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Old English Dishes: France

The English, four and five hundred years ago, had four meals daily,-breakfast at seven, dinner at ten, supper at four, and livery at eight. Since then, from an early hour in the morning the principal daily meal has advanced equally in France and England through every hour from ten in the forenoon until ten at night. In France in the thirteenth century nine in the morning was the dinner-hour. Henry VII dined at eleven. In Cromwell's time, one o'clock had come to be the fashionable hour, and in Addison's day two o'clock, which gradually became adjourned until four. Pope found fault with Lady Suffolk for dining so late as four, saying young people might become inured to such things, but as for himself, if she would adopt such unreasonable practices he must absent himself from Marble Hill. Four and five continued to be the popular dining-hour among the better classes until the second decade of the century, when dinner was further postponed, from which period it has steadily continued to encroach upon the evening. The strong stomach of the early Briton, fortified by abundant out-of-door exercise, was proof against dyspepsia, and was enabled to digest the coarsest and most strongly seasoned foods. Whale, porpoise, seal, and grampus were common dishes. Besides such seasonings as ginger, cinnamon, galingale, cloves, garlic, and vinegar, copiously used in preparations where they would seem most incongruous, ale was generously employed.. Almond-milk was also a common ingredient, while marrow was in great favour. Of breadstuff's the fifteenth century had an abundant variety, --pain-main, or bread of very fine flour, wheat-bread, barley-meal bread, bran-bread, pease-bread, oat-bread or oat-cakes, hard-bread, and unleavened bread. The poor often used a mixture of rye, lentils, and oatmeal, varied according to the season and district.

The author of the "Book of Nurture" describes himself as usher and marshal to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, delighting in his work and desirous of training worthy successors in the mysteries of managing a well-appointed household: "An vsshere y Am | ye may beholde | to a prynce of highe degre, that enioyethe to informe & teche | alle tho that will thrive & thee."

This exordium is followed by minute directions for carving meats, fish, and fowls; rules for general behaviour; a disquisition on wines, meats, soups, and sauces; a recipe for hippocras; hints to the chamberlain, butler, taster, dinner arranger, etc. The work is both ambitious and elaborate, thoroughly covering the subject as it was comprehended by the writer's predecessors and his own inventive genius. A passage or two from the chapters headed "Diuerce Sawces" and "Sawce for Fische" will give one an idea of the style of his treatise: "Also to know youre sawces for flesche conveniently, hit provokithe a fyne apetide if sawce youre meat be bie; to the lust of youre lord look that ye haue ther redy suche sawce as hym likethe | to make him glad & mery. "Mustard is meete for brawne | beef or powdred motoun; verdius to boyled capoun | veel | chiken | or bakon; And to signet | & swan, convenyant is the chawdon, Roost beeff | & goos | with garlek, vinegre, or pepur, in conclusioun. "Gynger sawce to lambe, to kyd | pigge, or fawn | in fere; to feysand, partriche, or cony | mustard with the sugure; Sawce gamelyn to heyron-sewe | egret | crane | & plovere; also | brewe | Curlew | sugre & salt | with watere of the ryvere. دو It will be seen from this brief extract that Russell's larder was in no wise wanting for the gustatory entertainment of his lordship, his resources being yet more apparent in the chapter relative to the proper sauces for fish: "Yowre sawces to make y shalle geue yow lerynge: