GLOSSARY OF MEDIEVAL & RENAISSANCE CULINARY TERMS


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This is a listing of culinary definitions for words found in historical recipes. There may be other, non-culinary, definitions that we have not listed here. If you cannot find the word you are searching for alphabetically, try searching for it with your browser's search function since the word may be found grouped together with an alternate spelling.
Note: the letter "thorn" has been rendered here as [th], the letter "yogh" as [3], and long "s" as s or f, depending on who submitted the entry.

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Acetabulum = a unit of measurement, 15 drachmae, 1/4 hemina. (Sip)
Adarme (Spanish) = unit of weight, 1/16 ounce.

affaire (French) = To clean, to prepare (in context it could mean clean, skin, gut, scale, or any combination). (Viandier)


affiner (French) = To grind (in a mortar), to clean (a fish) (from context and OED. The literal meaning is 'refine'. Pichon et al. suggest 'peel', but this is surely wrong.). (Viandier)

agresto, agresta (It., Fr., Sp.) = either verjuice, or the unripe grapes from which verjuice is produced. (Carroll-Mann) From Latin agrestis, meaning wild, pertaining to the fields.

aigrefin (French) = Haddock (fish) (Montagne). (Viandier)

ajada (Spanish), ayada (Catalan) = sauce made of garlic pureed with oil, bread, and sometimes ground nuts. Compare to the Italian agliata sauce, described by Bartolomeo Scappi in Dell'Arte Cucinare (1570), made with walnuts, almonds, garlic, and bread soaked in meat broth , all crushed in a mortar.

aji = a spice, mentioned in Robert Fuson's translation, "The Log of Christopher Columbus", (p.175) in the entry for 15 January 1493 concludes with: "There is a great deal of cotton here, very fine and long, as well as a lot of mastic, and gold and copper. There is also much aji, which is their pepper and is worth more than our pepper; no one eats without it because it is very healthy. Fifty caravels can be loaded each year with it on this Isla Espanola." Fuson gives Aji as meaning chili pepper, not be confused with 'aje' (yucca or sweet potatoes) and 'ajo' (garlic).

Andrew Dalby in Dangerous Tastes. The Story of Spices (University of California Press, 2000) suggests that Columbus may never have seen actual allspice although he was assured that it was there... a bush bearing small round fruits that lent a spicy taste to food. Dalby also suggests that the aji found by Columbus is that perhaps of C.chinese, the best known cultivated versions today are those of the Jamaican Scotch Bonnet. (Holloway)

Alablaster = Alabaster, a kind of marble used to make carved molds for sugar work.

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) To cast all manner of frutage hollow... put it into your Alablaster moulds...
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) To make Paste-royall white...and put into an Alablaster Morter with an ounce of Gum dragagant steeped in Rosewater...
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) To make ... bruise them in an Alablaster or Marble Mortar...
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) To make paste of Goose-berries... beat it into perfect paste in an Alablaster Mortar...
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) To make Muskadine Comfits...and so beat them in an Alablaster Mortar till it come to perfect Paste...
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) ...To cast all manner of frutage hollow in turned worke... put it into your Alablaster moulds, being made of three peeces...

alainne (French) = Steam (the literal meaning is 'breath'). (Viandier)

Alay, a-lye, Allay = to mix or combine.

albrotetus, abrotet, albroturs = a broth. See broth.

(Liber Cure Cocorum), #48.Harus in abrotet, (Contents) Harus in albrotetus
(A Noble Boke of Cookry ffor a Prynce Houssode), Haires in Albroturs
Ale bre, Aleberry, alebrey, alebery, alebrue, alemeat = ale broth, a type of warm caudle made with groats, ale and spices.
(Liber Cure Cocorum) #132 For seke menne. Ale bre [th]us make [th]ou schalleÖ

Alegar = Ale + egar/eger/aigre (as in egerdouce), or sour ale, vinegar made from sour ale or beer.

alemaundes, almonds
1 - used as a thickening agent (see also blood, bread, eggs and livers).(Viandier)
2 - used as "spines" for mock hedgehogs (yrchons)
3 - used as garnish

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almond milk = crushed or ground almonds, mixed with boiling water, wine, or broth, and allowed to stand until the liquid becomes milky in color. The mixture is sweetened and used as a substitute for milk.

Alkanet = Alkanna tinctoria (Tausch.), or Anchusa tinctoria, Boraginaceae, also called Orchanet, Spanish Bugloss, Enchusa, Bugloss of Languedoc, Alkanea, Orcanette or Orcanéte. The root of Alkanet yields a potentially toxic red dye that was used in medieval times as a red food coloring agent. It is grown in the South of France. (TTEM)

alose (French) = Shad (fish). (Viandier)

alouyau (French) = Olive (that is, veal roll, bird or paupiette) (Black, OED. Trésor suggests a derivation from aloel or alouette, meaning 'lark', which would match an alternate English word for the dish, namely 'bird'. The medieval English spelling was 'alow' for the dish (Black), later spelt 'olave' (Aresty). This was presumably corrupted over the years to 'olive'. I have chosen 'paupiette' since it appears in Montagne and Webster.). (Viandier)

aloxas, alosses, alojas (Catalan/ Spanish) = a Catalan/Spanish confection made from sugar, water, rosewater, and amidon (wheat starch), cooked until thick, and then poured into a box. Recipes appear in the 14th century "Libre de totes Maneres de Confits" (with a marzipan underlayer) and in the "Manual de Mugeres". (Carroll-Mann)

alozees (French) = Shad-like (if ëshad-like carpí simply means 'carp'. It might instead be a mis-writing (the recipe for carpes directly follows that for aloze in the text). It might even be a new fish, belonging to the second paragraph of the recipe for 'shad'.) (Viandier)

amang (N. Engl. dial.) = among

Amber = fossilized resin; a semi-precious gem with static electrical properties, formerly used in medicine. Also sometimes refers to ambergris. (Sip)

amber of grece, ambergrease, ambregris, ambergris, Amber-greece, amber = from Middle French ambre gris - a waxy substance containing indigestible matter, produced in the intestines or stomach of the sperm whale. The whale regurgitates this substance. Dried ambergris is found floating in the tropics. It is used in the manufacture of perfumes, and as a fixative. In the 16th century it was used as a perfume and as a flavoring for confections and sweet dishes. Illustration

Mrs Sarah Longe her Receipt Booke - "...with a little Quantity of musk, and Ambergrease..."
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make a speciall sweet water to perfume clothes...the weight of foure pence of Amber-greece... [INEDIBLE]
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make mosse-powder... half a dram of amber-greece... [INEDIBLE]
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make an especiall sweet Powder...Amber-greece ten graines... [INEDIBLE]
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make an excellent Marmelade... put in of Muske and Amber dissolved in Rose-water, of each foure graines...
(The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie, Kt. Opened, 1669) - "Another Cake... When it is half-baked, Ice it over with fine Sugar and Rose-water, and the whites of Eggs, and Musk and Ambergreece."
(The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie, Kt. Opened, 1669) -"To Make A Plumb-Cake... Then to Ice it, take a pound and half of double refined Sugar beaten and searsed; The whites of three Eggs new-laid, and a little Orange-flower-water, with a little musk and Ambergreece, beaten and searsed..."
(The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie, Kt. Opened, 1669) -"Another Very Good Cake... If you please you may add a little Musk or Ambergreece."
(The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie, Kt. Opened, 1669) - "My Lord of Denbigh's Almond March-pane...You may beat dissolved Amber, or Essence of Cinnamon, with them."
Ambered-sugar =
Digby, 1669, # 121 - ìAmbered-sugar is made by grinding very well, four grains of Ambergreece, and one of Musk, with a little fine Sugar; or grinding two or three Spanish Pastils very small.î
Amphora = a double-handled wine jug. A Greek amphora holds approximately 10.3 gallons. A Roman amphora holds approximately 6.84 gallons. (Sip)
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Amydone, amidon , amidum= Starch from wheat or rye. Basically, wheat (or rye, rice) is soaked in water for several days; the water must be changed several times. Then the wheat is pounded and put into water again. This mash is filtered somehow and dried in the sun. The result seems to be starch that must be powdered again before it is put to use.


