Caboches in Potage

Cabbage Soup

Source: This recipe taken from Forme of Curye, ab. 1390 A.D. (Page 13r). The images below are from the original manuscript as digitized by the John Rylands University Library and the 1780 printing edited by Samuel Pegge.

Original Recipe:

Caboches in potage

Take caboches and quartre hem and seeth hem in gode broth with Onyons y mynced and the whyte of Lekes y slyt and corue smale and do þereto safron and salt and force it with poudre douce.

My Translation:

Cabbages in potage

Take cabbages and quarter them and cook them in good broth with minced onions and the white of leeks sliced and carved small and do thereto saffron and salt and force with sweet powder.

My Interpretation:

1 Cabbage

1 large onion

1 Leek (whites)

Salt, to taste

2 quarts broth (Chicken or Vegetable)

Sweet Spice Blend (See Powder Douce)

Bring broth to a simmer. Meanwhile, rough chop or slice cabbage; mince the onion, and thinly slice the white of the leek. Place cabbage, onion and leek into simmering broth and let cook until cabbage is tender. Season it with salt and sweet spice blend to taste.

Notes on the Recipe:

The original recipe calls for the cabbage to be quartered, but having the cabbage rough chopped or sliced makes for easier serving.

Notes on the Transcription & Translation:

The original text and transcription preserve the shorthand of writing that was common practice in the late 14^th century. I have taken the liberty of spelling each word fully in my transcription for clarity.

The use of the word "force" seems a bit awkward in the context of this recipe as one might perceive with other recipes calling to "force through a strainer". I believe in the context of the recipe that the use a synonym of "potent" better describes the purpose of the spice blend called for in the recipe.

References:

Media Information. Digital image. Caboches in Potage. The John Rylands University Library, Jan. 2009. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/Man4MedievalVC~4~4~2552~100035:Caboches-in-potage?sort=Reference_Number,Image_Sequence_Number,Page,Image_Title>.This is a digitized image of page 13r of the Forme of Cury housed at The John Rylands University Library in Manchester, England. This codex, written on vellum, dates from the late 14^th century.

Pegge, Samuel, ed. Forme of Cury London: Society of Antiquaries, 1780. The Forme of Cury. Greg Lindahl. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/foc/

Pegge, Samuel. The Forme of Cury. London: J. Nichols, 1780. Google Books. 5 Mar. 2009. Web. 18 June 2012. <http://books.google.com/books?id=L1JAAAAAYAAJ>.

Pegge, Samuel, ed. The Forme of Cury The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Forme of Cury, by Samuel Pegge. Project Gutenberg, May 2005. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8102/pg8102.html. This is the transcription of Forme of Cury of the Samuel Pegge edition originally published in 1780.