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"The imitations of dishesand special presentations assume a deeper,almost philosophical meaning if we consider the theory of Levi-Strauss,according to which the preparation of food constitutes one of the majorculture-creating achievements of humanity, the cooking of the raw anactof establishing culture. In these dishes man transcends nature eitherbytransforming the foodstuffs (e.g. cooked peas turned into ahare-roast),or by preparing them in a nobler or more artistic form, as is the casewith the special presentations. The chef thus becomes a creator, likethepainter who adds symbolism to his depiction of nature, who transcendsnatureby capturing the meaning given to it by God through his creation ofmeaning."

These incredible foods andamazing recipes represent the extremitiesand heights to which medieval cooking could aspire to, or hope toachieve.Only a cook skilled in the most delicate of carving could successfullydress a peacock in its own feathers and skin, or stitch a cockentriceintobeing; only an experienced master of the hearth could ever hope to cooka fish in three different ways, in three different colors with threeseparatesauces, and make it breathe fire as well! A good medieval cook had tonotonly be concerned with taste and flavor, but with color, imagery,symbolism,and presentation as well. These recipes, all from authentic sources,arethe pinnacle at which the finest of cooks expressed their art and craft.

Readers will notice asimilarity between some of the recipes, mostnotably those in the Magia Naturalis and theCuoco Napoletano,and similar procedures, such as using camphor to make a creature"breathe"fire.

While many of these recipesare capable of being successfully reproducedtoday, many others contain extraordinarily dangerous ingredients andinvolvebeing unnecessarily cruel to animals. A Boke of Gode Cookery mustdeeplyand emphatically state that you MUST NOT attempt to recreate suchrecipes;these are included for reading enjoyment and research purposes only.Allrecipes which MUST NOT be reproduced are clearly marked with followed by a brief explanation.

Kill a Peacock, either bythrusting a Quill into his brain from above,or else cut his throat, as you do for young Kids, that the blood maycomeforth. Then cut his skin gently from his throat unto his tail, andbeingcut, pull it off with his feathers from his whole body to his head. Cutoff that with the skin, and legs, and keep it. Roast the Peacock on aspit.His body being stuffed with spices and sweet Herbs, sticking first onhisbreast Cloves, and wrapping his neck in a white Linen cloth. Wet italwayswith water, that it may never dry. When the Peacock is roasted, andtakenfrom the spit, put him into his own skin again, and that he may seem tostand upon his feet, you shall thrust small Iron wires, made onpurpose,through his legs, and set fast on a board, that they may not bediscerned,and through his body to his head and tail. Some put Camphire in hismouth,and when he is set upon the table, they cast in fire. Platina showsthatthe same may be done with Pheasants, Geese, Capons, and other birds.Andwe observe these things among our guests.

Item, a dish that in each parthas a particular color is made thus.Roast hens on a spit and do not put them too close together. And whentheyare roasted make six colors. Make them white thus: take the whites ofeggs,put a little flour in it. Make a thick paste. Item, make brown thus:takecherry electuary and mix it with eggs and flour to a brown paste. Theyellowmake thus: take the yolks of eggs, a little good flour, saffron, andthreeor four eggs. From that make a paste. Make green thus: take parsley.Putit through a cloth with eggs. Put a little flour with it and make apaste.Black: take flour and eggs; make a paste of them. Add crushed cloveswhichhave soaked overnight in beaten eggs. Put enough in and it will be goodblack. When you have made these five colors, then baste each hen withitscolor, and be careful that you don't heat them too much. And when thecoloringhas dried, then take the hens from the fire and lay them next to otherroasts on a platter.