-- Simili modo e tritici semine tragum fit, in Campania dumtaxat et Aegypto, amylum vero ex omni tritico ac siligine, sed optimum e
trimestri. inventio eius Chio insulae debetur; et hodie laudatissimum inde. est appellatum ab eo quod sine mola fiat. proximum trimestri quod
e minime ponderoso tritico. madescit dulci aqua in ligneis vasis, ita ut integatur quinquies in die mutata; melius, si et noctu, ita ut misceatur
pariter. emollitum priusquam acescat, linteo aut sportis saccatum tegulae infunditur inlitae fermento, atque ita in sole densatur. post
Chium maxime laudatur Creticum, mox Aegyptium - probatur autem levore et levitate atque ut recens sit -, iam et Catoni dictum apud nos.
(Plinius)
-- Amydon. Pur fere amidon pur tut l'an, a tenyr taunt de tens come vos volez. Pernez forment net, entur la seint Johan, e si le metez en un vessel, e metez de bel ewe assez oue le forment neef jurs; e chescun jur serra le furment bien bien lavé, e le ewe changé; e pus braez le bien, e pus metez le ariere en bel ewe, e lessez le ester une nuyt; e pus colez hors le ewe; e pus metez le sus une lincele ver le solail, dekes a taunt ke il seit sec; e pus kaunt il est sec, pernez le e le metez en un net vessele; si le tenez taunt come vos volez, e coverez le bien, e trenchez le en peces &cetera. (Hieatt/Jones, eds., Two anglo-norman culinary collections, 1986, Ms. A Nr. 21)

-- Wiltu eine [!] Amelunck machen so nim den besten weissen vnd erlise in also schöene also du iemer kanst vnd tüo in denne in einen zuber vnd schútte frisch wasser dar vber alle tage vncz das er xiiij tage gewessert wirt so tüon denne daz wasser abe vnd stosse in in einem steine wol vnd tu:o in denne in ein wis Du:och vnd swinge in wol in dem frischen wasser so du aller vaste mahs vnd seige das wasser denne abe so du aller truckenste maht vnd slahe in denne vf ein wiß düoch vnd loß in dorren an der sunen so er iemer veste mag vnd hencke in denne an den luft in einen korp oder in einen sag. (Cod. guelf. 16.17. Aug. 4°, Blatt 111r/v; nach 1415, wohl noch erste Hälfte 15. Jh.)

--MS. Harley 5401: 22,3 -- To make Amydon.

-- For to make amydon. -- Nym whete at midsomer / & salt, & do it in a faire vessel / do water therto, that thy whete be yheled / let it stonde ix days & ix ny(g)t, & everyeday whess wel thy whete / & at ye ix days ende bray hit wel in a morter / & drie hit to(g)enst ye sonne / do it in a faire vessel / & kouere hit fort, thou wil it note. (Austin 1888, p. 112; Laud Ms. 553)

-- Wie man vmberdumb soll machen.
ccliiij. Nimb ein schöenen lautern Winter waitz/ vnd das er schöen erklaubt sey/ geüß ein frisch wasser daran/ vnnd seyhe
es alle tag ab/ geüß als offt ein frisch //wasser\\ wider daran/ müosts acht oder zehen tag thüon/ so lang biß sich der waitz kleübet/ so nimb dann den Waitzen/ vnd stoß jn/ vnnd geüß ein frisch wasser daran/ vnd truck jhn mit den henden/ vnnd nimb ein scho:ens leines Säecklein/ geüß den gerüerten Waitzen darein/ gibt ein weiß ding ausser. So du jn allen ein mal geru:ert hast/ das ist der erst schuß/ so stoß jhn stets zum andern mal/ den [N2a||46a] stoß besonder durch/ der ist nicht so gu:ot. So nun der
Vmmerdumb in ein Zinnbecken/ oder schaff gesetzt/ so seicht das wasser gantz ab/ vnd geüß ein anders daran/ biß es dick [ich] bedunckt es sey am boden gantz weiß/ Ob aber fäeßlin darinnen weren/ so rüer jhn durch einander/ von boden auff/ laß wider durchs Säeckel/ dann so geüß das wasser gantz darab/ das gleich wie ein taiglein der Vmmerdumb sey/ breyt den auff ein schöens weiß häerins tüoch/ auff ein bräetle/ geüß das taiglin zettelweiß darauff/ vnd setz jn an die Sonnen/ so er vbertrucknet/ ledigs von dem tüoch/ kers vmb/ vnnd setz an ein heisse Sonnen/ so wirt er scho:en weiß/ man mag jn in einer warmen stuben auch trücknen. (Staindl 1569)

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make Biskettello... put into it halfe a spoonfull of Amidum, that is, white Starch...

Ana = from Medieval Latin meaning ìuse equal quantities of each.î (Sip)
Ananas (Ger.) = pineapple

andouille, andoylle (French) = A spicy smoked sausage made of pork and garlic. The word derives from the Old French "andoille" from the Medieval Latin "inductilia," to introduce into, from the Latin "inducere," to introduce into a casing. (Decker)

Gargantua and Pantagruel - "he sat down at table; and because he was naturally phlegmatic, he began his meal with some dozens of gammons, dried neat's tongues, hard roes of mullet, called botargos, andouilles or sausages, and such other forerunners of wine."
ane, hane = one
(Liber Cure Cocorum) -#106 Of petecureÖ Rede cole hane parte of potage isÖ
Anise, Annys. Pimpinella anisum L., Umbelliferae. A common culinary seasoning, anise seeds are also used medicinally as carminatives, and to relieve colic and coughs. Anise seeds were, and still are, candied and used for comfits. (TTEM) Anise Red or white anise is ìanise in comfitî, anise seeds coated in sugar and brightly coloured.(Viandier)
appareillier(French) = To prepare, to clean (from context). (Viandier)

Apricocks, aluaricoques, abricot, alvariquoques, albaricoque (Sp.) , albricoque (Fr.), albirquq, al-burquq (Arabic), praiko`kia (Gr.), praecoquus, praecox (Lat.) = apricots, Prunus Armeniaca L. The name comes from the Latin, meaning 'early ripe'. (Fox-Davis)

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) To preserve Apricocks... Of Apricocks take a pound...
Aqua bath = from the Gaelic, uisce beatha, ìthe water of life.î The same as Usquebaugh, ìThe Irish Cordial.î (Sip) Distilled alcohol.
Aqua celestis (heavenly water) = a medicinal distilled alcoholic beverage.

Aqua composita (composed water) = a medicinal distilled alcoholic beverage.

Aqua mirabilis (miracle water) = a medicinal distilled alcoholic beverage.

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Aqua vitae, ew ardant, ardent spirits = the water of life. Distilled or grain alcohol. In this case it means ETHANOL (ethyl alcohol), not isopropanol (rubbing alcohol), denatured (poisoned) alcohol, or methanol (wood alcohol). From the name aqua vitae comes the Scandinavian word akavit, or aquavit, a distilled liquor flavored with caraway seeds. (Sip)

Forme of Cury (c. 1390) #189 Chastlet9 "...su-e it forth wt ew ardant."
Du fait de cuisine, by Master Chiquart, 1420 #5 ...heads of boars endored and armed and with banners and spitting fire... which should be soaked in fine ardent spirits and purified with a little camphor."

archal (French) = Brass wire (Huguet). (Viandier)

arconner (French) = To bard (from context, and probably from ëarsoní, meaning 'saddle-bow' or 'saddle' (OED). This is exactly parallel to 'bard', meaning 'horse armour' or 'pack saddle' (OED). Pichon et al. and Godefroy suggest "to attach to the spit with the aid of little skewers retaining the roast", but this is surely wrong.). (Viandier)

ardant spirits = alcohol. See aqua vitae.

