Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks

By Brenda Hosington, Constance B. Hieatt, Sharon Butler

Book Overview

This is a completely revised edition of the classic cookbook that makes genuine medieval meals available to modern cooks. Using the best recipes from the first edition as a base, Constance Hieatt and Brenda Hosington have added many new recipes from more countries to add depth and flavour to our understanding of medieval cookery. All recipes have been carefully adapted for use in modern kitchens, thoroughly tested, and represent a wide range of foods, from appetizers and soups, to desserts and spice wine. They come largely from English and French manuscripts, but some recipes are from sources in Arabia, Catalonia and Italy. The recipes will appeal to cordon-bleus and less experienced cooks, and feature dishes for both bold and timourous palates. The approach to cooking is entirely practical. The emphasis of the book is on making medieval cookery accessible by enabling today's cooks to produce authentic medieval dishes with as much fidelity as possible. All the ingredients are readily available; where some might prove difficult to find, suitable substitutes are suggested. While modern ingredients which did not exist in the Middle Ages have been excluded (corn starch, for example), modern time and energy saving appliances have not. Authenticity of composition, taste, and appearance are the book's main concern. Unlike any other published book of medieval recipes, Pleyn Delit is based on manuscript readings verified by the authors. When this was not possible, as in the case of the Arabic recipes, the best available scholarly editions were used. The introduction provides a clear explanation of the medieval menu and related matters to bring the latest medieval scholarship to the kitchen of any home. Pleyn Delit is a recipe book dedicated to pure delight - a delight in cooking and good food.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B006773HKA
• ISBN13: 9780802076328
• Release Date: February 1996
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Length: 172 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A great starting point

Pleyn Delit is the first mediæval cookbook I bought, and it's an excellent one. All recipes are presented in two versions: the exact original (in Middle English, vulgar Latin, Old French or whatever) and a modern redaction. Having the original there enables one to do one's own redaction if the modern one is unsatisfactory, or if one suspects it makes some unwarranted assumptions. It's a great start for someone interested in historical cuisine.

Pleyn Delit -Medieval Cookerey for Modern Cooks

Finally a decent medieval cookbook I can recommend in addition to internet sources. As a person who announces the date, time and place for monthly medieval feasts and who participates in these feasts, I always try to give participants decent sources and recipes for the food preps used in the Middle Ages. Pleyn Delit provides a wealth of useful recipes, all quite tasty, though our modern palattes might require some re-adjusting. The recipes are easy to follow, and this book makes my life as a medieval feast planner much easier. I hope the authors will expand on the recipes in the future. Sandra Jones Ireland (avid SCA participant and an excellent cook/baker, feast planner), Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Excellent resource for those interested in medieval food..

This was my very first medieval-food book. To my amazement, it actually works well as a "mundane" cookbook too. The recipes are presented with the primary source they come from first (translated if the source isn't in at least somewhat-recognizable English), with a redaction following.Not all the redactions are easy to work with, and sometimes the results are.. well.. uneven (watch out for the sage sauce one that calls for chopped boiled eggs). I suspect that three people making the same recipe would come out with three different dishes. That said, some recipes are just mouthwatering -- a thickened wine sauce for meats went over well at one feast I helped with, and most of the vegetable recipes are tasty and easy to prepare. A decent bibliography is included with the work, as well as an analysis of period spices and spice mixes. I'd recommend this to anybody interested in medieval cooking -- it dispels a lot of myths and presents a number of dishes that prove that we haven't changed all that much.

Pleyn Delit has been a hit with adults and teenagers.

Pleyn Delit offers a great variety of simple to medium hard recipes that can be adapted to your current menu or replace it if the ambition is there. The recipes are tasty and well-explained. Some ingredients are hard to find but for the most part replacement items are named. With this book, I've concocted complete medieval meals as well as odds and ends for special occasions while increasing the depth of my family's usual menus.

recommeded reading!

This is easily a must-have for anyone who looks to prepare a feast in proper medieval style. The writing is well done, the recipes are succulent, and accessible too! The original text side-by-side with the modern text sets you up to make similar translations for yourself.