panne; take Eyroun with alle
>> þe whyte, & swenge hem, & caste þer-to; colour it with Safroun,
>> & boyle it so þat it wexe þikke; þan draw it þorw a straynoure,
>> & nym that leuyth, & presse it: & whan it is cold, larde it, &
>> schere on schevres, & roste it on a Gredelle, & serue forth.
>
> They didn't have much success with it.  Has anyone on the list  
> tried it?

Yep... I note that this recipe doesn't specify it, but most others  
for lait larde, milk rostys, etc., tell you to bring it to a boil,  
which no other true custard recipe really wants you to do. You want  
curds that will separate from the whey... I wonder if perhaps they  
used homogenized milk? That could be an issue, as well.

> Seems to me that they made a sort of fresh curd with it for it was  
> hanging
> suspended in a cloth from at least Saturday (maybe Friday) until  
> Sunday.

Ah. The recipe says to press it, generally under a weight is what  
they're looking for. Probably wrapped in a canvas or linen cloth, or  
some other cheesecloth, placed under a board with a stone or some  
such on top. Yes, you can hang it up, or even squeeze/wring it out a  
bit in the cloth, but for a really solid mass you want to press it  
for several hours.

> They sliced it and tried to put it on a skewer - which didn't work  
> - and
> then propped it in front of a charcoal fire which resulted a little  
> better,
> but not much.

Do you think the instruction to schere it on shevres (which I would  
interpret as slicing into "shivers", long thin slices like rashers of  
bacon) was perhaps misinterpreted as meaning to putting it on  
skewers? I mean, since you're roasting it on a griddle, which at its  
most liberal might refer to a gridiron, but more likely a flat  
bakestone-like surface like a pancake griddle, why would you need the  
support of a skewer?

>   I just wondered if any SCAdians had followed the original
> and what the results were.

Basically, imagine pan-fried bean curd, panir, or queso blanco. It  
only becomes tough enough to pick up easily, without breakage, after  
you get a bit of a crust formed.

HTH,

Adamantius