Argoll = see Cream of Tartar.

Aromaticum Rosarum =This term appears in the "Booke of Sweetmeats" section of Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery. (Recipe S 273, To make Aquecelestis). Karen Hess says that it is "a powder containing red roses among its some 15 ingredients; it was highly popular and was sold in the apothecary shops. Culpepper gives the prescription in _A Physical Directory_, 1651, and claims that it 'strengthens the Brain, Heart, and stomach.'"

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make Aromaticum Lozonges... put in of the spices of Aromaticum Rosarum, 4. drammes...
Arrop/arop (Catalan) = a grape syrup made from reduced grape juice that has just started to ferment before it is reduced. Today, Arrop refers to a unique dish made with reduced grape juice and calabash. (MacDonald)
arrouser (French) = To baste (the literal meaning is 'sprinkle').(Viandier)

Arrows = arrow shafts were used to form hollow tubes out of sugar paste.

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) To make Paste-royall in Spices... then you may turne it upon sticks made of peeces of Arrowes, and make them hollow like Cinamon sticks...

Ascension Day Root = It would appear that this is a reference to Elecampane which used to be harvested on the Church holiday of the same name.

assate = to roast.

assation = roasting or baking.

assature = roasted meat.

Assay it = to try it, taste it. An assay is also a unit of measurement equal to 4 drams plus 24 grains. (Sip)

As pottage should be = a description of consistency = thick, but runny, like oatmeal. (TTEM)

At the dresser = a way station between the kitchen and the dining hall where food was kept warm and garnished prior to serving. (TTEM)

atout (French) = Including. (Viandier)

aubun (French) = White (of egg). (Viandier)

auence, avens = An herb, Geum urbanum L., and related species, Rosaceae, also called Herb Bennet. Used for its green colour, and as a potherb. If unobtainable, use a mixture of parsley (for colour) and cloves (for flavour) (Grieve, Sass 1975, OED). (Viandier) The dried root of Avens has a clove-like flavor, and is used as a seasoning. See also salmonde.

(Harl. 279, Potage Dyvers., c. 1430) iij. Joutes. Take Borage, Vyolet,... Auence, Longebeff wyth Orage and o[th]er, pyke hem clene...
Aume = a Dutch liquid measure approximately equal to 41 British gallons. (Sip) "Aume", in the otherhand, is an English measure derived from the German "ohm" or 1/6 "fuder". It is roughly equivalent to 40 gallons." (Decker)
aunes (French) = unit of length. The "aune" equates to the English ell. It varied regionally in France, but was a length of roughly 45 inches. Commonly used to measure cloth. (Decker)

Auroch is a general term which has been applied to both Bos primigenius (the ursus which is related to the Texas longhorn) and Bison bonasus (the wisent or European bison). In English, it is most commonly associated with Bos primigenius, but using it for either the ursus or wisent is correct. (Decker)

Ave Maria = a prayer, used as a measurement of time, approx. 13 seconds.

awqiya (Arabic) = unit of measurement. 1 awqiya = 33.8 grams = 1.19 ounces.

azucar (Sp.) =
1) sugar.
2) a sweet mixture. (Carroll-Mann)

azumbre = Spanish - unit of liquid measurement, approx. 4 pints, 2 quarts, 1/2 gallon, or 1/8 of an arroba

azure = Probably the semiprecious stone lapis lazuli, ground up, and used for its blue colour (OED). Plouvier suggests azurite, but this is probably wrong. (Viandier)

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baciner (French) = To baste (from context, not 'marinate' as Pichon et al. suggest). (Viandier) See baste.
baien (French) = Burst (of swelling grain) (Pichon et al.). (Viandier)

Baklava = The modern pastry of filo sheets, melted butter, ground nuts, honey, and flavoring has several antecedents in the medieval layered breads of the nomadic Turks, the yoka of the Turks of Central Asia, and in the Azerbaijanis' archaic pastry Baki pakhlavasi where eight layers of a thin noodle paste is interlayered with seven layers of ground nuts. It was left to the Ottoman era Topkapi Palace kitchens to combine their pastry skills with this archaic dish and come up with the paper thin dough now known as filo and this has led in turn to modern baklava. (Holloway) See also Perry's "The Taste for Layered Bread..."

Balneo = a water bath or bain marie, used to heat liquids gently during distillation. (Sip)

banqueting conceit, conceits = a dainty tidbit served during the banquet, or dessert course.

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) To make Paste of Violets...and when it is dry, gild it. It is a fine banqueting conceit.
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) ...Heere begin Banqueting Conceits, as Marmelades, Quodiniacks, and such like...
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) ...To make Biskettello...It is a very fine banqueting conceit.
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) ...To make a March-pane, to ice it... when it is iced, garnish it with conceits and stick long Comfits in it...
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) ...To make all sorts of banqueting Conceits of March-pane stuffe...

Barbary Sugar = sugar grown in the Barbary States of Northwest Africa, principally Morocco. Lord Burleigh, Secretary of State for Elizabeth I,
complained of the quality of Barbary sugar to the Grocer's Company. Indications are that it was a sugar of secondary quality, below Maderia
sugar but better than brown sugar. Importation of Barbary and Egyptian sugar into England began after Henry VIII's break with the Catholic Church in 1534. In 1551, under Edward VI, the Barbary Company was formed to trade with the Barbary Coast and the company was very active through Elizabeth's reign. The company achieved a monopoly about 1585, but lost it when Ahmad al-Mansur opened diplomatic relations between Morocco and Spain near the end of the 16th Century. (Decker)

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To preserve Cherries... then take of fine Barbary Sugar, and set it over the fire...
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) -To preserve Damsons... and to every pound of Damsons, you must take a pound of Barbary Sugar, white and good...
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) -To candie all manner of Flowers, Fruits and Spices, the cleere rocke-Candie. Take two pound of Barbary Sugar great grained...
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) ...To make all kinds of birds and beasts to stand... Take Barbary-Sugar, clarifie it...

Barbe Robert , Sauce Robert, Sauce Barbe Robert, saulce Robert = A kind of sauce. (Viandier)


1-- In the printed 15th c. Viandier, ed. Pichon/Vicaire p. 170:
"Pastés de poules a la saulce Robert. Prenés du vert jus et des moyeulx d'oeufz, et batés tout ensemble, et de pouldre fine; et, quant le pasté sera cuyt, mettés tout ensemble; et convient que toute la poulaille soit despeçée."
2-- In the 15th c. "Vivendier" (ed. Scully)
"Et premiers, pour faire une barbe Robert : prenez un poy de belle esve,
et le mettez boullir avoec du bure ; et puis y mettez du vin, de le moustarde et du vergus et des espices teles et si fortez que vous y arez vo goust, et laissiez tout bien boullir ensamble; puis prenez vostre poulet par pièces et le mettez dedens et laissiez boullir une onde seullement, puis si le rostez ; et gardez qu'il y ait brouet par raison; et qui soit un poy coulouré de saffren."

"Firstly, to make a Barbe Robert. Get a little clear water and set it to boil with some butter; then add in wine, mustard, verjuice and such spices and as strong as you like, and let everything boil together. Then get your pieces of chicken, put them in and let them boil only briefly; then roast them. Watch that there is a reasonable amount of broth. It should be coloured a little with saffron." (Tr. T. Scully)

3-- In the "Grand Cuisinier 1583" (quoted in Pichon/V. 109 Fn. 3)
Sauce Barbe Robert: "Prenés oygnons menus fris en sain de lard, ou beurre selon le iour, verjus, vinaigre et moustarde menu espice et sel, & faictes bouillir tout ensemble. Cette sauce sert à connils rostis, & poissons frit, tant de mer que d'autres, & oeufs frits".
(Basically the same version in a copy of the Grand Cuysinier, printed between 1566 and 1574, according to Vicaire's bibliography)

4-- and in the _Fleur de toute cuisine_ (1548), quoted in Scully, Viandier p. 226 (this text is related to the _Grand Cuisinier_ tradition)
"Prenez oignons menus fris en saing de lart ou beurre selen le jour, verjus, vinaigre et moustarde, menue espice et sel et faictes bouillir tout ensemble. Ceste saulce sert a connins rostis et poisson frit tant de mer que d'austres oeufs fris [sic]".

