World's oldest cookbook?

The Daily Mail reports that a cookbook dating back to the time of Richard II (1367-1400) has been discovered.

Dishes of chicken blancmange and porpoise porridge are unlikely to whet the appetite of most modern food lovers.

But such recipes were apparently fit for a king 600 years ago.

. . .

Experts from Manchester University's John Rylands Library, who discovered the manuscript, have translated a handful of its 150 recipes, which are written in Middle English and date back to 1390.




They include frumenty, a porridge-type dish made of bulghar wheat, chicken stock and saffron, and payn puff, a dish of boiled fruits wrapped in pastry.

The unusual cookbook, called the Forme of Cury, is believed to have contained dishes to feed servants and the royal family alike.

It gives a fascinating insight into the delicacies of the time, including dishes of swan and peacock. After translating the recipes, historians wanted to try the dishes themselves.

However, with no ingredient quantities or instructions, making the dishes proved tricky. John Hodgson, who looks after the library's manuscripts and archives, said: 'One of the difficulties was that a lot of the recipes were very vague.

'It wasn't like Delia Smith or Gordon Ramsay books at all. The book doesn't specify quantities of ingredients or cooking times, so it was a case of trial and error to get the recipes to suit modern tastes.'

Several meals are being added to the library's canteen menu for visitors to try. Debbie Fletcher, manager of the library's cafe, said: 'It was a real challenge to find some ingredients. Trying to find a porpoise - it's not something you can pop down to the supermarket for.'

There's more at the link.

I'm not sure I'd want to try porpoise porridge, even if some enterprising cook were to prepare it! On the other hand, it might be worth a visit to the Rylands Library next time I'm in England, to sample a few of their medieval wares.

Peter