A Goose roasted alive. Alittle before our times, a Goose was wontto be brought to the table of the King of Arragon, that was roastedalive,as I have heard by old men of credit. And when I went to try it, mycompanywere so hasty, that we ate him up before he was quite roasted. He wasalive,and the upper part of him, on the outside, was excellent well roasted.The rule to do it is thus. Take a Duck, or a Goose, or some such lustycreature, but he Goose is best for this purpose. Pull all the Feathersfrom his body, leaving his head and his neck. Then make a fire roundabouthim, not too narrow, lest the smoke choke him, or the fire should roasthim too soon. Not too wide, lest he escape unroasted. Inside seteverywherelittle pots full of water, and put Salt and Meum to them. Let the Goosebe smeared all over with Suet, and well Larded, that he may be thebettermeat, and roast the better. Put the fire about, but make not too muchhaste.When he begins to roast, he will walk about, and cannot get forth, forthe fire stops him. When he is weary, he quenches his thirst bydrinkingthe water, by cooling his heart, and the rest of his internal parts.Theforce of the Medicament loosens and cleans his belly, so that he growsempty. And when he his very hot, it roasts his inner parts. Continuallymoisten his head and heart with a Sponge. But when you see him run madup and down, and to stumble (his heart then wants moisture), whereforeyou take him away, and set him on the table to your guests, who willcryas you pull off his parts. And you shall eat him up before he is dead.

A young Pigeon with his bonespulled out. You shall take out hisbones thus. Put a young Pigeon, his Entrails taken forth and wellwashed,for to lie a night in strong Vinegar. Then wash him well, and fill himwith spices and Herbs, and roast him or boil him, as you please. Eitherway you shall find him without bones.

.xxviij. Cokyntryce. - Take aCapon, & skald hym, & drawhem clene, & smyte hem a-to in the waste ouerthwart; take a Pigge,& skald hym, & draw hym in the same maner, & smyte hem alsoin the waste; take a nedyl & a threde, & sewe the fore partyeofthe Capoun to the After parti of the Pigge; & the fore partye ofthePigge, to the hynder party of the Capoun, & than stuffe hem as thoustuffyst a Pigge; putte hem on a spete, and Roste hym: & whan he isy-now, dore hem with yolkys of Eyroun, & pouder Gyngere &Safroun,thenne wyth the Ius of Percely with-owte; & than serue it forth fora ryal mete.

Gode Cookery translation:Cockentrice - take a capon, scaldit, drain it clean, then cut it in half at the waist; take a pig, scaldit, drain it as the capon, and also cut it in half at the at the waist;take needle and thread and sew the front part of the capon to the backpart of the pig; and the front part of the pig to the back part of thecapon, and then stuff it as you would stuff a pig; put it on a spit,androast it: and when it is done, gild it on the outside with egg yolks,ginger,saffron, and parsley juice; and then serve it forth for a royal meat.

Cockentrice. Capitulum lxiiij.- Scalde a capon clene, & smytehem in-to the wast oueretwarde, and scaude a pygge, and draw hym, &smyte hym in the same maner; and then sewe the forthyr parte of thecaponand the hyndyr parte of the pigge to-gederys, and the forther parte ofthe pygge and the hyndyr parte of the capon to-gedyr; then draw thewhyte& the yolkes of eyren, and cast ther-to, and svette of a schepe,andsaffron, & salt, and pouudre of gyngeuere, and grated bread; andmelleall to-gedre with thyn honde, and putt it in the cockentrice, and puttit on a spite, and roste hem; and endore hem with yolkes of eyren, andpouudre of gyngeuere, and saffron, and ioissh of persely or malves, anddraw hem, and endore hem all abowte in euery perty of hym.

Gode Cookery translation:Cockentrice - scald a capon clean,and cut it in half at the waist, and scald a pig, and drain it, and cutit in the same manner; then sew the front part of the capon to the backpart of the pig; and the front part of the pig to the back part of thecapon; then take slightly beaten eggs, sheep suet, saffron, salt,ginger,and grated bread, and mix all together with your hands, and put it inthecockentrice, and put it on a spit, and roast it; and gild it with eggyolks,ginger, saffron, and parsley or mallows juice, and let it be clean andgilded all over.

