I was interested to explore what Renaissance wet nurses might have eaten. There was no refrigeration back then, and food was a matter of social class, as well as region and season. Meats were served either fresh or preserved through a process of salting. Vegetables were eaten seasonally and stored in underground pantries. Grains were hand-milled and usually consisted of rye, barley and oats. The fundamental staple of the lower class was bread made from these grains. Wheat was more difficult to come by and enjoyed more often by the upper class. I have often wondered if many people back then were vegetarians. But since survival depended on the viability of crops and crops often failed, hunting was a definite way of life. Makes me wonder how the women ever got by without prenatal vitamins!
I was a bit hard pressed to find something vegetarian amongst the recipes I found, but I did find a few. Isn’t it cool you get to see this written in Olde English? Check out the site it came from for more Renaissance food recipes.
ORIGINAL RECEIPT:
Frutowr for Lentyn. Recipe flour & almondes mylk, & temper þam togyder; þan take fyges & rasyns of corance & fry þam with þe batour with oyle & tyrne þis & serof.
- Hieatt, Constance B. “The Middle English Culinary Recipes in MS Harley 5401: An Edition and Commentary.” Medium Ævum vol. 65, no. 1 (1996): 54-71.
GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:
Fritter for Lent. Recipe: flour & almond milk, & temper them together; then take figs & raisins of Corinth & fry them with the batter with oil & turn this & serve.
MODERN RECIPE:
1 cup almond milk (buy at the store or make your own)
3/4 cup flour
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup sliced figs & currants
Mix the almond milk quickly with the flour into a pancake-like batter; do not overbeat. Adjust the batter as needed: if too thick, dilute with a little almond milk; if too thin, thicken with a little flour.
Heat the oil in a skillet; when hot, pour in 1/2 of the batter. Sprinkle the fruit over top, then cover with the remaining batter. Cook until brown underneath, then turn over to brown the opposite side. Serve whole or sliced.
OPTIONAL: garnish with honey or sugar.
If making more than one fritter, keep them warm before serving on the rack of a 250° F oven.
My Review: These are so quick and easy to make. One fritter can feed a household at snack time and at least two people for breaskfsat. They are a little bit chewy in a rubbery sort-of way, but it is to be expected when you’re basically eating cooked flour and water, but they are actually surprisingly good. I think 1 cup of dried fruit is way too much. I used a heaping 1/2 cup and found it was quite enough. I used raisins in substitution of the figs (because I don’t like figs) and I think you could use any dried fruits you wanted. I wasn’t sure if I would like this fried in olive oil because olive oil can have a strong flavour so it isn’t recommended for sweet foods or in baking, but it was fine. The fruits made it sweet enough to eat as is, but a little drizzle of honey made it perfect. I would make this again as a quick snack or breakfast, either at home or on a camping trip, cooked over an open fire.
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Tags: breakfast, Foodie Fridays, snack, wet nursing
