Recipes - 17th Tasting

7/29/2019 Recipes - 17th Tasting

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Recipes from A Taste of the 17th Century

Plimoth Plantation offers the public several ways to experience the culinarypast. Through interaction with museum guides at daily exhibits anddemonstrations, visitors to the Wampanoag Homesite, the 1627 Pilgrim Village,and Mayflower II learn about the foodways of 17th-century Native people andEnglish colonists. Activities are governed by the season of the year and include,besides hearth-cooking, many processes no longer undertaken in most homes:plucking birds, making cheese, dressing hides, and preserving meat and fish, toname a few. On these same sites, visitors may also explore many ideas relatedto food, such as dietary expectations, hospitality, nutrition and health, and

provisioning for travel. At the Crafts Center, skilled artisans, working in pottery,basketry, wood and textiles, make reproductions of period artifacts, many ofwhich relate to food production and consumption. These high-qualityreproduction artifacts are intrinsic to the museums interactive programs. Manyare also available for sale in Plimoth Plantations Museum Shops, allowing theadventurous home cook a chance to experiment by the fire.

In addition, Plimoth Plantation offers workshops and lectures by prominentscholars and authors from the field of food history. Public Dining opportunities,ranging from festive dinners with Pilgrim role-players to a menu featuring17th-century cookery from both cultures give the public the chance to try for

themselves the sort of cookery they may have witnessed on the museum sites.

Food historians at Plimoth Plantation use documentary and pictorial sources,original artifacts, oral history, and the archaeological record, as well as theirpractical skills in cooking, to create a plausible picture of the foodways of 17th-century Plymouth Colony. The recipes presented here reflect both English andWampanoag practices, revealed through cookbooks, oral traditions, journals,letters and inventories of the period.

The English recipes features also may have been adapted to the specialcircumstances of New Plymouth in the decade of the 1620s. For example,

where an English housewife was brought up to use oats in a dish, she would,upon removal to New England, learn to make do with meal of Indian Corne.Thus, one characteristic of the foodways of the first generation of colonists wasa tension between the dietary expectations of Old England and the actualavailability of foodstuffs, time, and labor in New England.


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Research in the foodways of 17th-century Plymouth Colony is one componentof Plimoth Plantations commitment to recreating daily life in past cultures, andgiving the museum audience new ways of access into history.

Please note that all of these recipes are the property of Plimoth Plantation and

cannot be published without consent.

NASAUMP (A Wampanoag Recipe)

Nasaump. A kind of meale pottage, unpartchd. From this the Englishcall their Samp, which is the Indian corne, beaten and boild, and eatenhot or cold with milke or butter, which are mercies beyond the Nativesplain water (Williams 1643:100)

Once Roger Williams preoccupation with the English version of this dish is

stripped away, nasaump can be seen to have consisted of dried corn, poundedin a mortar, and boiled in plain water to a thick porridge. Other variations ofthe recipes add fruit (strawberries or blueberries are appropriate) or clam brothwith native herbs (green onions, wild garlic). English cooks made a dish similarto this but added milk, spices sugar or butter.

Cooks Notes:

1 quart water1 cups coarse grits or hominy

Options:1 cup clam broth and green onions or 1 cup fresh strawberries or blueberries

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Gradually add the hominy, stirring untilit comes back to a boil. Turn down the heat to low, and allow to cook verygently for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and allow tostand one-half to one hour. Before serving, reheat over medium heat, stirring.(If you are adding clam broth and green onions or fruit you can add those in atthis point) The dish can also be reheated in a covered, buttered baking dish ina 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. You may need to add a bit more water toloosen things up

SOBAHEG made with Turkey (A Wampanoag Recipe)

Sobaheg is the Wampanoag word for stew. Like most stews, this dish is easilyadapted to seasonal ingredients. Variations of this dish are still made inWampanoag households in New England. Like other cuisines, Wampanoagcookery has continued to evolve, incorporating new ingredients and techniquesinto the traditional cuisine. Salt is not mentioned in the original recipe, even


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though it was probably used when the recipe was recorded in 1674. Beforetrade with Europeans, the Wampanoag got the salt necessary to good healthby consuming seafood. After the arrival of the English, salt became a verypopular trade commodity with the Wampanoag.

