A Boke of Gode Cookery Presents

Tredure

PERIOD: England, 14th century | SOURCE: Forme of Cury | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: Broth thickened with eggs and bread crumbs


ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

17. Tredure. Take brede and grate it; make a lyre of rawe ayren, and do þerto safroun and powdour douce, and lye it vp with gode broth, and make it as a cawdel. And do þerto a lytel verious.

-Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.


GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:

Tredure. Take bread and grate it; make a thickening of raw eggs, and add saffron and cinnamon and sugar, and mix it up with good broth, and make it smooth and thick. And add a little verjus.


MODERN RECIPE:

  • 2 eggs
  • ½ - 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 4 cups Gode Broth (made without bread crumbs)
  • ¼ tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. sugar
  • 1 Tbs. white grape juice vinegar
Beat together the eggs and bread crumbs until mixture is smooth and thick; set aside. Bring broth to a boil. Add egg mixture, spices, and lemon juice, and while stirring vigorously with a wire whip, return to a boil. Reduce heat, allow to cook for several minutes, then remove from heat. Make sure that the final product is very smooth and thick. Serve warm. Serves 4.

"Powdour douce" is defined by Curye on Inglish as a mild mixture of ground spices, usually containing cinnamon and sugar, which is what I have used. The "lyre," or thickening, of egg and bread not only ensures that the end result is a "cawdel" - a smoothly thickened sauce or soup - but also makes an excellent binding agent for the cinnamon. I've found that passing the finished soup through a food processor or blender will provide you with an excellent cawdel. Curye on Inglish also defines "verious" as being the "liquid of acid fruits such as sour grapes and crabapples."

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Tredure © 2000 James L. Matterer

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