5-- Mentioned by Rabelais, 16th c., quoted in Littré's dictionary
"Robert ... fut inventeur de la saulse Robert, tant salubre et necessaire aux connils roustis, canards, porcs frais, oeufs pochés, merluz salés et mille autres telles viandes". (Rabelais IV 40; Littré 4, 1740).

6-- There are several places in La Varenne, in the Cuisinier and once in the Patissier.

According to Littré in his dictionary, it is a "Sauce piquante formée d'oignons hachés très-fin, cuits dans le beurre, et arrosés d'une cuillerée de vinaigre et autant de moutarde" (Littre 4, 1740a).

According to Scully in his Vivendier, it is "essentially a 'fortified' mustard sauce -- that is, a boiled mustard with additional spicing".


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bard, barding = Originally cloth or armour for a horse; later armour for men-at-arms; possibly derived from an Arabic word for 'pack-saddle'.
Culinarily it means to dress for roasting with large slices of pork fat draped over the meat. (Viandier) Also, a bard is the strip of pork fat used for this purpose. Nola uses this technique in two different poultry recipes (#34 & #49). Earliest English usage cited in OED is 1665.
Barding is distinguished from larding in that while larded meats are studded with slivers of lard inserted into little slots cut into the outer surface of the meat (and this is called studding when other things, such as cloves, are used, according to Le Menagier, which suggests the process is at least that old), barding is the process of coating a piece of meat entirely with fat, essentially wrapping the meat in sheets of fat sliced from a block of [usually] flead, flitch, suet, or whatever else your culture calls unrendered kidney/loin fat.Have you ever seen, in the glass cases at the expensive butcher shops, whole beef tenderloin roasts covered with white fat and tied up? (Sometimes this is done with bacon.) That is barding. It can also be done with pheasants and various other dryish poultry, certain cuts of veal, etc.
Barding has the advantage of being easily removed for service, and also does not cut into the meat, which can keep juices from escaping. Think in terms of the increased surface-area-to-mass ratio between a roast covered with little cuts versus one without them. On the other hand, barded cuts really don't brown much. It's just a different tool, with different capabilities, for a different job. (Troy)

barberries = Berberis vulgaris. "Alan Davidson refers to them as a "poorman's red currant." They were valued for use in the Middle Ages because they are a fairly acid red berry that would jell without the use of pectin. They were candied, pickled, conserved, eaten out of hand, and used in garnishes. Geoffrey Grigson noted that they were the fruit of a yellow barked shrub and as such were valued for treatment of "yellow diseases", i.e. jaundice. In the Caucasus, they were used in jams, jellies, and dried for use as seasonings. Facciola indicates that in Iranian cuisine, the dried berries were called zereshk and were used as a sour flavoring... "ZERESHK" berries are currently available on the internet from a number of Middle Eastern grocers. Indian cuisine dried some species and used them as "sour currants" in desserts... They are not common in the wild today in England because they were systematically eradicated as they were a host to a black rust fungus that attacks cereal crops. That's why Hilary Spurling chose to use imported cranberries for the barberry recipes in her edition of Fettiplace." (Holloway)

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To preserve Barberries. Take your Barberries very fair and well coloured...

Barm, berme = live yeast found on "working" ale and beer.

barley-bree = malt liquor. Literally the broth of barley. See bree.

bastard lovage = An herb (Laserpitium latifolium). Also called hartwort or herb frankincense (Grieve, OED). (Viandier)

baste = To brush or spoon pan dripping, fat, or other liquid over a roast, etc. to prevent drying out or burning, and to improve the flavor or coat the roast. See also baciner, dewte


(Harl. 279 , c. 1430)(Austin p. 39) ..."& euer as it dryit, baste it with bature, & sette forth in seruyce".
1594 Handmaide (Peachey p. 40) "To roste a Hare. First wash it in faire water, then perboyle it and lay in cold water againe, then larde it, and roste it in a broch. Then to make sauce for it, take red Vinigar, Salt, Pepper, Ginger Cloves, Mace, and put them together. Then minse Apples, and Onions, and frie them with a litle Sugar, and let them boyle wel together, then baste it upon yor hare, and so serve it foorth".
1594 Handmaide (Peachey p. 44) "... so lay it to the fyre, + baste it well with Butter and vinigar, + some Sinamon + Ginger in your butter, wherewith you baste it, and so serve it in".
1615 Murrell C1a.6 "Bake it on a Dish in the ouen: baste it with sweet Butter, that it may not bake drye on the outside".
batte = hasty
Liber Cure Cocorum - #50. Hennes in brewesÖ Grynde brede and peper and be not batteÖ

battledore, Battle door = from ME batildore, a flat wooden paddle.

Digby (1669) White metheglin of my Lady Hungerford - After it is well dissolved and laved with strong Arms or woodden Instruments, like Battle doors or Scoops...
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bature, batur, bater, baturys (plural) = batter

