Cheese Balls

Wiltú kesßkiechlen bachen
So reib ain gar gúten kesß barmisan, thú ain geriben semelbrot darein, bis er gar tick wirt, darnach schlag air darain, bis es ain feins taiglin wirt, darnach mach rúnde kigellen wie die briete kiechlen jn derselben gressin vnd lasß langsam bachen, so send sý gemacht. Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin’

96 If you would make cheese buns
Then grate an especially good Parmesan cheese and put grated white bread thereon, until it becomes very thick. Afterwards beat eggs into it, until it becomes a good dough. After that make good round balls, the same size as scalded buns, and let them fry very slowly, then they are ready.

The text of the original recipe can be found here.

The translation is by Valoise Armstrong, and can be found here.

Little balls of cheesey goodness! These are quite rich. Parmesan cheese was an imported luxury, so these cheese balls would have been reserved for special occasions (Bach, 2017, 163).

Ingredients

125g grated Parmesan cheese	2 eggs
100g bread crumbs	Salt

Method

1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. This is easiest done with the hands.
2. Form the mix into small balls about the size of walnuts, and flatten slightly.
3. Heat some oil in a frypan, then fry the balls until the outsides are golden.
4. They can be served hot or cold.

Notes

• A large, cylindrical cheese similar to a modern Parmigiano Reggianois depicted in C14 illuminations, and financial ledgers and literature indicates it was in demand throughout Europe from this time. This is not surprising, given that the relative dryness and higher salt content of a good parmesan cheese makes it easy to transport long distances without spoiling (Kindstedt, 2012, 155-157).
• The original recipe referred “scalded buns” (kiechlen) to size the cheese balls. This is recipe 142 in Sabina Welserin’s cook book, and they appear similar to small pancakes. You could probably make the cheese balls thinner than shown below.

Further Reading

Click on the links below to buy direct from The Book Depository.
Kindstedt, Paul (2012). Cheese and Culture.
Bach, Volker (2017). The Kitchen, Food and Cooking in Reformation Germany.

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Tarte of Strawberries (Strawberry Tart)

To make a tarte of Strawberries.
Wash your strawberries, and put them into your Tarte, and season them with suger, cynamon and Ginger, and put in a little red wine into them.
Thomas Dawson, The Good Huswife’s Jewell, 1596.

To make a Tart of Strawberries.
Wash your strawberries, and put them into your tart, and season them with sugar, cinnamon and ginger, and put in a little red wine into them.

THE GERMAN RECIPE
89 Ain erbertorten zú machen
Mach das bedellin vnnd laß erstarcken jn der tortenpfanen/darnach nim die erber vnnd legs daraúf vmber aúfs allernechst zúsamen, darnach zúckeres woll aúfs allerbast, laß darnach ain klain weil bachen, geúß ain malúasier daraúf vmber vnnd laß ain weil bachen, so jst er gemacht.Das Kuchbuch der Sabrina Welserin, c1553.

89 To make a strawberry tart
Make a pastry shell and let it become firm in the tart pan. Afterwards take strawberries and lay them around on top as close together as possible, after that sweeten them especially well. Next let it bake a short while, pour Malavosia over it and let it bake a while, then it is ready.

The text of the original German recipe can be found here.

The translation of the German recipe is by Valoise Armstrong, and can be found here.

I tried cooking the Dawson recipe several times. The first time, I pureed the strawberries, sugar, wine and spices (despite there being no instructions to do so). And I used far too much wine, so the puree was extremely wet. This caused the pastry shell to completely collapse because it was far too wet. The next two times I used less wine each time, but the tart still collapsed when the pastry got soggy.

And then I found Sabrina Welserin’s recipe. I found it interesting that she specified to bake the strawberries and sugar for a time, then add the wine and continue baking. And trying this, it worked. Even though the pastry still absorbed some liquid from the strawberries and sugar, adding the wine after they had baked a while ensured the strawberries absorbed the wine, not the pastry.

I would recommend eating the strawberries from the pastry shell with a spoon, then eating the pastry separately. It’s still very tasty.

