ERBS

In my discussions of herbs in all the issues of Kildonan Times, I present only general information. It is not intended to be a guide for the use of the herbs. If you wish to use any of the herbs described in Kildonan Times, consult an herbalist or a definitive guide book to using herbs.

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English Walnut: I had chopped English walnuts in my oatmeal this morning. Tonight, we'll have sliced fresh peaches with a spoonful of Cool Whip on top, garnished with chopped English walnuts. Often for lunch, I'll make myself a salad of an apple, celery, and chopped English walnuts. They're packed with nutrients, and are just plain tasty. We eat a lot of them.

Walnuts are a source of the trace mineral manganese. They reduce cholesterol, though I don't know how many nuts you'd have to eat for noticeable results.

In medieval times walnuts and all parts of the tree, like many herbs, would have been used to treat almost any ill. Modern herbal medicine uses mostly the dried leaves. An infusion made by steeping one ounce of crushed, dried leaves in a pint of boiling water for six hours, then straining, produces an astringent that is helpful for eczema, herpes, and skin ulcers. The powdered bark, again prepared as an infusion, is a laxative. If you don't have an English walnut tree in your back yard, (and who does?), various forms of these preparations can be found in your local health food store. The dried leaves also can be bought for $14.00 a pound at Kalyx.com.

The walnut leaves, bark, and nut husks produce a brown dye. Black walnut produces a better, more permanent, darker dye. But English walnut works fine for a medium to light brown. For wool, cover the walnut shells, bark, and/or leaves with water and let sit overnight. The next day, boil the walnut parts for an hour or so to get the darkest results possible. The addition of chemical mordants makes the dye more stable and permanent, but we're talking tradition here. To do it the old way, just boil those shells.

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My herb references for the herbs I use either for food or medicine in this feature are: The Herb Book by John Lust (Bantam Books), Rodale's Encyclopedia of Herbs (Rodale Press) and Herbs by Lesley Bremness (DK Publishing), plus several websites.

CHAR DE CRABB

This recipe is again from the Booke of Good Cookery. This quote from the godecookery website tells a little about it. James L. Matterer is the website owner and book writer.

A Boke of Gode Cookery is an award-winning Medieval History website dedicated to the food & feasts of the Middle Ages & Renaissance. Here you will find information on medieval cooking, instructions for preparing authentic feasts, hundreds of recipes, image collections, a medieval cooking discussion group, graphics, photographs, and history resources. A Boke of Gode Cookery is an ideal website for students, teachers, & lovers of the Middle Ages, recommended by the BBC Online, Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Netscape, AOL, GO Network, & InfoSeek.

Also recommended by Ruth McIntyre-Williams, myself. It's a fun website to poked around in. My latest foray produced the following recipe. This one I have not made yet, but it surely sounds good.

PERIOD: England, 15th century | SOURCE: MS Harley 5401 | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: A tart apple pie flavoured with anise

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ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

To make Char de Crabb. Recipe crabbs & seth am in watur tyll ai be softe, & take hony & strene e crabbs erwith rogh a cloth. Put to a part of claryfyed hony & a quantyte of sawndyrs, & colour it with saforun; en put erto a quantyte of powdyr of peper & ij d worth of e flour of anneys & a quantyte of powdyre of licorys. en take grated brede & mold it vp erwith, & put it in cophyns & serof it forth, & bene facis. Quod Don Thomas Awkbarow.

- Hieatt, Constance B. "The Middle English Culinary Recipes in MS Harley 5401: An Edition and Commentary." Medium Ævum vol. 65, no. 1 (1996): 54-71.

(Remember to substitute a "th" for theOld English (Latin) letter "thorn." which is this )
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GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:

To make Crabapple Pie. Recipe: crabapples & boil them in water til they be soft, & take hony & strain the crabbs therewith through a cloth. Put to a 3rd part of clarified honey & a quantity of sandalwood, & colour it with saffron; then put thereto a quantity of powder of pepper & 2d worth of the flour of anise & a quantity of powder of licorice. Then take grated bread & mould it up therewith, & put it in pie shells & serve it forth, & you will go well. So says Don Thomas Awkbarow.

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MODERN RECIPE:

* 4-6 large green or tart apples, peeled, cored, & sliced
* 1-1 and1/2  cups honey
* Few drops red food coloring
* Several pinches saffron or few drops yellow food coloring
* 1 tsp. white pepper
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1 tsp. anise extract
* 1/2-1 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
* 1 pre-baked 9" pie shell

Boil the apples until soft; drain well. Pass through a food processor or masher (or equivalent device) along with 1 cup of the honey to make a smooth purée. Place the purée in a large bowl; taste for sweetness and blend in the additional honey if needed. With a large spoon blend in the food coloring, saffron, salt and pepper, and the anise extract, then blend in enough of the breadcrumbs to thicken the mixture to the consistency of a heavy cake batter or cookie dough. Place in the pre-baked pie shell and bake at 325° F for approx. 20-30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly to set, then serve.

Those who can pick their own crabapples are encouraged to do so! The rest of us may be satisfied by using green or tart apples of any variety.

Anise flour & powdered licorice will be almost impossible for most people to find easily, but anise extract will add the necessary flavour for this dish.

Although it is not clearly indicated that this pie is to be placed in an oven, most medieval fruit pie recipes were baked, and the absence of this procedure from the original receipt does not necessarily mean that this "char" was an exception. The name "char" itself implies that this is a baked or roasted item. Technically, the pie could be considered finished without baking and served as such; however, the baked version is a much more pleasurable and satisfying dish and would very certainly have been prepared this way in period.

James L. Matterer ©