Middle (and slightly later) English Recipe Blogging

Thanksgiving edition. What the Pilgrims might have served at Plymouth if our present Thanksgiving customs (which actually originated during the Romantic era) had been observed in the 1620's:

Capoun or gos farced.--Take Percely, & Swynys grece, or Sewet of a schepe, & parboyle hem to-gederys til þey ben tendyr; þan take harde yolkys of Eyroun, & choppe for-with; caste þer-to Pouder Pepir, Gyngere, Canel, Safroun, & Salt, & grapis in tyme of yere, & clowys y-nowe; & for defawte of grapis, Oynons, fyrst wil y-boylid, & afterward alle to-choppyd, & so stuffe hym & roste hym, & serue hym forth. And if þe lust, take a litil Porke y-sode, & al to-choppe hit smal a-mong þat oþer; for it wol be þe better, & namely for þe Capoun. [1439]

Sauce for a gos.--Take percelye, grapis, clowes of garleke, and salte, and put it in þe goos, and lete roste. And whanne þe goos is y-now, schake out þat is wiþ-in, and put al in a mortre, and do þer-to .iij. harde yolkes of egges; and grynd al to-gedre, and tempre it vp wiþ verious, and caste it upon the goos in a faire chargeour, & so serue it forth. [1439]

Sauce for Capons or Turky Fowles. -- Take Onions and slice them thin, and boyle them in faire water till they be boyled drye, and put some of the gravie unto them and pepper grose beaten. [1591]

Sauce for a Turkie. -- Take faire water and set it over the fire, then slice good store of Onions and put into it, and also Pepper and Salt, and good store of the gravy that comes from the Turkie, and boyle them very well together: then put to it a few fine crummes of grated bread to thicken it; a very little Sugar and some Vinegar, and so serve it up with the Turkey. [1623]

Stewed pompion. -- But the Housewives manner is to slice them when ripe, and cut them into dice, and so fill a pot with them of two or three Gallons, and stew them upon a gentle fire a whole day, and as they sink, they fill again with fresh Pompions, not putting any liquor to them; and when it is stew'd enough, it will look like bak'd Apples; this they Dish, putting Butter to it, and a little Vinegar, (with some Spice, as Ginger, &c.) which makes it tart like an Apple, and so serve it up to be eaten with Fish or Flesh: It provokes Urine extreamly and is very windy. [before 1674. Note: “Pompion” is pumpkin or squash.]

Pease pottage. -- Take the best old pease you can get, wash and boil them in fair water, when they boil scum them, and put in a piece of interlarded bacon about two pound, put in also a bundle of mince, or other sweet herbs; boil them not too thick, serve the bacon on sippets in thin slices, and pour on the broth. [1666]