183 Cokagrys. Take and makethe self fars, but do therto pynes &sugur. Take an hold rostr cok; pulle hym & hylde hym al togydersauethe legges. Take a pigg and hilde hym fro the myddes dounward; fyllehimful of the fars, & sowe hym fast togeder. Do hym in a panne &seethhym wel, and whan thei bene isode: do hem on a spyt & rost it wele.Colour it with yolkes of ayren and safroun. Lay theron foyles of goldandsiluer, and serue hit forth.

Gode Cookery translation:Cockentrice: make the previous stuffing,but add pine nuts & sugar. Take a capon (an "old rooster") and cutit in half at the middle. Take a pig and cut in half at the middle.Fillthem full of the stuffing and then sew them together. Place in a panandboil until somewhat cooked; then place on a spit and roast well. Colorit with egg yolks and saffron. Cover with gold & silver foil, thenserve.

A quire char saunz fu. E issienseigne coment l'en quira char saunzfu. Pernez un petit pot de terre e la coverture de meimes la terre, ekeil seit lee cum le pot est; e puys pernez un autre pot, ke seit fet demeymes la terre cum l'autre, e la coverture cum l'autre, e ke iljoyngnentbien au potz, e ke le pot seit plus profund ke l'autre de cync deis eenviron de treis; e puys pernez char de porc e de gelynes; e puys festescouper en beu mosseus, e pernez bons especes e metez dedenz, e du sel;e pernez le petit pot, en ki la char est, e le metez en le grant pot; esi metez debeu cel, si le coverrez od la coverture e estopez le demoilleterre tenaunte, ke nule chose ne pussee isser; puys pernez de chauznientesteynt, si metez en le grant pot ewe tut pleyn, mes gardez ke nule ewene entre en le petit pot; si lessez estre en pees cinc lyuee de veie ouset; e puys overez vos potz, e si troverez vostre viaunde bien e belquyt.

Cooking without fire.Instructions for cooking meat without fire.Take a small earthenware pot, with an earthenware lid which must be aswide as the pot; then take another pot of the same earthenware, with alid like that of the first; this pot is to be deeper than the first byfive fingers, and wider in circumference by three; then take pork andhensand cut into fair-sized pieces, and take fine spices and add them, andsalt; take the small pot with the meat in it and place it upright inthelarge pot; cover it with the lid and stop it with moist, clayey earth,so that nothing may escape; then take unslacked lime, and fill thelargepot with water, ensuring that no water enters the smaller pot; let itstandfor the time it takes to walk between five and seven leagues, and thenopen your pots, and you will find your food indeed cooked.

196. Coqz Heaumez. Mettezcochons rostir, et poulalaille comme coqzet vielles poulles, et quant le cochon sera rosty d'une part et lapoulailled'autre convient farsir la poullaille - sans escorcher, qui veult; etlaconvient farsir de paste batue aux oeuf; et quant ell'est doree laconvientmettre a chevauchons sur le cochon, et fault ung heaume de papier colleet une lance fichie a la poittrine de la dicte poullaille, et les faultcouvrir de fueil d'or ou d'argent
pour les seigneurs, ou de feul d'estain blanc, vermeil ou vert.

196. Coqz heaumez: HelmetedCocks. Roast piglets and such poultryas cocks and old hens; when both the piglet and the poultry areroasted,the poultry should be stuffed - without skinning it, if you wish; itshouldbe (glazed) with an egg batter. And when it is glazed it should beseatedastride the piglet; and it needs a helmet of glued paper and a lancecouchedat the breast of the bird, and these should be covered withgold-or-silver-leaffor lords, or with white, red or green tin-leaf.

Wildu machen ein guet essen,so nim eines Jungen hirs horn, vnd senngez sawber, vnd sewd ez, vnd stoz ez, vnd nim das horn vnd wein vndhonigvnd lezelten, vnd sewd ez vnder ein ander. Ez sol nur dez horns swaissein,vnd der ist guet.

If you wish to prepare a goodmeal, take the antlers of a young stag,singe them until they are clean, boil them, chop them up, and add wine,honey, and gingerbread, and boil all the ingredients. Only the antlerextractis important, and that is good.