(Ancient Cookery, 1381) #28, "XXVIII. For to make capons in casselys....mak a batur and droppe the body rostyng..."
Harleian MS. 279 , c. 1430)- Leche Vyaundez. xlv. Brawune frye[3]. "...take [th]e [3]olkys of Eyroun, & sum of [th]e whyte [th]er-with; [th]an take mengyd Flowre, an draw [th]e Eyroun [th]orw a straynoure; [th]an take a gode quantyte of Sugre, Saferoun, & Salt, & caste [th]er-to, & take a fayre panne with Freyssche gres, & set ouer [th]e fyre; & whan [th]e grece is hote, take [th]e Brawn, an putte in bature, & turne it wyl [th]er-yn..."
Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez. "liiij. Fretoure. Take whete floure, Ale [3]est, Safroun, & Salt, & bete alle to-gederys as [th]ikke as [th]ou schuldyst make o[th]er bature in fleyssche tyme..."
Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez. "lxiij. Fretoure owt of lente. Take Flowre, Milke, & Eyroun, & grynd Pepir & Safroun, & make [th]er-of a bature..."
Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez "lj. Cryspe[3]. Take Whyte of Eyroun, Mylke, & Floure, & a lytel Berme, & bete it to-gederys, & draw it [th]orw a straynoure, so [th]at it be renneng, & not to styf, & caste Sugre [th]er-to, & Salt; [th]anne take a chafer ful of freysshe grece boyling, & put [th]in hond in [th]e Bature, & lat [th]in bature renne dowun by [th]in fyngerys in-to [th]e chafere..."
Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez. xxvij. Appraylere. "... & [th]an haue a gode Bature of Spicerye, Safroun, Galyngale, Canel, & [th]er-of y-now, & flowre, & grynd smal in a morter, & temper it vp with raw Eyroun, & do [th]er-to Sugre of Alisaunder y-now; & euer as it dryit, baste it with bature, & sette forth in seruyce."
Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez. lx. Myle[3] in Rapeye. "...[th]an make a gode bature of Almaunde mylke & Floure, & do [th]er-in, & frye hem wyl in Oyle, & ley hem yn a dyssche, & pore on [th]e Sew, & serue forth. "
Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez. xlviij. Ryschewys in lente. "...[th]an make [th]in bature with ale & Floure, & frye hem vppe brown in Oyle..."
Harleian MS. 279 - Potage Dyvers. xlvj. Poumes. "...[th]en take flowre an [3]olkys of eyroun, an [th]e whyte, an draw hem [th]orwe a straynowre, an caste [th]er-to pouder Gyngere, an make [th]in bature grene with [th]e Ius of Percely, or Malwys, in tyme of [3]ere Whete, an caste on [th]e pommys as [th]ey turne a-boute...
Harleian MS. 279 - Dyuerse Bake Metis. xxx. Sew trappe. "Take .ij. lytel er[th]en pannys, & sette on [th]e colys tyl [th]ey ben hote; make a dyssche-fulle of [th]ikke bature of Floure & Watere..."
Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez. lxiiij. Towres. "Take & make a gode [th]ikke bature of [3]olkys of Eyroun..."
Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez. liij. Lesynges de chare. "...& [th]an make fayre bature of Raw [3]olkys of Eyroun, Sugre, & Salt, & close [th]e sydys of [th]e lesyng[3] [th]er-with, & [th]an frye hem in fayre grece, & serue forth."
Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez. xix. Pome dorres. "...[th]en take Almaunde mylke, & y-bontyd flour, do hem to-gederys; take Sugre, & putte in [th]in bature; [th]en dore hem with sum grene [th]ing, percely or [3]olkys of Eyroun, to-geder, [th]at [th]ey ben grene; & be wyl war [th]at [th]ey ben nowt Browne; & sum men boyle hem in freysshe bro[th] or [th]ey ben spetid; & whan [th]ey ben so boylid, [th]en [th]ey must ben sette an kelid, & [th]an Spete hem, & dore hem with [3]olkys of Eyroun y-mengyd with [th]e Ius of haselle leuys. "
(Harleian MS. 4016, c. 1450). #71 Chike endored. "Take a chike, and drawe him, and roste him, And lete the fete be on, and take awey the hede; then make batur of yolkes of eyron and floure, and caste there-to pouder of ginger, and peper, saffron and salt, and pouder hit faire til hit be rosted ynogh."
Harleian MS. 4016. #19 Capons Stwed. "...hele the potte with a close led, and stoppe hit abou[3]te with dogh or bater, that no eier come oute..."
Harleian MS. 4016. #22 Frutours. "Take yolkes of egges, drawe hem thorgh a streynour, caste there-to faire floure, berme and ale; stere it togidre til hit be thik. Take pared appelles, cut hem thyn like obleies, ley hem in [th]e batur..."
Harleian MS. 4016. #133 Lente ffrutours. "Take goode floure, Ale yeest, saffron, and salt, and bete al to-gidre as thik as o[th]er maner frutours of fflesh; and [th]en take Appels, and pare hem, and kut hem in maner of ffrutours, and wete hem in [th]e batur vp and downe..."
Harleian MS. 4016. #80 Payn purdeuz. "...And then wete [th]e brede well there in [th]e yolkes of eyren, and then ley hit on the batur in [th]e pan..."
Harleian MS. 4016. #79 Browne fryes. "...And whan [th]e grece is hote, take downe and putte it in [th]e batur, and turne hit wel therein..."
Harleian MS. 4016. #117 Cryspes. "Take white of eyren, Milke, and fyne floure, and bete hit togidre, and drawe hit thorgh a streynour, so that hit be rennyng, and noght to stiff; and caste there-to sugur and salt. And then take a chaffur ful of fressh grece boyling; and [th]en put thi honde in the batur and lete the bater ren thorgh thi fingers into [th]e chaffur..."
Harleian MS. 4016. #136 [Trayne roste.] "...And then take a quarte of wyne or Ale, and fyne floure, And make batur thereof, and cast thereto pouder ginger, sugur, & saffron, pouder of Clowes, salt; And make [th]e batur not fully rennyng, and no[th]er stonding, but in [th]e mene, that hit may cleue, and than rost the treyne abought the fire in [th]e spete; And [th]en cast the batur on the treyne as he turneth abough[t] the fire, so longe til [th]e frute be hidde in the batur; as [th]ou castest [th]e batur there-on, hold a vessell vndere-nethe, for spilling of [th]e batur..."
Harleian MS. 4016. #74 ffelettes of Porke endored. "Take ffelettes of porke, and roste hem faire, And endore hem with [th]e same batur as [th]ou doest a cheke as he turneth aboute the spitte, And serue him forth."
Harleian MS. 4016 . #76 Losinges de chare. "...And then make faire bater of rawe yolkes of eron, sugur and salt, and close [th]e sides of [th]e losinges therewith, and then fry hem in fressh grece ynow, And so serue hem forthe."
Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez. #xxiij. Pome-Garnez. "... [th]an make [th]in baturys, [th]e on grene, & [th]at o[th]er [3]elow; [th]e grene of Percely. "

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bawde, baude, from barder (Fr.) = to cut in thin slices.

Harleian MS. 4016, #9 Mortreus de Chare - "Ötake it vppe, and bawde hit, and hewe itÖ"
Harleian MS. 4016. #34 Herbe-blade - "Ötake it oute, and baude hitÖ"
Harleian MS. 4016. #174 ffirmenty with porpeys. "Öwhan hit is ynowe, baude hit, and leche hitÖ"
Harleian MS. 279 - Potage Dyvers #lix Furmenty with purpaysseÖ bawde it & leche it in fayre pecysÖ

baye (French) = Berry (bay or juniper) (used in the treatment of wines) ('bay' alone may mean the berries of the bay tree (OED). Pichon et al. suggest the juniper berry. Crushed juniper berry is used to remove unpleasant flavours from game birds (Rombauer et al.). Scully (1988) suggests bay leaves, but this is surely wrong.). (Viandier)

Beccasse (Fr.) = "A Woodcock. Becasse petite, A Snite or Snipe. Cot.[grave]" (Furnivall, II, p. 68.)

be dene, bydene, bedene, etc. = Occurs repeatedly throughout ME poetry to fill the measure and to provide a rhyme. For the most part it means "anon" or "by and by", etc., and should be considered to have no value as an instruction in recipes.

bedja = ancient Egyptian conical bread pot made of clay. More information and illustration here.

beet sugar = "The first person known to have extracted beet sugar is a Prussian chemist, Andreas Sigismund Marggraf, in 1747. The commercial process was first presented by Franz Karl Achard, also a German chemist in 1793. He went on to set up the first commercial plant in 1802." (Decker)

Benzoin, Bengewine, Belzoin, benjamin, Benione, etc.= Styrax Benzoin, a tree resin. Now available as powdered resin and a tincture. A perfume fixative. AKA gum benzoin, benjamin.

"A dry and brittle resinous substance, with a fragrant odour and slightly aromatic taste, obtained from the Styrax benzoin, a tree of Sumatra, Java, etc. It is used in the preparation of benzoic acid, in medicine, and extensively in perfumery. For scientific distinction it is now termed gum benzoin. Also called by popular corruption BENJAMIN." (OED)


"1558 WARDE Alexis' Secr. (1568) 3a, An unce of Bengewine.
1562 TURNER Herbal II. 30b, Belzoin or Benzoin is the rosin of a tree.
1601 HOLLAND Pliny I. 480 The herbe..(which beareth the gum Benjoine) grew there first.
1616 BULLOKAR, Benzwine, a sweet smelling gumme.
1616 SURFL. & MARKH. Countr. Farm 484 Your hard gums, such as is frankincense, benjouin..and waxe.
1653 WALTON Angler (Arb.) 42 There is an herb Benione, which..makes him (the Otter) to avoid that place.
1658 ROWLAND Mouffet's Theat. Ins. 1000 Asa dulcis, Wine and Honey, or Benzoin dissolved in warm water.
1671 GREW Anat. Plants I. 17 Benzoine, by Distillation [yieldeth] Oyl; by Vstion, white Flowers.
1834 J. GRIFFIN Chem. Recr. 117 Gum benzoin (or benjamin) is a prime constituent of fumigating pastiles.
1875 JEVONS Money vii. 28 Cubes of benzoin, gum or beeswax..are other peculiar forms of currency." (OED)
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make an especiall sweet Powder... Benzoin and the Storax of each three drams... beat them all save the Benzoin and Storax and powder them by themselves... [INEDIBLE]


bescuit (French) = Pike (fish) (Pichon et al., Tobler. Power and Flandrin et al. have 'salmon'.). (Viandier)

bete (French)= Chard (Pichon et al., Montagne, OED). (Viandier)

Betony = an herb, Betonica officinalis L., Labiatae, also called Herb christopher, Wild Hop, or Wood Betony. (TTEM)

Bezoar = "A bezoar stone is a hard mass of indigestible material such as hair or fibers found in the stomachs or intestines of animals. Apparently they are fairly common in ruminants and humans. Bezoar stones are believed to have magic properties and act as a antidote to poison. Bezoar appears to derive from the Middle English "bezear" from the Old French "bezahar" possibly from the Arabic "bazahr" which derives from the Persian "padzahr" meaning "poison antidote."" (Decker)

bien pou (French) = Just a little (Huguet. Other dictionaries suggest 'very little' and similar meanings, but the recipes involved seem to call for the use of more than is suggested by 'very little'.).(Viandier)

Biskets =

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make Prince-bisket bread... cast Biskets and Carrowaies on it...
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make the vsuall Bisket sold at Comfit-makers...

