Emplumeus de Pomes

Apple Sauce

The following dish is a chunky style applesauce made with almond milk.

Source: The original recipe comes from Du fait de cuisine by Maitre Chiquart Amiczo, chief cook to the Duke of Savoy, Amadeus VIII, written in the early 15th century.

The Original French Recipe:

Pourr donner entendement à celluy qui le fera sy prennés de bonnes pomes barberines selon la quantité que l'on en vouidra faire et puis les parés bien et appoint et les taillés en bealulx platz d'or ou d'argent; et qu 'il hait ung beau pot de terre bon et nect, et y mecte de belle eaue necte et mecte boulillir sur brase belle et clere et mecte bouillir ses pomes dedans. Et face qu 'il ait de bonnes amendres doulces grant quantité selon la quantité des pomes qu 'il ha mis cuire, et les plume, nectoie et lave tresbien et mectés broyer au mortier qui ne sante pointl les aulx, et si les broie tresbien et les arouse du boullon en quoy cuisent lesdictes pomes, et quant ledictes pomes seront assés cuictes si les tirés dehors sur belle et necte postz, et de celle eaue colle ses amendres et en face lait qui soit bon et espés, et le remecte boullir sur brase clere et necte sans fumee, et bien petit de sel. Et entretant que il bouldra si hache bien menut ses dictes pomes à ung petit et nect coutel et puis, estre hachiés, si les mecte dedans son lait, et y mecte du sucre grant foison selon ce que il y a desditz emplumeus de pomes; et puis, avant le medicin le demandera, si le mectés en belles eseuelles ou casses d'or ou d'argent.

An English Translation (from The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy)

Apple Sauce. To explain lit to whoever will make it, he should take good barberine apples depending on the quantity to be prepared. Then he should peel them carefully and cut them into pieces into fine gold or silver platters. He should take a good earthenware pot, very clean, and boil some pure water over good bright coals, then add the apples. He must also have good, sweet almonds, in large quantity depending on the quantity of apples being cooked; he should skin them and wash them well, then crush them in a mortar that has no garlic odor; when they are very well crushed, he should moisten them with the liquid in which the apples are cooking, and when the apples are sufficiently cooked he should remove them to a nice clean surface, and strain the almonds with this water, making a good, thick milk, and return it to the boil over bright, clean, smoke-free coals, with a tiny bit of salt. And while it is boiling, he should chop the apples finely with a small, clean knife; when they are chopped, he should add them to the milk and add a great deal of sugar, as required for this applesauce; then, when the physician calls for it, he should serve it in fine bowls or dishes made of gold or silver.

My Interpretation:

Peel, core and chop apples. Place in water. And set to cook on stove until tender about 10-15 minutes. Chop the cooked apples finely. Bring the almond milk to a boil and add the chopped apples and the sugar. Whisk to combine and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve cold

Notes:

*Almond Milk can be made using cooking liquid from apples or many stores now carry Almond Milk in the Dairy section. The Almond Milk from the Dairy section may impart a gray look to the final dish.

Sources:

The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy; Odile Redon, Françoise Sabban, & Silvano Serventi, translated to the English by Edward Schneider; The University of Chicago Press, 1998

Early French Cookery; D. Eleanor Scully & Terence Scully; The University of Michigan Press, 1995