Note: the author ofSomeRemarks on Medieval Cooking: The AmbrasRecipe-Collection of Cod. Vind. 5486 says ofJungen hirs hornthat "a similar delicacy is mentioned in theHandworterbuch desdeutschenAberglaubens as a remedy against all sorts of feverish ailments."

.xl. Puddyng of purpaysse.Take þe Blode of hym, & þegrece of hym self, & Ote-mele, & Salt, & Pepir, &Gyngere,& melle þese to-gederys wel, & þan putte þisin þe Gutte of þe purays, & þan lat it seþeesyli, & not hard, a good whylys; & þan take hym vppe,&broyle hym a lytil, & þan serue forth.

Gode Cookery translation:Pudding of porpoise. Take the Bloodof him, & the grease of him self, & Oatmeal, & Salt, &Pepper, & Ginger, & mix these together well, & then putthisin the Gut of the porpoise, & then let it boil easily, & nothard,a good while; & then take him up, & broil him a little, &thenserve forth.

Wildu machen ein gut essen voneim rechhawbt, so sewd ez,daz pratda von vall, vnd daz hack. Dar zu mach ein gehackt von fleasch, vndmischez vnder einander, vnd nim dann die hirren pain, dy zway. Do tun dazhirenein, vnd vmblasch sy mit eyne plat von ayren, vnd daz gehack slach vberdy andern pain, vnd prat sy dann, vnd wurcz sy dann, vnd versalcznicht,vnd wen sy gepraten, so gib sy pratnew, oder mach ein ziseindel darvber,oder In pfefferlein, etc.

If you wish to make a gooddish from a roe's head, simmerit untilthe meat falls off the bones. The meat is then chopped to a mousse. Mixit with other chopped meat. Then take the two brain bones, arrange thedeer brain between them and cover them with an omelette. Cover theotherbones with finely chopped meat. Then spice the dish and roast it,takingcare not to add too much salt. Serve the roe's head with a ziseindel ora light pepper sauce.

You should first kill thepeacock with a feather, drivingit uponits head, or else drain its blood from under its throat as with a pig;but it is better to take out its tongue and then to slice it under itsbody - that is, from the top of its breast to its tail - slicing onlytheskin and removing it gently so that it is not damaged; when you haveskinnedit, pull the skin back right up to the head, then cut away the head,whichwill remain attached to the skin; do the same with the legs, andlikewisethe tail, taking out the leg bones so that the iron will make thepeacockstand up will not be seen; then take the skinned carcass and set it toroast stuck with lardoons, or else baste it with grease often enoughthatit will not burn, and stick it with whole cloves, and fill it with thePiglet stuffing but without garlic; cook it gently so its neck does notburn; if the neck should get too much heat, cover it with a damp cloth;when it is cooked, take it down and redress it in its skin, whoseinsideyou have coated with spices, salt and cinnamon. Then, when you have putits skin back on, get an apparatus of iron driven into a large cuttingboard and shove this iron through its feet and legs so it cannot beseen;in this way the peacock will be standing so that it will seem to bealive.

And to make it breathe firethrough its mouth, get a littlecamphorwith a little fine cotton-wool around it and put this into thepeacock'sbeak and soak it with a little aqauvita or else with a little fumey oldwine that is volatile; when you want to serve it, set fire to thecotton-wool:in this way it will breathe fire for a long time. To make it moremagnificentyou can cover the peacock with gold leaf and then cover it with itsskin.

By Smell-feasts. BoilHares blood, and dry it, andpowder it.Cast the powder upon the meats that are boiled, which will melt by theheat and moisture of the meat, that they will seem all bloody, and hewillloath and refuse them. Any man may eat them without any rising of hisstomach.If you cut Harp strings small, and strew them on hot flesh, the heatwilltwist them, and they will move like Worms.

(Asmell-feast is aderogatory term for anunwelcome dinnerguest. The title of the recipe may be read asThat flesh may lookbloodyand full of Worms, and so be rejected By Smell-feasts.)

