Sauces

originally printed in July 2003, by Dame Maedb Hawkins

"Cameline was a medieval standard; along with garlic sauces and mustard, it was a nearly obligatory accompaniment to roasted or boiled meat in France, England, Italy, Catalonia, and elsewhere."[1] Cameline sauces varied according to the region, but they always contained cinnamon. The less than 1% of the recipes that do not have cinnamon can be attributed to careless copyists. [2] French recipes tended to use more ginger, Italian recipes favored cloves, and the English and Catalans leaned toward more variety of spices.[3] Garlic sauces are one of the most versatile of condiments. The flavor can be controlled by the amount of garlic used, as well as adapted to the feast and fast days by altering the broths. [4]

Sawse Camelyne (Cameline Sauce)

Take raysouns of coraunce & kyrnels of notys & crustes of brede & powdour of gynger, clowes, flour of canel; bray it wel togyder and do thereto salt. Temper it up with vynegar, and serve it forth. [5]

Take raisins of Courance, and kernels of nuts, and crusts of bread, and powder of ginger, cloves, cinnamon flour. Grind it well together and add salt. Temper it with vinegar, and serve it forth.

Using a mortar and pestle, grind raisins, almonds and breadcrumbs. Add the ginger, cloves and cinnamon and grind it all together. Add the salt and mix well. Add the vinegar, and serve it.

This redaction is a bit different than the one offered in Pleyn Delit (the source for the original recipe). They suggested walnuts, and the spices only as an option. It also used currants, while it also be interpreted as raisins from the French region of Courance.

Agliata Bianca (White Garlic Sauce)

Piglia de le amandole mondo molto bene et falle pistare, et quando sonno mezze piste metti dentro quella quantita d'aglio che ti pare, et enseme le farai mlto bene pistare butandogli dentro un pocha d'acqua frescha perche non facciano olio. Poi pigliarai una mollicha di pane biancho e mettirala a mollo nel brodo magro di carne o di pesce secundo I tempi; et questa agliata poterai sevire et accomodare a tutte le stagioni grasse et magre como ti piacera. [6]

Take carefully skinned almonds and pound them, and when they are pounded halfway, add as much garlic as you like, and pound them very well together, adding a little cool water to prevent them from becoming oily. Then take crumb of white bread and soften it in lean meat or fish broth depending on the calendar; this garlic sauce can be served and adapted at will for meat days and days of abstinence.

Grind the almonds finely in a mortar, then add the garlic, one clove at a time. Soak the breadcrumbs in about 1/3 of the broth. Once softened, whisk until smooth. Blend into the almond/garlic mixture.Whisk in the rest of the broth. Add salt only if needed, and serve it. This redaction is almost identical to the one offered in The Medieval Kitchen. It's wonderful, and as near as I can tell, very close to the original.

Sources

Footnotes

1.Medieval Kitchen, page 170
2.Pleyn Delit, recipe 48
3.Medieval Kitchen, page 170
4.Medieval Kitchen, page 166
5.Form of Curye #149, recipe 48, (Pleyn Delit)
6.Le Menagier de Paris #157, page 166 (The Medieval Kitchen)