Ingredients

1 quantity shortcrust pastry	50g sugar	Optional: 1/2 tsp cinnamon
300g strawberries	30mL madeira wine (see notes)	Optional: 1 tsp ginger

Method

1. Roll out the pastry to approx. 4mm thickness and line a greased pie plate with it.
2. Prick the bottom of the tart shell. Line the tart shell with baking paper and fill with weights. Blind bake the tart shell for approx. 12 minutes in a 200°C oven. Remove the paper and weights when finished.
3. Return the tart shell to the oven and bake for a further 8 minutes, to firm the base. If necessary, line the rim of the pie with foil to stop it browning too much.
4. Wash the strawberries and remove the stalks. Cut any large strawberries into smaller pieces.
5. Arrange the strawberries in the pastry shell, and sprinkle with sugar and spices, if using.
6. Bake the tart in a 160°C oven for around 10 minutes, until the strawberries have softened.
7. Drizzle the wine over the strawberries, and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
8. Leave the tart to cool, and serve cold. You will probably want to spoon the strawberries out of the tart, and eat the pastry separately.

Notes

• Modern strawberries are typically hybrids of the indigenous European variety, Fragaria vesca. These would have been used in the medieval and early modern period. They are extremely sweet, but tiny. If you want to use them, you will probably have to grow them yourself. You will need more than one plant to provide the fruit to make a single tart. The plants and seeds are frequently sold was “wild strawberries” or “alpine strawberries.” You may also be able to forage them in Britain and Europe.
• Malavosia is a sweet, fortified wine, originally from the Greek island of the same name. A similar wine is produced on the island of Madeira, which is why I have substituted it.

The tart is garnished with dianthus flowers, also known in Elizabethan England as gillyflowers. They are edible (rather tasteless, but they are pretty!).

Further Reading

Click on the links below to buy direct from The Book Depository.
Black, Maggie (1996). The Good Housewife’s Jewel
Brears, Peter (2011) All the King’s Cooks

Chicken Buns

97 Wiltú hennenkiechlen bachenn/
So nim das hennenflesch vnnd lasß vor sieden, darnach hacks klain vnnd thú ain geriben semel daran vnnd air daran,
bis dú mainst/ das es ain feins dicks taiglin seý, darnach mach feine rúnde kigellen/ vnnd lasß bachen gar lancksam
vnnd saltzs. Das Kuchbuch der Sabrina Welserin’

97 If you would make chicken buns
Then take the meat from hens and let it cook beforehand, after that chop it small and put grated a Semmel thereon and eggs thereon, until you think that it is a good thick dough. Afterwards make fine round little balls and let them fry very slowly and roast them.

The text of the original recipe can be found here.

The translation is by Valoise Armstrong, and can be found here.

I know very little about German cooking. However, this is one of a number of recipes in Sabrina Welserin’s cookbook for bachen, which has been translated as “buns.” They appear to be balls which can be fried or roasted, so buns is as good a translation as any; a bachen containing meat, like this one, could be called a meatball.

We decided to add parmesan cheese, as recipe 193 combines cooked chicken, Parmesan cheese and spices in a dough wrapper, to be boiled (rather like ravioli or tortellini). They are equally delicious with or without the cheese.

Ingredients

500g cooked chicken meat	2 eggs
100g bread crumbs	Salt
Optional: 125g grated Parmesan cheese

Method

1. Shred the chicken finely with a fork or a food processor.
2. in a bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. This is easiest done with the hands.
3. Form the mix into small balls about the size of walnuts, and flatten slightly.
4. Heat some oil in a frypan, then fry the balls until the outsides are golden.
5. If you have access to an open fire, thread the chicken balls onto a skewer and expose them to the flame and smoke briefly, so they take on the smoky flavour from the flames. I assume this is why they were to be roasted as well as fried.
6. They can be served hot or cold.

Notes

• Semmel is a bread roll baked from a fine wheat flour. You can either grate the roll on a fine grater to produce breadcrumbs, or use a food processor. It is far better to make your own breadcrumbs rather than use bought ones – the texture of freshly made crumbs is far better.