Sawse Camelyne

Cinnamon Sauce

Source: This recipe taken from Forme of Curye, ab. 1390 A.D. (Pages 68v & 69r). 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:

Sause Camelyne

Tak raysons of corans & kyrnels of notys & crustes of brede & pouder of ȝynȝer, clowes, flor of canel, bray it wel to gyder & do hit þer to salt temper hit up wit vyneger & messe forth.

My Translation:

Cinnamon Sauce

Take currants, meat of nuts, crusts of bread and powdered ginger, cloves, ground cinnamon, pound it well together and add thereto salt temper it up with vinegar and mess forth.

My Interpretation:

Soak bread crumbs in vinegar and ½ cup water, let set for about 30 minutes. Place nuts and currants into food processor. Pulse until ground into fine meal. Add soaked bread crumbs and remaining ingredients into food processor and pulse into smooth sauce is formed.

Notes on the Recipe:

The dominant flavor of this sauce should be cinnamon, as found in similar recipes. The vinegar and water ratios were chosen to not have the vinegar dominate the flavor of this sauce.

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. Sauce Camelyne. The John Rylands University Library, Jan. 2009. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/Man4MedievalVC~4~4~5692~100146:Chaudyn-for-swannes?sort=Reference_Number%2CImage_Sequence_Number%2CPage%2CImage_Title#>.This is a digitized image of page 68v 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.