Late Middle Ages, England · Late Middle Ages
Macrows
A Forme of Cury dish of thin dough boiled and layered with cheese and butter. The work of about 1390 is distinguished from the 1780 edition, and not equated with tubular macaroni.
Late 14th-century England
Medieval cheese tart (Tart de Bry)
Egg yolks and cheese meet ginger and saffron in this gently sweet tart. A recipe from around 1390 provides the starting point; Gouda and a domestic oven make this a practical modern adaptation.
MODERN RECREATION
Modern Adaptation Proposal
Ingredient quantities, cooking times, and tools are proposed for modern home cooking. They are not measurements from the historical source.
Ingredients
Makes 4 portions in an 18 cm tin; allow about 100 minutes including cooling.
Do not taste the unbaked pastry or filling containing raw flour and egg.
Instructions
- Dice the butter and rub it into the flour. Add 30 mL water, bring together, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll out and line an 18 cm tart tin. Prick the base with a fork. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Line the pastry with baking paper and weights; bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove paper and weights and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Loosen the saffron in the remaining 10 mL water. Mix with the finely grated cheese, 3 yolks, 20 g sugar, 1 g ginger and 1 g salt, then fill the pastry.
- Bake at 180°C for approximately 30–40 minutes. Measure the thickest center of the filling with a food thermometer and confirm at least 75°C for 1 minute. Bake longer if needed.
- Cool until the tin can be removed, then cut into 4 portions. Divide leftovers into small portions, refrigerate promptly and eat soon.
HISTORICAL RECORD
Historical Sources and Evidence
These sources provide historical context. They do not necessarily support the quantities or cooking times in the modern adaptation.
Registered as a reconstruction based on sources. Distinguish the source's account from inference and modern adjustments.
Statements supported by sources
The heading “TART DE BRY. XX.VIII. VI.” in The Forme of Cury describes baking egg yolks, chese ruayn, ginger, sugar, saffron and salt in a pastry case.
Inference and interpretation
- The neighboring Tart de Brymlent is a separate fish-and-fruit dish. Chese ruayn is not securely identified here as modern Brie; the title alone does not establish the cheese variety.
Modern adjustments
- The Gouda, quantities for 4 portions, 18 cm tin, butter pastry, blind baking, 180°C setting and timings are modern choices. The 75°C for 1 minute endpoint is a modern heating guideline adopted for the egg filling, not a historical measurement.
Sources and references
- The Forme of Cury — TART DE BRY, XX.VIII. VI.Open source: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8102/pg8102-images.html
Read the TART DE BRY heading in the electronic transcription of Pegge’s 1780 edition; no manuscript or printed-page collation.
- 厚生労働省：家庭でできる食中毒予防の6つのポイントOpen source: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/www1/houdou/0903/h0331-1.html
General guidance on heating center to at least 75°C for 1 min, hand/utensil hygiene, and prompt cooling; not a trial validation of this recipe.
Image credits and sources
© History Meshi / OpenAI image_gen
License: AI-generated modern recreation / AI生成の現代再現イメージ / AI生成的现代复原示意 / AI生成的現代復原示意 / Recreación moderna generada por IA
England, 18th century (1774 edition) · 1774
Yorkshire Pudding (Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery, 1774 edition)
Based on "A Yorkshire pudding" in Hannah Glasse's 18th-century English cookbook The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1774 edition), this article covers a batter of milk, eggs, flour and salt baked in meat dripping. It separates the documented method from the quantities and times set for a modern oven.
Late 14th century (c. 1393, Paris, France) · c. 1393
Crespes
A crisp, medieval French fritter recorded in the late 14th-century Parisian household guide 'Le Ménagier de Paris', made by streaming batter through a pierced vessel into sizzling fat. Adapted from the historical recipe for modern home kitchens.