Biskettello = small sweets made of sugar paste mixed with starch and musk, fashioned into the shape of tiny manchet loaves, baked on wafers in a cool oven and garnished with gold leaf.

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make Biskettello...

blanc mengier (French), blanke maunger, blancmange , blamang, blamanger, blaumanger, blancmanger, etc. = White dish (the literal meaning is 'white to eat'. (Viandier) Modern blancmange is not the same dish.

blank = A coin worth 5 deniers (OED. Pichon et al. suggest 10 or 12 deniers.) (Viandier)

Blattes de Bysance = "(also known as "onycha") are the opercules (shell-hinges) of a particular shellfish, Strombus lentigosus. These are used in some perfumery, particularly in incenses, as they have a powerful scent when ground and heated. Among other things, they are an ingredient in the famous Biblical incense of the High Priests. From http://bible.ort.org/bible/htm/exodus/penta/ch30.htm

"30 : 34 onycha Shecheleth in Hebrew. The Targum translates this as tufra, the Talmud as tziporen (Kerithoth 6a), and the Septuagint as onyx, all denoting "fingernail." Some maintain that this is a spice actually prepared from human fingernails (cf. Arukh s.v. Tziporen), but most authorities see it as coming from an aquatic animal (Mossef HeArukh ibid.; Ramban). It is therefore usually identified as onycha (Hirsch; King James) or blatta byzantia (Abarbanel; Shiltey Gibborim 85), the fingernail-like operculum or closing flap of certain snails of the murex family, such as the Onyx marinus, Strombus lentiginosus, or Unguis Odaratus (Tifereth Yisrael, Chomer Bakodesh 2:67; Cf. Ben Sirah 24:15, Dioscorides, De Materia Medica 2:10). This emits a very pleasant smell when burned." ButÖ
[Much confusion has arisen over a mention of Blattes de Bysance in recipes in the "Baghdad Cookery Book".] "However, this is not what the recipe actually calls for. The original Arabic editor of the "Baghdad Cookery Book", Dr. Da'ud Celebi ... was unaware of the meaning of the phrase "atraf at-tib", and so emended it to "azfar at-tib", which translates as "blattes de Byzance". This was followed by Arberry when he made his English translation. However, the original phrase is correct; it is just that Celebi couldn't find it in his modern Arabic dictionaries. In medieval Arabs sources "atraf at-tib" (which translates as "parcelles de parfum" or "packages of perfume") is a frequently used spice mix. In the Kitab al-Wusla ila l-Habib of about 1260 A.D. it says "c'est un melange d'epices tres souvent employe dans la cuisine; ce melange comprend de la lavande, du betel, des feuilles de laurier, de la muscade, du maccis, du cardamome, des clous de girofle, des boutons de rose, des faines, du gingembre et du poivre, ce dernier devant etre pile a part." (Maxime Rodinson, "Recherches sur les documents Arabes relatifs a la cuisine", in Revue des Etudes Islamiques, vol. 17 [1949], p. 132.) So it is a complex spice mix, rather like the modern ras al-hanout of Morocco.
ATRAF AT-TIB ("PARTICLES OF PERFUME")
This is the spice mix most often called for in the Wusla; in the Kitab al-tabikh it appears in eight recipes, including meat stew, fish dishes, savory relishes, and sauces. [Arberry, "Baghdad Cookery-Book", pp. 36, 203, 205-207. Arberry's confusion about the name and composition of this seasoning, which he translates as "blattes de Bysance"Ö, is corrected in Rodinson, "Recherches", p. 132.]

" . . .definition of "atraf at-tib"; it is a spice mixture very often used in cooking; this mixture includes lavender, areca (betel) nut, bay leaves, nutmeg, mace, cardamom, cloves, rosebuds, beechnuts, ginger and pepper, this last being previously ground separately." [Rodinson, "Recherches", pp. 132, 152. My translation from the French.]

Considering the complexity and types of ingredients in this mixture, it seems to be an ancestor of the modern Moroccan mixture called ras el hanout ("top (or head) of the shop"), perhaps because it is the finest and best the spice merchant has to offer. Ras el hanout will include anywhere from ten spices upwards to perhaps more than a hundred ingredients." (Dendy)


bleak = A small freshwater fish (Alburnus lucidus); and a similar saltwater fish (OED). (Viandier)

Bleddur = a piece of bladder, used as a stopper or lid to seal the container. (Sip)

Blink = a verb which means ëto alter the flavor by adding tannin.í (Sip)

blood, blode =
1-- Used as a common thickening and food coloring (see also almonds, bread, eggs and livers). (Viandier) Dried hare's or kid's blood is used as a red food coloring in Liber Cure Cocorum (#1, #23)
2 --(verb) to bleed, or drain the blood from.

(Harleian MS 279) Vyaunde Furnez, XXIIJ Lamprays bake Ölat hem blede in a vesselleÖ
(Harleian MS 4016) Heron rosted Ölete him blode as a craneÖ

Blow him, blaw hym = a method of skinning an animal by inserting a straw between the flesh and the skin, and inflating the animal like a balloon; the air ruptures the interior membrane, thereby loosening the skin and making it easier to remove. (TTEM)
The technique is also used to first lift the skin from the meat (but not to remove totally) and then to put some kind of farce between the skin and the meat.


Liber Cure Cocorum #62 "Capons in Cassolyce... Be hynde [th]o hede, blaw hym with penne..."

Here are some more recipes mentioning blowing up (for either purpose):

-- Viandier # 66 (_enfler_ Scully p. 121; Pichon/Vicaire p. 92f.) This recipe and the other three from the Vatican Viandier are online.
-- Viandier # 72 (Scully p. 135; Pichon/V. p. 94)
-- Viandier #213 (souffler; Scully p. 267; Pichon/V. p. 130)
-- Viandier #214 (souffler; Scully p. 268; Pichon/V. p. 130)
-- Rheinfrankisches Kochbuch, German 1445, 290v.2 ("... so lufft sie als ein hune ..."; probably 'blow the goose up like a chicken'; see the note in the edition.) -- In this German recipe from the RheinfrankischesKochbuch, one must "fulle die gans da mit" 'fill the goose with the farce' [I think: between the skin and the meat], later the recipe states: "vnd stoisz sie auch inwenig" 'and press the farce also inside the goose'. Thus, there seem to be two places to stuff: (1) between the skin and the meat, (2) inside.
-- Diversa Servicia # 28 "Nym a penne & opyn [th]e sckyn at [th]e heuyd & blowe hem tyl [th]e sckyn ryse from [th]e flesche ..."

(Harl. 4016, c. 1450). (Austin p. 81): "Chik farsed. -- Take a faire chek, and skald him, and breke the skyn (as sone as he is scalded) in the necke behinde, and blowe him, And cast him in faire water, and wass him; and [th]en kutte of [th]e hede and nek, and let [th]e ffete be on al hole, and draw him clene; and [th]en pike faire parcelly, and parboile hit; And [th]en take hard yolkes of eyron, and hewe hem and [th]e parcelly togidre, and fress grece, and caste there-to pouder of ginger, peper, a litel saffron and salt, And put al in-to [th]e Chike, and put hit on a Spitte; And thenne late him roste, and serue fort(h)."

