[Sca-cooks] "Mushroom" recipe from Eberhard

[Volker Bach]

It puzzled me, too, so I translated to the best of my ability and prayed. Never tried it. I think it is supposed to be 'knots'. The idea seems to be to tie large knots (maybe something like Turk's heads?) into a rope and dip them into batter to produce fake mushroom heads that are then filled and deep-fried the way real ones are in season. Even up here in dreary North Germany where most years rain is the Christmas staple, real mushrooms are vanishingly rare in December, so it makes sense as an illusion food. 

Deep-frying is par for the course in fifteenth-century German cuisine. If it fits into the frier, it goes in, pretty much.

--- wheezul at canby.com <wheezul at canby.com> schrieb am Mi, 8.12.2010:

> Von: wheezul at canby.com <wheezul at canby.com>
> Betreff: Re: [Sca-cooks] "Mushroom" recipe from Eberhard
> An: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
> Datum: Mittwoch, 8. Dezember, 2010 21:40 Uhr
> I seem to recall that there is
> another such "Christmas Mushroom" recipe in
> one of Trude Ehlert's books.  When I read it I really
> puzzled over it.  I
> didn't come up with knots from my interpretation, but I
> will go back and
> read it again in light of this translation.  What I
> thought they were
> doing is dipping a spear head (also a knebel) into a dough
> and frying it
> to get the shape of a morel.  I could, however, be
> completely lost in
> space :)  But certainly I got the sense that they were
> making a fake
> mushroom form from a batter and frying them, cutting off
> the form and then
> stuffing them and coating them in a fairly thin batter,
> frying lightly and
> then finally baking them .  (A strauben is a funnel
> cake so it implies to
> me a pancake batter consistency).
> 
> I guess knots make sense in this case because of the
> modifier 'zwen' or
> two.  I don't know how that would work with my
> spearhead theory.
> 
> Katherine
> 
> >
> > Howdy,
> >
> > I came across the recipe below by chance thought the
> title sounded
> > interesting, but I'm having trouble understanding
> what's going on here
> > (maybe I'm just a bit slow today, or maybe something
> got lost in
> > translation).  Are the knots really knots, or are
> the pretzels or some
> > such?
> >
> > After re-reading it again (and again), I think it's
> using a knot (rope?)
> > as a form for a fried shell, then filling the shell
> and baking it.
> >
> > Anyone here have any thoughts on it?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > - Doc
> >
> > -=-=-
> >
> > This is an excerpt from Das Kochbuch des Meisters
> Eberhard
> > (Germany, 15th century - Giano Balestriere, trans.)
> >
> > If you want to make mushrooms around Christmas. Take a
> batter made from
> > white bread and a little flour and break eggs into it
> and tie two large
> > knots and throw them into the batter and move them
> around in it and put
> > them into lard that is not too hot. When they are
> baked a little, take
> > them out again and cut it open across the middle of
> the knot and fill it
> > with hard-boiled eggs and dip it into a mild batter,
> place it in lard
> > and bake it, then put the mushrooms in there and let
> them bake.
> >
> > Wiltu machen morchen vmb weihennachtenn. So nym ein
> teick auß weissem
> > brot vnd auß ein wenig melbs vnd schla eyer dar an
> vnd mach zwen knebel
> > vnd wurff die in den teick vnd zeuch sie darInnen vmb
> vnd leg sie in ein
> > schmalcz, das nit zu heyß sej, vnd wenn es ein
> wenig gepack, so nym es
> > her wider auß vnd schneyd es dann mitten auff dem
> knebel auff von
> > einander vnd full es dann mit ein geruntenn eyernn vnd
> zeuch es durch
> > einen linden straubenn teick, leg es in ein schmalcz
> vnd laß es pachenn
> > vnd secz die morchen dar ein vnd laß sie pachenn.
> >
> > http://www.medievalcookery.com/cgi/display.pl?ebe:12
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Sca-cooks mailing list
> > Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
> > http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org
> >
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Sca-cooks mailing list
> Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org
>