A Boke of Gode Cookery Presents

To make Bleaw manger

PERIOD: England, 1545 | SOURCE: A Propre new booke of Cokery | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: A version of the standard medieval dish, blancmange

To make Bleaw manger.

Take a capon and cut out the braune of him a lyue and parboyle the braune tyll the flesshe come from the bone / and then drie him as drie as you can in a fayre cloth / then take a payre of cardes and carde him as small as is possyble and than take a pottell of mylke and a pottell of creame / and halfe a pownde of Ryc flower and your carded braune of the capon and put all into a panne / and stere it all togither and set it vpon the fyer / & whan it begynueth to boyle put therto halfe a pounde of beaten suger and a saucer full of rosewater / and so let it boyle till it be very thicke / then put it into a charger till it be colde and then ye maie slice it as ye do leiche and so serue it in.

To make Blancmange.

Take a capon and cut out the brawn of him alive and parboil the brawn till the flesh come from the bone / and then dry him as dry as you can in a fair cloth / then take a pair of cards and card him as small as possible and then take a half gallon of milk and a half gallon of cream / and half a pound of Rice flour and your carded brawn of the capon and put all into a pan / and stir it all together and set it upon the fire / & when it begins to boil put thereto half a pound of beaten sugar and a saucer full of rosewater / and so let it boil till it be very thicke / then put it into a dish till it be cold and then you may slice it as you like and so serve it.

  • Chicken meat (see note, below), finely minced
  • Milk
  • Cream
  • Rice flour
  • Sugar
  • Rosewater
Combine and beat well together the milk, cream, & rice flour into a batter-like consistency. Place in a saucepan and add the minced meat; slowly bring to a low boil, stirring to prevent sticking. Beat in the sugar & rosewater and bring back to a low boil. Contine to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture becomes very thick. Remove from heat and pour the mixture into a rectangle or square pan. Allow to cool, then place in a refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Slice the blancmange into portions & serve.

Brawn is usaually the dark meat of either capon or pork; in this receipt it is brawn of capon that is being used. However, in some medieval recipes, brawn is intended to be the white breast meat of the bird, which may be the case here. (See Constance B. Hieatt's notes on brawn in Curye on Inglisch.) Bleaw manger means white food, and while the brawn of capon is perfectly suitable here (and is what is called for in other medieval blancmange recipes), the breast meat would be far more appropriate for a dish meant to be white.

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