--Liber de coquina, early 14th c., Latin -- "22. -- ["To stuff/fill a chicken, another way".] Aliter: si uis implere gallinam inter pelles et carnes, recipe gallinam uiuam et aperi corium suum iuxta collum, ita quod facias ibi unum foramen solum, quod uentus possit intrare. Postea, recipe fistulam paruam de paleis uel pluma factam; et per istam fistulam, gallinam per foramen predictum, ita quod tota gallina circum circa infra et carnes pellem usque ad coxas et alas, quantum poteris, uento impleatur. Deinde, interfice gallinam et cum aqua calida deplumetur. Et tunc remanebit inflata propter uentum.
Postea, recipe bonas carnes recentes porcinas pingues, petrosillum et bonas species trittas et herbas odoriferas; et omnia super tabulam cum cutello minutim incidas uel in mortario teras. Et postea, oua cruda in bona quantitate et caseum gratatum simul cum eisdem permisceas.
Postea, recipe gallinam, et digitum per foramen colli intromitas, ut subtiliter corium a carnibus diuidas; et per idem foramen, de predicto martoriolo siue comistione totam gallinam inter pellem et carnem impleas. Postea, predictum foramen cum acu et filio subtiliter suas. Etiam pone in ueru ad assandum." (Th.)


In his note 3 on page 123 of his Viandier edition, Scully mentions several other recipes, some of which use this kind of inflating technique, e.g. two recipes in the Arabic _Wusla_ reported by Rodinson (Recherches p. 157; kind of boneless chicken).


BLUE(?), bleu (French), blau (German) = a cooking method involving poaching an unscaled fish in an acidic water, making the outer skin turn bluish. (Seton) The bluish culprit is actually the layer of slime coating the skin of the fish, which is part of why the fish has to be unscaled, extremely fresh, preferably alive, and handled at a minimum. (Troy)

"I will leave BLUE to the English native speakers, but German _blau_ and its several spelling variants are used several times in 16th century German cookbooks with respect to the preparation of fishes: Staindl 1569, Sabina Welser 1553, Mayr 1579, Wecker 1598, Rumpolt 1581, a 1581 codex.
A quick look into French texts yields at least results from La Varenne (Brochet au bleu; Carpe au bleu) and Lancelot de Casteau 1604 ("... tous les poissons qui doiuent estre bouillis bleus, se cuisent auec de l'eau & veriu, & sel ou vinaigre"; p. 22). " (Th.)

Boce (French) =

boe (French) = Mud (a thick black sauce) (Pichon et al.). (Viandier)

Boltell cloth = bolter cloth, used for straining or sifting. (Sip)

Boulter bag, bolter bag = a sifter made of bolter cloth. (Sip)

bonte, crees bunte = a linen sieve

--Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez, xxij. For to make floure Rys... & [th]erow a crees bunte syfte hem, & for defaute of a bonte, take a Renge.

Borage = An herb, Borago officinalis L., Boraginaceae. Borage has blue star-shaped flowers; it is used as a potherb, garnish, confection, and drink flavoring. (TTEM)

botargos (Fr.) = hard roes of mullet

Gargantua and Pantagruel - "he sat down at table; and because he was naturally phlegmatic, he began his meal with some dozens of gammons, dried neat's tongues, hard roes of mullet, called botargos, andouilles or sausages, and such other forerunners of wine."

bourblier (French) = Not translated. It might be a particular cut of the wild boar (Godefroy suggests 'shoulder', Power has 'umbles' and Scully (1986) has 'breast'). Scully (1988) very reasonably suggests that it might instead be the name of the sauce described in the recipe, or (less likely) of the entire dish.
(Viandier)

boussac (French) = Bisque (OED, Montagne. Modern 'bisques' are exclusively shellfish dishes.).(Viandier)

bousture (French) = Boiled dish. (Viandier)

boute (French) = Ropy (of wine) (Pichon et al., Montagne). (Viandier)

bouter (French) = To insert, to attach, to touch. (Viandier)

Box =
1-- Boxwood, Buxus species. A tree whose wood is very dense and is suitable for carving or turning on a lathe. It is used for making wooden spits. Gyngerbrede (Harl. MS. 279, Leche Vyaundez) uses the dark green leaves of boxwood as a garnish.

(Harl. MS. 279, Leche Vyaundez) - iiij. Gyngerbrede ... take when [th]ou lechyst hyt, and caste Box leves a-bouyn... (TTEM)
2-- (verb) to store items, especially sweets, in boxes.
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make Paste of Pippins... you may box them, and keepe them all the yeere.
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make the vsuall Bisket sold at Comfit-makers...and so box it, and keepe it.
(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make Quodiniacks of Raspice, or English Coriants... then print it in your moulds, and box it, and so keepe them...
boyle = to boil
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Braggot, Bragawd = a Welsh drink brewed from ale, honey, herbs, and spices. (Sip)

brahon (French) = Dark meat (muscle) (OED under 'brawn'. This differs from the conjecture of Pichon et al. that it was a mis-writing for 'brown' meat. They were right for the wrong reason. Power has 'guts'.). (Viandier)

Brasill Sugar =

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make Quodiniack of Plums... put them into a Posnet with a pound and a halfe of Brasill Sugar...

Brawn, brawne =
1-- flesh, especially boarís or swineís flesh.
2-- a dish of flesh in aspic.

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make white leach of creame...slice it like brawne, and so serve it out...

bray, braye, brey = (possibly from brysse or broyse = to bruise, or Old French breier, to break) (verb) to grind or pound in a mortar with a pestle.

bread, brede, bræde, =
1- (noun) Bread. A common thickening (see also almonds, blood, eggs and livers) and food coloring. At the time, prepared by toasting slices of white bread on the grill until they reached the desired colour (from light golden to black). Heating crumbs carefully in the oven gives a more uniform colour. (Viandier)
2- (noun) a board or tablet, a cover or lid made of wood.
3- (noun) roasted meat
4- (noun) sweetbreads
5- (noun) breadth, width.

brede =
1- (verb) to roast, broil, or toast. Also brædan, bredan, bradde, bredde, bred, brad.
2- (verb) to spread out or extend. Bred (past part.)
3- (verb) to cover, to spread a table
4- (verb) to broaden
5- (verb) to braid or plait

bream = A freshwater fish (Abramis brama). (Viandier)

bree, bre =
1- a thick pottage
2- broth. See broth.

brete (French) = Small dogfish (Pichon et al. OED under 'bret' suggests brill or turbot, but these already appear, and are flat fish.). (Viandier)

Brimstone = sulfur, which was burned in order to sterilize bottles or casks. (Sip)

BROCH (English), broche (French), spyt , spisse (Middle Low German), spiedo (Italian), spito, verum (Latin) = a skewer or spit. In French "en la broche" means lit. 'in the spit'. En ast (Catalan) means "on the spit" or "spit-roasted" depending on how it's used. "En" (Spanish or Catalan) may also translate to English as "on" or "about", depending on the context. (McDonald) Looking at the Catalan De Nola and at the text of Sent Sovi, it seems that _en ast_ is used quite frequently, both in cases where something is already on (upon?) the spit (mig rostits en ast) and where one must put something upon the spit (e met la en ast). In German, the use of "in" in respect to spits is very strange, normally one says "am Spieß" or "an den Spieß". Similarly, as far as I can see (as a non-native speaker and writer of English), "on" or "upon" are commonly used in respect to spits in English. Perhaps I should have said that, as far as I can see, in Latin "ad spitonem" is more frequently used than "in spitone" etc. (Th.)