:modern harp stringsare synthetic& inedible, and also will not react to heat as described in thisrecipe.Medieval harps would have used strings made of organic material.

In the morning take a chickenthat was killed the nightbefore andskin it without hot water so the skin does not tear, then eviscerate itand from that spot begin the skinning, pulling it back up to the neck;then cook the meat without the skin; when it is cooked, take the breastand grind it up thoroughly with a little cheese, parsley, marjoram andother fragrant herbs, and mix this into the chicken breast and grind itall again with a little cloves, pepper, cinnamon, saffron and a littleveal fat; and mix everything together, adding in two eggs; make thismixturea little on the soft side. Then get a carafe big enough to hold achickenor capon, and see that the mouth of the carafe is rather wide; thenstuffthe chicken skin and sew it where you cut it; stick its feet into thecarafeand have its neck stick out of the neck of the carafe - for, beforeinsertingthe skin, you should make sure that the carafe will be big enough toholdthe whole of the stuffed skin; if it is big enough, stuff the chickenthroughits neck which will be sticking out of the neck of the carafe, but donotoverstuff it; then tie up the neck and let the chicken swell to take upthe space in the carafe; then settle the chicken properly in the carafeby means of a stick; fill the carafe with slightly salted water, andsetthe carafe to boil inside a cauldron or else gently by the fire - butitwould really be better to fill a cauldron with water and boil it, andthen,or before it boils, to set the carafe in it; it will be cooked in anhour'stime; send if off to be served, leaving to those whose job it is theweightyproblem of carving it up.

To Cook a Fish in Three Waysand Styles, that is, boiled,roastedand fried. Wrap the tail up to one-third of length of the fish with apieceof linen soaked in salted water, and cook it by roasting, bringing thefire to bear evenly beneath the middle third. Then get very hot freshbutteror oil and, when your fish is well roasted and cooked - but be carefulthat the fire doesn't touch the third at the fish's head: put a tile orpiece of cloth over it - then take your fish straight away along withyourhot oil or butter in a pot and fry it well up to that third. And colourit with gold or silver or blue, with its mouth open and breathing fire.Serve it as an entremets, the boiled part with Green Sauce, the roastedwith orange juice and the fried with Cameline.

Get a pigeon and clean itwell, then set it to steep- I mean,immerse it - in strong vinegar for twenty-five hours; then wash it welland make a stuffing for it of cheese, eggs, spices and raisins, andmountit on a spit or roast it; in this way you will find it has no bones.

To make a Chicken be ServedRoasted. Get a chicken or anyother birdyou want, and pluck it alive cleanly in hot water. Then get the yolksof2 or 3 eggs; they should be beaten with powdered saffron and wheatflour,and distempered with fat broth or with the grease that drips under aroastinto the dripping pan. By means of a feather glaze and paint yourpulletcarefully with this mixture so that its colour looks like roast meat.Withthis done, and when it is about to be served to the table, put thechicken'shead under its wing, and turn it in your hands, rotating it until it isfast asleep. Then set it down on your platter with the other roastmeat.When it is about to be carved it will wake up and make off down thetableupsetting jugs, goblets and whatnot.

Take a head, large or small.Boil it in water and wine, andwhenit is boiled make sure that the bones all stay together next to oneanother.And remove all the meat from the bones of the head. Strip the skincarefully,the white part from the meat and chop the other meat from the boar'sheadvery small. Put it in a pan. Spice it well with pepper, ginger, and alittlecloves, nutmeg, saffron, and let it get very hot over the fire in thebrothin which the head was boiled. Next take the boiled head and lay it in awhite cloth and lay the skin under it on the cloth. Then spread thechoppedmeat all around on the head and cover it with the flayed skin. And ifyouhave too little meat from one head, then take it from two and cover thehead entirely as if it were whole. Next, pull the snout and the earsoutthrough the cloth. Also, pull the teeth together again with the cloth,so the head is held together while it is still warm, and let it lieovernight.In the morning cut the cloth from around the head. In that way it willstay whole. Then serve it with a cold farce made with apples, almonds,raisins. Thus you have a lordly dish.

