Title: Introduction To Medieval Recipes
Categories: Medieval Pepperidge Farm
Yield: 1 Servings
| INTRODUCTION TO 1475 RECIPES |
DE HONESTA VOLUPATE ET VALETUDINE (OF HONEST VOLUPTUSNESS AND HEALTH) OR
VIRTUOUS ENJOYMENT AND GOOD HEALTH) BY BARTHOLOMAEUS DE PLATINA Printed in
roman Type in Venice 13 June 1475 THE title of Platina's work, as is true
of many books of the period, appears in various forms. One variant, De
obsoniis ac honesta voluptate, can be freely translated as: "On meat
dishes and their virtuous enjoyment." Platina stresses that his recipes do
not lead to the sin of gluttony. So you can enjoy your three-inch
charcoal-broiled steaks and still feel virtuous. This book is important not
only as the first printed cookery text, but also as an excellent source of
knowledge of daily life in the mid-fifteenth century, and particularly for
insights into dietary customs of the time. Platina, I discovered, was not a
cook. He is recorded first as a soldier and later as a distinguished
scholar. In 1474 he presented the handwritten manuscript of his now famous
Lives of the Popes to Pope Sixtus IV. The original is still in the Vatican
Library. His reward was an appointment to the extremely important post of
Librarian to the Vatican. How did this scholar come to write a cookbook?
The clue may be found in the book itself, where he mentions his "good
friend Martino" the chef of one of the Chamberlains to the Pope. They must
have become acquainted at the Vati- can. A manuscript treatise on food and
cookery written by Martino is in the Library of Congress. It is quite
evident that Martino's manuscript formed the basis for Platina's book, for
he says of his friend in Chapter VI, "which cook, by the immortals, could
compare with my companion Martino of Como, by whom these things I write
have for the most part been considered? You will call him another Carneades
if you hear him discussing extemporaneously the things put forth here."
Platina's book is rather casual in its approach to actual cooking, and the
entries in the long table of contents may not guide the reader to any hint
of a recipe. For instance, the chapter on edible birds deals with swans and
storks, but only relates their living habits. It must be remembered,
however, that in the fifteenth century the common people could neither read
nor write. Books were commissioned by rich patrons who collected
handwritten books with elaborate hand-painted illuminations. Any cookery
manuscript would have been a carefully guarded secret, available only to
professionals. I suppose the student apprentices who had to pay for their
training were sworn to secrecy and learned not by reading but by working
with their masters, who probably couldn't write out directions anyway. But
Platina, a trained scholar and experienced writer, turned out a
well-written book by the standards of his time, even though the recipes
lack specific information. What fascinates me is that so many of the same
foods we use today were being used then in practically the same way.
Platina refers to eggs, pastry, bread and grains, cheese, all the
vegetables, practically all the fruits, including cherries, grapes and
eggs, chicken, frogs, salted meat, squid, octopus and all our modern
spices. And his chapters of advice concerning healthful habits seem
amazingly timely today, when exercise and recreation are considered of
vital importance for good health. All of Platina's recipes are frustrating,
for no quantities are given and no definite cooking directions appear. You
were just supposed to be a "born cook" in those days. Have a look at these
old recipes, but, for goodness sakes, don't try them unless you are the
gambling type. Use the modern versions--I can guarantee them, for we have
eaten them one and all. Source: Pepperidge Farm Cookbook, by Margaret
Rudkin -----