Their food is generally boiled maize or Indian corn, mixed with kidney-beans, or sometimes without. Also they frequently boil in this pottagfish and flesh of all sorts, either taken fresh or newly dried These theycut in pieces, bones and all, and boil them in the aforesaid pottage. Ihave wondered many times that they were not in danger of beingchoked with fish bones; but they are so dexterious to separate thebones from the fish in the eating therof, that they are in no hazard. Alsothey boil in this furmenty all sorts of flesh, that they take in hunting; asvenison, beaver, bears flesh, moose, otters, rackoons, or any kind thatthey take in hunting; cutting this flesh in small pieces, and boiling as

aforesaid. Also they mix with the said pottage several sorts of roots; asJerusalem artichokes, and ground nuts, and other roots, and pompions,and squashes, and also severall sorts of nuts or masts, as oak acorns,chestnuts, walnuts; these husked and dried, and powdered, theythicken their pottage therewith. (Gookin 1674:10)

French-beans, or rather American-beans, the Herbalists call them kidneybeans from their shape and effects, for they strengthen the kidneys;they are variegated much, some being bigger a great deal than others;some white, black, red, yellow, blew, spotted(Wood 16: 53)

Cooks Notes:

pound dry beans (white, red, brown, or spotted kidney-shaped beans) pound yellow samp or coarse grits1 pound turkey meat (legs or breast, with bone and skin)3 quarts cold water pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths pound winter squash, trimmed and cubed cup raw sunflower seed meats, pounded to a coarse flour

Combine dried beans, corn, turkey, and water in a large pot. Bring to a simmerover medium heat, turn down to a very low simmer, and cook for about 2 hours. Stir occasionally to be certain that the bottom is not sticking.

When dried beans are tender, but not mushy, break up turkey meat, removingskin and bones. Addgreen beans and squash, and simmer very gently until they are tender.


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Add sunflower flour, stirring until thoroughly blended.

FRICASEE OF FISH (An English Recipe)

Many people in 1627 might look upon this dish as rather old-fashioned; severalelements the handling of the fish itself and the final dusting with powder ofGinger recall medieval cooking techniques. The suggestion of using olive oilas an alternative to butter harks back to the days before the EnglishReformation of the 1540s, when Roman Catholic fast-days precluded theeating of dairy products as well as meat.

Certainly the commonest method of cooking fish in 17th-century English usagewas to seethe or poach it in an herb-infused broth. Often some of the brothwould be reduced to form the base of a butter or egg-yolk-thickened sauce.Small fish, or steaks of fish like salmon or eels, were often broiled or fried, and

it was not unknown to stuff and roast a large fish on a spit.

In this period, a fricassee referred to a dish in which the meat (in this case, fish)was boiled before frying; whereas, the fricassee of the last century or so hasinvolved reversing the order of the techniques, making the modern dish moreof a braise. As the writer of the original recipe, A.W., omits any description ofthe poaching or seething medium, a few suggestions for flavorings aresupplied.

To make a Fricace of a good Haddock or Whiting A.W., pp.26-27

First seethe the fish and scum it, and picke out the bones, take onions andchop them small then fry them in Butter or Oyle till they be enough, and put inyour Fish, and frye them til it be drye, that doon: serve it forth with a pouder ofGinger on it.

Modern notes:

6 peppercorns2 bay leaves2 pounds whiting fillets (or other delicate white-fleshed fish)

4 tablespoons butter2 medium onions, chopped (or use the tender part of 2 leeks, if you like)2 teaspoons ground ginger

Butter the bottom of a large frying pan or wide saucepan. In it bring about 1 inches of water to an easy simmer, along with a teaspoon of salt, 6peppercorns and 2 bay leaves.


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Poach the fish fillets gently, covered, about 10 minutes, until the fish is opaque,then remove from the broth and allow to drain.

Over medium-high heat, saut the onions (or leeks) in the butter until tender.Do not let them brown. Stir in the ginger, then add the fish and very gently turn

it about in the onions, just heating it through. Serve hot, with an additionaldusting of ginger, if desired.

