Red And White Gingerbread (scottish Medieval) Recipe
Yield: 12 ServingsRecipe by luhu.jp
Ingredients:
** British Measurements **,
1 lbs: Honey,
pn Powdered saffron,
1 tsp: Black pepper,
2 tsp: Ground ginger,
2 tsp: Ground cinnamon,
1 lbs: White breadcrumbs,
Box or bay leaves & whole,
. cloves to decorate,
Directions:
Warm the honey over a gentle heat until quite runny, then stir in the
saffron and pepper. Pour into a large bowl and add the ginger and
cinnamon, then mix in the breadcrumbs. It is impossible to say
exactly how many breadcrumbs the honey will absorb because it varies,
but the mixture should be very stiff. If not, add a few more
breadcrumbs. Line a shallow gingerbread tin with baking parchment and
press the mixture into it with your fingers. Level the top and leave
to firm up in the fridge for several hours, then turn out on to
another sheet of paper and cut into small squares. Arrange the
gingerbread on a large plate, then decorate each square with two box
or small bay leaves and a whole clove stuck in the centre. You can
achieve an even prettier effect by gilding a few of the leaves or
painting the ends of some of the cloves red.
If you want to achieve a chequerboard effect, make the mixture up in
two lots, adding a few drops of red colouring to one quantity of
honey before mixing, then continue as before. Arrange the red and
white squares of gingerbread alternately on the serving plate.
Makes about 12 servings. ** A Book of Historical Recipes **
by Sara Paston-Williams The National Trust of Scotland, 1995
ISBN = 0-7078-0240-7
Scanned and formatted for you by The WEE Scot -- pol mac Griogair
ORIGINAL RECIPE::
Gyngerbrede (dated from 1430 AD)
"Take a quart of hony, & sethe it, & skeme it clene; take Safroun,
poudir Pepir & throw ther-on; take gratyd Brede & make it so
chargeaunt (thick) that it wol be y-leched; then take pouder Canelle
(cinnamon) & straw ther-on y-now; then make yt square, lyke as thou
wolt leche yt; take when thou lechyst hyt, an caste Box (garden box)
leves a-bouyn, y-stkyd ther-on, on clowys (cloves). And if thou wolt
have it Red, coloure it with Saunderys (sandalwood) y-now."
Historical note: Gingerbread, both red and white, was a favourite
medieval sweetmeat. Home-made gingerbread could be prepared by mixing
breadcrumbs to a stiff paste with honey, pepper, saffron and
cinnamon. Ginger is omitted from the earliest recipe we have, but
this may be due to an accidental slip on the part of the scribe. Once
made, it was shaped into a square, sliced and decorated with box
leaves impaled on cloves.
Source from luhu.jp
saffron and pepper. Pour into a large bowl and add the ginger and
cinnamon, then mix in the breadcrumbs. It is impossible to say
exactly how many breadcrumbs the honey will absorb because it varies,
but the mixture should be very stiff. If not, add a few more
breadcrumbs. Line a shallow gingerbread tin with baking parchment and
press the mixture into it with your fingers. Level the top and leave
to firm up in the fridge for several hours, then turn out on to
another sheet of paper and cut into small squares. Arrange the
gingerbread on a large plate, then decorate each square with two box
or small bay leaves and a whole clove stuck in the centre. You can
achieve an even prettier effect by gilding a few of the leaves or
painting the ends of some of the cloves red.
If you want to achieve a chequerboard effect, make the mixture up in
two lots, adding a few drops of red colouring to one quantity of
honey before mixing, then continue as before. Arrange the red and
white squares of gingerbread alternately on the serving plate.
Makes about 12 servings. ** A Book of Historical Recipes **
by Sara Paston-Williams The National Trust of Scotland, 1995
ISBN = 0-7078-0240-7
Scanned and formatted for you by The WEE Scot -- pol mac Griogair
ORIGINAL RECIPE::
Gyngerbrede (dated from 1430 AD)
"Take a quart of hony, & sethe it, & skeme it clene; take Safroun,
poudir Pepir & throw ther-on; take gratyd Brede & make it so
chargeaunt (thick) that it wol be y-leched; then take pouder Canelle
(cinnamon) & straw ther-on y-now; then make yt square, lyke as thou
wolt leche yt; take when thou lechyst hyt, an caste Box (garden box)
leves a-bouyn, y-stkyd ther-on, on clowys (cloves). And if thou wolt
have it Red, coloure it with Saunderys (sandalwood) y-now."
Historical note: Gingerbread, both red and white, was a favourite
medieval sweetmeat. Home-made gingerbread could be prepared by mixing
breadcrumbs to a stiff paste with honey, pepper, saffron and
cinnamon. Ginger is omitted from the earliest recipe we have, but
this may be due to an accidental slip on the part of the scribe. Once
made, it was shaped into a square, sliced and decorated with box
leaves impaled on cloves.
Source from luhu.jp