The Forme of Cury

A page from late 14th-century manuscript in theJohn Rylands Library, Manchester[a]
Author	The master cooks of King Richard II
Translator	Samuel Pegge
Language	Middle English
Subject	Cookery
Publisher	Richard II of England
Publication date	c. 1390
Publication place	England

The Forme of Cury (The Method of Cooking,cury fromOld Frenchqueuerie, "cookery")^[2] is an extensive 14th-century collection ofmedieval English recipes, written inMiddle English. Although the original manuscript is lost, the text appears in nine manuscripts, the most famous in the form of ascroll with a headnote citing it as the work of "the chief Master Cooks ofKing Richard II".^[3][4] The nameThe Forme of Cury is generally used for the family of recipes rather than any single manuscript text. It is among the oldest extantEnglish cookery books, and the earliest known to mentionolive oil,gourds, and spices such asmace andcloves. The book also includes the earliest known recipe formacaroni and cheese.^[5]

The book has notable influences from the cuisine of several different countries. The book's relatively fewvegetable andsalad recipes indicate influence from the era'sSpanish cuisine andPortuguese cuisine. The book'spasta recipes are clearly influenced from the era'sItalian cuisine.^[6] A number of the book's recipes and thesyrup cooking techniques are based on the era'sArabic cuisine. They were probably derived fromSicily, where the culture still had Arabic influences.^[6]

The collection was namedThe Forme of Cury bySamuel Pegge, who published an edition of one of the manuscripts in 1780 for a trustee of theBritish Museum,Gustavus Brander.^[7] It is one of the best-knownmedieval guides to cooking.The Forme of Cury may have been written partly to compete withLe Viandier of Taillevent, a French cookery book created at about the same time. This supports the idea that banquets were a symbol of power and prestige for medieval lords and kings.^[6]

In the preamble, the authors explain that the recipes are meant to teach a cook how to make common dishes and unusual or extravagant banquet dishes.^[8] They also note that the recipes were written with the advice of the best experts in medicine and philosophy.^[6]

The Forme of Cury is the first known English cookery book to mention some ingredients such ascloves,olive oil,mace andgourds. Many recipes contain what were then rare and valuable spices, such asnutmeg,ginger,pepper,cinnamon andcardamom. In addition to imparting flavour, many of the spices called for were included specifically to impart rich colouring to the finished dishes for the purpose of, as Pegge says, "gratifying the sight".^[9][10] There is a particular emphasis on yellows, reds and greens, butgilding and silvering were also used in several of the recipes.^[9] Yellow was achieved withsaffron oregg yolk, red with "sanders" (sandalwood) oralkanet, and green often with mincedparsley. There are recipes for preparing many types of animal meat, includingwhale,crane,curlew,heron,seal andporpoise.^[8] There are about ten vegetable recipes, including one for avinaigrette salad, which indicates influence from Portugal and Spain, as French cooks rarely used vegetables at that time. There are also severalpasta dishes, evidence of Italian influence.^[6]

Some recipes inThe Forme of Cury appear to have been influenced by theLiber de Coquina, which had contributions fromArabic cuisine. For example, the recipe formawmenee (see illustration) corresponds to the Arabicmamuniyya (a richsemolina pudding). The confectionery-likepayn ragoun confirms the connection with Sicily (which had been Arab, Catalan and Norman), as it uses the Arab technique of cooking in soft ballsyrup.^[6]

Sawse madame. Take sawge, persel, ysope and saueray, quinces and peeres, garlek and grapes, and fylle the gees þerwith; and sowe the hole þat no grece come out, and roost hem wel, and kepe the grece þat fallith þerof. Take galytyne and grece and do in a possynet. Whan the gees buth rosted ynouh, take hem of & smyte hem on pecys, and take þat þat is withinne and do it in a possynet and put þerinne wyne, if it be to thyk; do þerto powdour of galyngale, powdour douce, and salt and boyle the sawse, and dresse þe gees in disshes & lay þe sowe onoward.^[11]

In modern English:

Sauce Madame. Takesage,parsley,hyssop andsavory,quinces andpears,garlic andgrapes, and stuff thegeese with them, and sew the hole so that no dripping comes out, and roast them well and keep thedripping that falls from them. Take thegelatin and dripping and place in a cooking-pot. When the geese are roasted enough, take them off and chop them in pieces, and take what is within and put it in a cooking-pot and put in wine if it is too thick. Add to it powder ofgalangal,powder-douce and salt, and boil the sauce and dress the geese in dishes and lay the sauce on.^[12]

The Forme of Cury contains a cheese and pasta casserole known asmakerouns, the earliest recipe for what is now known asmacaroni and cheese.^[13] It was made with fresh, hand-cut pasta which was sandwiched between a mixture of melted butter and cheese. The recipe given (inMiddle English) was:

Take and make a thynne foyle of dowh. and kerve it on pieces, and cast hem on boiling water & seeþ it well. take chese and grate it and butter cast bynethen and above as losyns. and serue forth.

In modern English:

Make a thin sheet of dough and cut it in pieces. Place them in boiling water and boil them well. Take cheese and grate it and add it and place butter beneath and above as with losyns [a dish similar tolasagne], and serve.^[14]

The Café at the Rylands, in Manchester'sJohn Rylands Library where the manuscript is kept, cookedTart in Ymber Day,Compast,Payn Puff,Frumenty andGingerbrede, accompanied by Piment (spiced wine), for invited guests in 2009.^[15]

• Apicius – a collection of Roman cookery recipes
• Liber de Coquina – 14th-century cookbook of Italian and French origin
• Utilis Coquinario – another 14th-century Middle English cookbook
• Le Viandier – 14th-century French cookbook

• Hieatt, Constance B.; Butler, Sharon, eds. (1985).Curye on Inglysch: English culinary manuscripts of the fourteenth century (including theForme of cury). Early English Text Society. London: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-722409-0. (modern critical edition)
• Hieatt, Constance B. (1988)."Further notes onThe Forme of Cury et al.: additions and corrections".Bulletin of the John Rylands Library.70 (1):45–52.doi:10.7227/BJRL.70.1.4.

• British Library, Add. MS 5016, a 15th-century copy ofThe Forme of Cury inscroll format.
• John Rylands Library, English MS 7; (index to the images)
• The Forme of Cury atProject Gutenberg, an 18th-century edition (page images)
• Text and links at the Foods of England project
• Pygg in sawse sawge (British Library)

• 14th-century manuscripts
• 14th-century English cookbooks
• English non-fiction books
• Medieval cookbooks
• Middle English literature
• History of English cuisine
• Richard II of England

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