STEWED POMPION (English Colonial Recipe)

Prolific and easily grown in a wide variety of settings, New World pumpkins andsquashes seem to have quickly dispersed in the Old World following their late15th-century introduction into Europe. Their similarity to the gourds,cucumbers, and melons already under cultivation in European gardens may

have prompted their speedy acceptance, while other New World cultivars, suchas the potato, met with confusion and resistance for many years. By the timethe first English colonists were making their way to Plymouth, English herbalistswriting about pompions stressed the prodigious size and impressive varietyof the vine-fruits and scarcely alluded to their American origin. Indeed, with theexception of a few types whose epithets betray their birthplace such asIndian Pompion or Virginia Macocke, or Pompion these vegetables do notseem to have been considered the least bit exotic by the English in the early17th century.John Josselyns 1672 description of The Ancient New England Standing Dish isa wonderfully revealing passage, full of the rarest kind of daily-life detail. From

the use of the word ancient, it can be inferred that the very first Englishhousewives in New England relied upon vast kettles of stewed pumpkin to fillup their families through the fall and winter months. The phrase standingdish implies its presence daily, if not at every meal.

Josselyns observations on the cooking technique provide unusual insight into ahousewifes manner of carrying out the most ordinary sort of daily work. Thetype of seasoning, and the comparison to roasted apple reflect that theideal of the dish was not to create something new, but to mimic somethingfamiliar (and absent in early New England) applesauce. Indeed, in its role as ahomely accompaniment to fish or flesh at the table, stewed pumpkin fills

perfectly the role applesauce played in ordinary autumn and winter meals inEngland.

Josselyns interest in the physicall nature of pumpkin is typical of hisobservations on the flora and fauna of New England, and his estimation that itprovokes Urin extreamly and is very windy echoes the words of herbalistslike John Gerard.


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John Josselyn, New-Englands Rarities DiscoveredThe Ancient New England standing dishBut 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 agentle 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 likebak'd Apples; this they Dish, putting Butter to it, and a little Vinegar, (withsome Spice, as Ginger, &c.) which makes it tart like an Apple, and so serve itup to be eaten with Fish or Flesh: It provokes Urin extreamly and is very windy.

John Gerard, The HerballAll the Melons are of a cold nature, with plenty of moisture: they have a certainclensing qualitie, by means wheof they provoke urine, and do more speedilypasse through the bodie than do either the Gourd, Citrull, or Cucumber, asGalen hath writtenThe fruit boiled in Milke and buttered, is not onely a goodwholesome meat for mans body, but being so prepared, is also a most

physicall medicine for such as have an hot stomacke, and inward partsinflamed.Cooks Notes:

Cooks with a bumper crop of pumpkins and a large pot may want to try thehousewives technique described by Josselyn. For the rest of us, it is practical tobegin with pared, seeded, and steamed or baked squash.

4 cups of cooked squash, roughly mashed3 tablespoons butter

2 to 3 teaspoons cider vinegar1 or 2 teaspoons ground ginger (or nutmeg, cloves, or pepper, to taste, ifpreferred)1/2 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir and heat all the ingredients together.Adjust seasonings to taste, and serve hot.

ONION SAUCE FOR ROAST TURKEY(An English Recipe)

Onions were a staple of the English garden and cooking pot. They were one ofthe few vegetables that could be stored against winter and their temperature(hot and dry) made them especially desirable in the cooler weather. Carrots,parsnip turnips were also eaten in the cooler months for as long as they couldbe dug out of the ground. Storing vegetables in root cellars was severalgenerations away.


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This sauce is quite nice and makes a nice change from modern gravy. In the17th century gravy was the drippings from the meat that were oftentransformed into a sauce.

To make sauce for Capons or Turky FowlesTake Onions and slice them thin, and boyle them in faire water till they beboyled drye, and put some of the gravie unto them and pepper grose beaten.

A.W.A Book of Cookrye. 1591 f.3

Sauce for a TurkieTake faire water and set it over the fire, then slice good store of Onions and putinto it, and also Pepper and Salt, and good store of the gravy that comes fromthe Turkie, and boyle them very well together: then put to it a few finecrummes of grated bread to thicken it; a very little Sugar and some Vinegar,and so serve it up with the Turkey:

Gervase Markham , The English Huswife, 1623

Cooks Notes:

6 medium onions, sliced thinly2 cups of water2 teaspoons of coarsely ground pepper1 teaspoon salt1 tablespoon sugar cup red wine vinegar cup breadcrumbs

Follow your favorite recipe for roast turkey. Remove the turkey to a platterreserving the pan juices.

