[Sca-cooks] Date for battered deep-fried stuff

[Johnna Holloway]

> It appears in this phrase in Scappi Poi habbisi apparecchiato il bocculo di rame con strutto caldo dentro, ...

Perhaps this will help. From http://www.medievalcookery.com/helewyse/pastavoto.html

Various works of pastry 
These recipes were translated to answer a question, what are the works of empty pastry referenced in October menus in Scappi.  While there is no recipe specifically called "empty pastry" in the fifth book of Scappi, dedicated to all things pastry, there are several recipes which say "and you can make various works with this pastry".  They range from pastry fried in lard to a recipe which closely resembles choux pastry and which includes instructions to bake in an oven. 
Translated June 2006 by Mistress Helewyse de Birkestad. 

Per fare una pasta della quale se ne potrà fare palle, & diversi altri lavorieri. Cap CXXXIIII, quinto libro. 
Imapstinsi libre due di fior di farina con tante ova fresche ch'esssa possa portare, & oncie tre d'acqua rosa, & sale abastanza, & d'essa pasta faccisene uno sfloglio sottile, & lascisi reposare per un quarto d'hora, & taglisisi poi in pezzi tondi larghi un palmo e mezzo, & col sperone taglisi a liste larghe un dito, facendo che le liste steino appiccate d'amendue le bande tutte insieme, & con un stecco di legno tondo si piglierà una lista si, & altra nò.  Poi habbisi apparecchiato il bocculo 

di rame con strutto caldo dentro, et pongasi dentro la pasta, facendo che l'ultima parte che vada nel strotto, sia quella, che è appicchata al stecco,  subito col copercio forato cuoprasi,  lascisi cuocere,  cotta che sarà, cavisi  pongasi sopra mele purificato, o zuccaro, servasi calda, e fredda a beneplacito.

To make a pastry of which one can make balls or ladies cloaks and various other works. Chapter 134, 5th book. 
Blend together two pounds of fine flour with enough fresh eggs that it can be carried (stiff dough?), and three ounces of rose water and enough salt, and with this pastry make a thin sheet.  Let it rest for a quarter of an hour, and then cut it into round pieces as large as a palm and a half, and with the pastry wheel cut them into strips as wide as a finger, and do it so that the strips stay fastened together. all the strips on both sides all together.  With a round piece of wood one takes one strip yes, the other not. *2  

Then have ready a deep pan of copper with hot lard inside it and put in the pastry, making is so that the last part that goes into the lard is that which is attached to the stick, immediately cover the pan with a lid with holes in it, and let it cook.  When it is cooked pul it out and pour on top cleaned (heated and skimmed) honey or sugar and serve hot or cold at your pleasure. 
*2 - As far as I picture this, first we have a circle of pastry, imagine a strip down the middle, this is not cut.  Then at 90 degrees slice in from the outside strips of pastry 1 finger wide.  Lay the stick down the middle (uncut pastry) Take every other strip and lay it over the stick (you may need to attach it to each other with pressure or liquid), this will give a kind of braid with dangly bits.  Use the stick to put the pastry thing into the oil.


Scully used timbale to describe them. n cooking, timbale derived from the word for "drum", also known as Timballo, can refer to either a kind of pan used for baking, or the food that is cooked inside such a pan.Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbale_(food)> 

It’s a steep sided pan.

Johnnae

> On Jul 23, 2018, at 2:48 AM, Stefan li Rous <stefanlirous at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Sorry, but is that a cooking utensil or a type of fish? I 'm afraid I don't recognize either "bocculo" or "timbale". :-(
> 
> Stefan
>> On Jul 22, 2018, at 6:38 PM, Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Scappi, according to Scully, mentions a bocculo, a sort of timbale used for deep frying. Footnote 134.3
>> 
>> Johnna
> 
>