Ryse of Fleyshe

Saffron Rice

This recipe taken from Forme of Curye, ab. 1390 A.D. (Page 14v & 15r). 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:

Take rys & Waiſhe hē clene. & do hē ī an erthen pot wiþ gode broth and lete hem seeþ wel. afťward take alman̄d mylke & do þ̛^rto and colõ hit w^t safron̄ & salt hit and meſſe it forth

My Translation:

Take rice and wash it clean. And place in an earthen pot with good broth and let it cook well. Afterward, take almond milk and add color it with saffron and salt it. And serve forth.

My Interpretation:

2 cups rice

1 quart broth

1 cup almond milk

pinch saffron

½ tsp. salt

Combine broth and almond milk in pot with saffron and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat then add rice. Cover and let cook for 20 minutes until rice is tender.

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.

References:

Media Information. Digital image. Ryse of Fleyshe. The John Rylands University Library, Jan. 2009. Web. 18 Jun. 2012. <http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/Man4MedievalVC~4~4~2636~100038:Gourdes-in-potage?sort=Reference_Number%2CImage_Sequence_Number%2CPage%2CImage_Title#>. This is a digitized image of page 14v 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.