Place thinly sliced onions in a pot with water and salt. Bring to a boil overmedium high heat and cook until the onions are tender but not mushy. A gooddeal of the water should have boiled away. Set aside for a moment.

Place the roasting pan over medium heat and stir to loosen any brown bits. Stirin the onion sauce, sugar, vinegar, pepper and breadcrumbs. Taste and adjustseasonings. To serve, pour over sliced turkey or serve alongside in a separate

dish.

CHEESECAKE (An English Recipe)

The housewives of 1627 Plymouth most likely transformed much of the milk oftheir newly-established dairy herd into curds and whey, a practical andnourishing dish for everyday use. Artifices and novelties like thischeesecake were known to many English housewives, but were unlikely to have


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made frequent appearances on most tables in early New England, being bothlabor-intensive and full of costly imports like almonds and currants.

Robert May, The Accomplisht CookTo make Cheesecakes otherwayes.

Take a good morning milk cheese, or better, of some eight pound weight,stamp it in a mortar, and beat a pound of butter amongst it, and a pound ofsugar, then mix with it beaten mace, two pound of currans well picked andwashed, a penny manchet grated, or a pound of almonds blanched and beatenfine with rose-water, and some salt; then boil some cream, and thicken it withsix or eight yolks of eggs, mixed with the other things, work them welltogether, and fill the cheesecakes, make the curd not too soft, and make thepast of cold butter and water according to these forms.

Robert May, The Accomplisht CookTo make cool Butter Paste for Patty pans or Pasties.

Take to every peck of flour five pound of butter, the whites of six eggs,and work it well together with cold spring water; you must bestow a great dealof pains, and but little water, or you put out the millers eyes. This paste is goodonly for pattypan and pasty.

Cooks Notes:

One-sixteenth of Mays pastry recipe and one-eighth of his cheesecake filling(see above) make one 9-inch cheesecake.

Youll need a 9-inch springform pan, or other 9-inch pan with a removable

bottom and sides at least 2 inches deep.

The pastry:2 1/3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour10 tablespoons cold butter, cut in bits1 egg white1/4 cup ice water, plus a few extra drops if necessary

Have all the ingredients ready before you begin.Place the flour in a mixing bowl, or the bowl of a food processor. Using a pastryblender, two butter knives scissor-fashion, or the steel cutting blade of the food

processor, quickly cut the butter into the flour, until the mixture has theappearance of meal.

In a small bowl stir together the egg white and 1/4 cup of the ice water. Mixswiftly into the flour and butter mixture, until the pastry begins to cometogether. If using a food processor, pulse the motor only a few times to avoidoverworking or overheating the dough. Add a few more drops of water only ifthe mixture is too crumbly to hold together.


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Fashion the pastry into a smooth disc, 4 inches or so in diameter, and wrap itsecurely in plastic.

Chill the dough for at least an hour before using.

Roll out the pastry, and trim to make an even 15-inch circle. Turn in 2 inches ofthe edge of the pastry to make a double thickness.

Transfer the pastry into the springform pan, using the double thickness ofpastry to make the side walls. Press the pastry securely against the sides of thepan to make a crust about 2 inches high. Chill this pastry shell while youprepare the filling.

The filling:4 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar2/3 cup finely ground almonds (1/2 cup, before grinding)1/4 teaspoon ground mace1/4 teaspoon salt1 pound ricotta cheese1 egg yolk1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream1 cup dried currants (or chopped raisins)1/2 teaspoon rosewater (if available)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees; place an oven rack in the lower third of the

oven.

Using a mixer, or a wooden spoon, cream the soft butter and sugar. Mix in theground almonds, mace, salt, and cheese. Lastly, stir in the egg yolk, cream,currants, and rosewater.

Pour the filling into the pastry shell, place carefully in the oven and bake aboutan hour, or until the filling is just set.

Place the cheesecake on a rack, and cool thoroughly. Cut into squares to serve,for a 17th-century presentation.


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Comments, suggestions or questions? Contact:

Kathleen Curtin

Food HistorianPlimoth Plantation

P.O. Box 1620

Plymouth , MA 02360phone 508/746 1622 extesnion 8281

[email protected]

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Recipes - 17th Tasting