1594 The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchen. "To roste a Hare. First wash it in faire water, then perboyle it and lay in cold water againe, then larde it, and roste it in a broch..."
I had to comment on two recipes with "in einem spisse" (lit. 'in a spit') in the Rheinfränkisches Kochbuch, 15th c., german. Looking if this was an error or if I could keep it in the edition, I found that the construction with "in" is found in several other languages, too

-- in Middle Low German texts ("in en ider spyt 4 stucke", lit. 'in each spit four pieces')
-- in Italian recipes, _nello spiedo_ lit. 'in the spit', e.g. in Maestro Martino, in the Anonimo Meridionale, see Boström A31.3, A62.2

-- in French "en la broche" lit. 'in the spit' (e.g. in the Menagier)

-- and in Latin "in spitone" lit. 'in the spit', Cookbook of Jean de Bockenheim, ed. Laurioux # 19, 22, 50.

Thus, as broch seems to go back to French broche , the use of in in respect to broch in an English text might be another piece of French heritage. (Th. Gloning)
Broch also referred to large jugs ("1679 Blount Anc. Tenures 51 One iron Broch, which was a great Pot or Jug to carry Liquid things."
brochette = (noun) a skewer

brose = a pottage, broth or porridge made with oatmeal and water or milk.

brosser (French) = To curdle (from context. It may mean 'thicken'. Pichon et al. say they could not understand the meaning of the word). (Viandier)

broth, bro[th], brothe, broath(e), browet, brewis, bree, bre = the liquid in which anything is boiled, esp. meat, sometimes flavored with vegetables and thickened. See also albrotet.

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bruler (French) = To grill (of bread, browned as a sauce thickener). (Viandier)

Brysse, broyse = Bruise, pound, crush, or bray. To grind down in a mortar. (OED)

c1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 45 if thay [peas] ben harde..Brysse hom or strene hom.
1523 FITZHERB. Husb. ß59 Take that grasse, and broyse it a lyttell in a morter. ----
buche = found in John Russell's Boke of Nurture in The Babees Book, "Custard, chekkid buche, square with [th]e knyfeÖ". Furnivall, citing Cotgrave, speculates this could mean the manner in which the custard is to be cut in a checkered pattern. This is confirmed by O.E.D. Buche is a form of billet, meaning a stick or piece of firewood; but an alternate meaning is an heraldic bearing in the shape of a rectangle standing on end. A custard cut into such a pattern would not only be attractive (especially if alternate rectangles were colored a contrasting color), but would be easier to eat with a spoon, as in the next lines "Ö[th]us is [th]e cure [th]an [th]e souerayne, with his spone whan he lustethe to ete." Subsequent speculation by Furnivall based on the misspelled name of a dish in Ancient Cookery, "Bouce Jane" (an error for "Douce Iame"), includes the possibility that buche could be a stew. He correctly dismisses this notion because a stew cannot be cut into squares. Buche, or bouche, meaning billet, also is an allowance of food for a member of court, a knight, a soldier, etc.; it also means a bill of fare or a menu. See also check.
buffet , Beaufette =

1) a sideboard or side table for the display of china, plates, etc.

1718 Hickes & Nelson J. Kettlewell ii. 32. 135 "The Plate..was placed upon a Table or Buffett."
2) A cupboard in a recess for china and glasses.
1720 Humourist 116 The Cat had got into the Beaufette among the Glasses.
Burdock = a plant, genus Arctium, family Compositae; not the same as Dock.
But-head = as used by Digbyís Mr. Pierce (p. 100): ìThen cover your But-head with a sheet onely in Summer, but blankets in Winter...î. The butt-head is the unsealed top of the butt, or cask. The cask has been left unsealed so that the scum may be easily skimmed off. (Sip)

Butt = (See Cask.)

button = To dress for roasting with slivers of pork fat pricked into the meat. See lard (verb). (Viandier)



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cabas (French) = unit of measurement
(Scully) Chiquart, "Du Fait de Cuisine." ..."12 cabas of candied raisins ..."
calamite = (noun) reed; (adjective) reed-like. see Storax Calamite
Calamus, calamus root = Sweet Flag root, the aromatic root of Acorus calamus. According to Th. Johnson (Gerard's Herball, 1633, p. 64), Galangal root was often sold as calamus in the shops. Calamus was used medicinally for bruises, to promote menstruation, to cure poison, etc. It was also used as perfume, and candied for a sweet.

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make an especiall sweet Powder... Cyprus and Calamus of each halfe an ounce... [INEDIBLE]

cameline (French) = Not translated. The name may come from the ingredient canelle (Santich private communication, Scully), from its camel colour (Scully 1986), or from a herb (cameline) that may have formerly been an ingredient (OED, Sass 1975). (Viandier)

Campeachy = the red heartwood of a tree, Haematoxylon campechianum, also known as Logwood. It was used as a food dye, as was brasil/brazilwood and saunders/red sandalwood; the color is extractable with water. Campeachy is still used today with a mordant to dye musical instruments violet blue or black.

Camphire =

(A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1636) - To make a blanch for any Ladies face. ...Camphire one dramme... [INEDIBLE]
camphor, caumfre (M.E.), camphora (Lat.) = An aromatic substance obtained from the wood and leaves of the camphor tree, Cinnamomum camphora. Used externally for medicines. Also used for dramatic effect in flaming presentations.
Du fait de cuisine, by Master Chiquart, 1420 #5 ...heads of boars endored and armed and with banners and spitting fire... soaked in fine ardent spirits and purified with a little camphor."

canabenez, canabens, Canebyns = a particular preparation of fava beans; the medieval equivalent of the hulled, dried, split pea or bean, probably to prevent them from sprouting and/or rancidity of the germ portion, as well as molding. They're different from what we now call cannellini... Canebyns (sometimes called frizzled beans in sources translated from French texts, I believe) are favas that have been soaked until they swell up and begin to bust out of their hulls, after which they are dried again, rubbed free of the hulls, and chopped into smaller pieces with a sharp knife. These pieces are then slightly toasted in small amounts (recipes describing the process refer to holding metal spoonfuls of the chopped beans over a flame to toast them) -- (or am I mistaken, are they toasted and _then_ chopped?). Anyway, they appear to be designed to cook more quickly and have a longer shelf life than ordinary beans. (Troy)

Candlemas = Christian holiday, February 2nd. 40 days after giving birth to Jesus, Mary took him to the Temple in Jerusalem to present him to God. Celebrated with blessing candles and a candlelit procession. Candles are blessed and placed on altars. -"366 Days of Celebrations" (Seelye-King)

candy =

1- (noun) a sweet made mainly of flavored sugar. See also comfits.
2- (verb) to coat with sugar. See also frost, ice, glase,

Markham, The English Housewife #115 "To make a marrow bone pie... and candy all the cover with rose-water and sugar only; and so set it into the oven a little, and after serve it forth." "
Markham, The English Housewife #120- "A herring pie... and so serve it up, the lid being candied over with sugar, and the sides of the dish trimmed with sugar."
A Booke of Sweetmeats, Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery -"To Make Machpane Cakes [sic] -"candy ye other side."
Canel, Canelle, cassia = Cinnamomum cassia, Lauraceae, also called Cassia. This inexpensive type of cinnamon is the cinnamon most commonly found in U.S. markets. (TTEM) "canelle, fleur de canelle, and cynamome appear in Le Viandier. 'Cassia buds' were used in the Middle Ages (Grieve), so I think the identification is easy. Rosengarten similarly identifies canelle with 'cassia', and cynamome with 'cinnamon'.)" (Viandier)
cantarides, cantharide, cataride, kantaride, cantharis (Latin) = "Spanish Fly", used medicinally and as an aphrodesiac. (Peters) "Consuming a small quantity increases the flow of urine; consuming a large quantity causes one to urinate blood. When used as a suppository, it will bring on menstruation in women." (Carroll-Mann) More in French.

"1- A kind of beetle; esp., Cantharis vesicatoria; one of these beetles dried for medicinal use;
2- pl. a medicine made from these beetles, cantharides.

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