Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks Second Edition
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 B. Hieatt and Brenda M. 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 spiced wine.
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, 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. 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.
CONSTANCE B. HIEATT is Professor Emeritus of English, University of Western Ontario, and has made medieval studies her profession for forty years. She initiated an annual medieval feast potluck among her colleagues from which this book developed.
BRENDA M. HOSINGTON is Professeur titulaire, Linguistique, Université de Montréal. She contributed to Constance Hieatt’s first medieval feast and has maintained the Hieatt tradition of both teaching and cooking for her graduate students.
The late SHARON BUTLER co-authored the first edition of Pleyn Delit with Constance Hieatt. She was an editor of the Dictionary of Old English, and a talented artist whose illustrations grace the volume.