To Make that Chicken Sing whenit is dead and roasted,whether onthe spit or in the platter. Take the neck of your chicken and bind itatone end and fill it with quicksilver and ground sulphur, filling untilit is roughly half full; then bind the other end, not too tightly. Whenit is quite hot, and when the mixture heats up, the air that is tryingto escape will make the chicken's sound. The same can be done with agosling,with a piglet and with any other birds. And if it doesn't cry loudlyenough,tie the two ends more tightly.

:Quicksilver (mercury)is highlytoxic and should NEVER be handled, let alone be used in cooking. Thisrecipeshould never be recreated using that ingredient.

Skin a pigeon without water -and be careful not to rip itsskin- and then remove the entrails; and reverse the whole skin so carefullythat it remains whole; where the skin is torn, sew it; then make astuffingfor it as I said above, and with a needle sew up again wherever youhaveinserted the stuffing, and boil it; set the other one, that is, theskinlesscarcass, to roast or to boil; if roasted, get a little grated bread andsalt and, when the carcass is half cooked, spread this salt and breadtogetherover it; get an egg yolk and beat it well, and baste the pigeon with afeather so as to give it colour, and this way it will look as if it hasnot been skinned; and so one pigeon will seem to be two.

197. Tourtes parmeriennes:Parmesan Pies. Take mutton, vealor porkand chop it up sufficiently small; then boil poultry and quarter it --and the other meat must be cooked before being chopped up: then getfinepowder and sprinkle it on the meat very sensibly, and fry your meat inbacon grease. Then get large open pastry shells -- which should havehighersides than usual and should be the size of small plates -- and shapethemwith crenellations; they should be of a strong dough in order to holdthemeat. If you wish, you can mix pine-nut paste and currants among themeat,with granulated sugar on top; into each pastry put three or fourchickenquarters in which to plant the banners of France and of the lords whowillbe present, and glaze them with moistened saffron to give them a betterappearance. For anyone who does not want to go to such expense forpoultry,all he has to do is make flat pieces of pork or of mutton, eitherroastedor boiled. When the pies are filled with their meat, the meat on topshouldbe glazed with a little beaten egg, both yolks and whites, so that thismeat will hold together solidly enough to set the banners in it. Andyoushould have gold-leaf or tin-leaf to glaze the pies before setting thebanners in them.

Trojan Hog. The ancientGluttons invented, how a whole Oxor Camelshould be set on the table, and diverse other creatures. Hence thepeoplehad a tale concerning the Trojan Hog. So called, because he covered inhis belly, many kinds of living creatures, as the ancient Trojan Horseconcealed many armed men. Macrobius reports, 3. Lib. Satur., thatCinciusin his oration, where he persuades to put the practise Fannius his law,concerning moderation of expense, did object to the men of his age,thatthey brought the Trojan Hog to their tables. Collers of Brawn and theTrojanHog, were forbidden by the law of regulating expense. The Hog waskilled,as Dalachampas translates it, with a small wound under his shoulder.Whenmuch blood was run forth, all his Entrails were taken out, and cut offwhere they began. And after that he was often well washed with Wine,andhung up by his heels, and again washed with Wine. He is rolled in Musk,Pepper. The the foresaid dainties, namely Thrushes, Udders,Gnatsnappers,and many Eggs poured unto them, Oysters, Scallops, were thrust into hisbelly at his mouth. He is washed with plenty of excellent Liquor, andhalfthe Hog is filled with Polenta, that is, with Barleymeal, Wine, Oil,kneadedtogether. And so he his put into the oven, with a Brass pan setunder. And care must be had to roast him so leisurely, that he neither burns,nor continue raw. For when the skin seems Crup, it is a sign all isroasted,and the Polenta is taken away. Then a Silver platter is brought in,onlyGilded, but not very thick, big enough to contain the roasted Hog, thatmust lie on his back in it, and his belly sticking forth, that isstuffedwith a diversity of goods. And so is he set on the table.