[Sca-cooks] Eggs in Lent

Elise Fleming alysk at ix.netcom.com
Sat Mar 29 03:29:41 PDT 2008



Stefan wrote: 

>Alys detailed some of what she saw at Hampton Court and said:
<< Friday and Saturday were still Lent so no meat was cooked. The 
>>menu is posted on the blog site for all four days. On Saturday 
>>they were to do "Eggs in Lent" where the contents are blown 
>>out and the shell filled with an almond milk/sugar mixture. >>
 
>My understanding is that these folks are pretty accurate and that 
>this recipe does come from a period document, so what was done with 
>the contents of the eggs removed from the shells since you can't eat 
>them?

You can find the recipe in "Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books".  If you
have the Early English Text Society reprint it is on page 41.  The title is
"Eyroun in lentyn".

But you raise an interesting question!  I don't know what they would have
done with the contents - and I didn't even think to ask, although they
might not have known.  It's possible the contents were discarded or perhaps
given to animals for food.
 
>While they could be tossed, in an orgy of conspicuous consumption, 
>this doesn't sound likely. Was this dish likely done only near the 
>end of Lent, or near a "during Lent" Feast day?, so that the eggs 
>would stay good and be used in the next day or two?

See comment above.  Anyone else have a supposition?  Helen (one of the
frequent commenters on the blog) and I spotted one of their Saturday's
dishes which  included hard-boiled egg yolks ("Myle in Rapeye").  It's
primarily a fish dish and is not specified for Lent but since it was fish,
that seems to be why they chose it.  I'm not that familiar with what can
and can't be used in Lent.  Is it possible that on some of the 40 days that
eggs could be used -- a less Lenten day, a less strict observance day?
 
Alys K.

Elise Fleming
alysk at ix.netcom.com
http://home.netcom.com/~alysk/





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