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 recipe March/April 2008
Blamanger of Fyshe
Delicate and special
Dutch version of this recipe

Blancmange today is a sweet dessert. In the Middle Ages however it could also be a savoury dish, made with almond milk and the white meat of chicken, or with fish.
The blancmange on this page is taken from an English cookbook from the end of the fourteenth century, Diuersa Servicia. It is a special recipe, because, in addition to almond milk, rice was used.
Rice was introduced as a crop in Spain in the eight century, by the conquering Moors. What type of rice was used is hard to say, there were already short and middle-long grain types of rice in Europe. One thing is certain: as it is a BLANCmange, white, polished rice was used. (modern blancmange)

This recipe, the oldest redaction of which is dating from the end of the fourteenth century, is a typical dish for a fish day, or even Lent. Many people think of a medieval meal as a table laden with meat and fowl, but the truth is that on at least half the days in the year the consumption of meat was forbidden because of religion. The dishes would then be filled with roast and boiled fish with sauces, fish pasties, fish jellies, and dishes like this blancmange.
This particular blancmange could appear even during Lent, the most restricted period of the year, because no diary was used. (more on Lent and food)

The blancmange on this page is made with crayfish (or crawfish for the Americans). I have to confess to a small subterfuge to be able to use crayfish. The Middle English text mentions lopuster (lobster). In the glossary of Two fifteenth century Cookery-Books (edition Austin) it says at the lemma Creue¥ (crayfish): "It includes Lobsters" (p.126). So, crayfish can be lobsters. Whether it can also be the other way around I'm not sure, but I like the decoration with crayfish so much.

The crayfish used in fourteenth century England would have been European crayfish, Astacus astacus. But, sad to say, the European crayfish is now an endangered species, and is protected. Not only pollution of its habitat threatens the crustacean, but also the invasion of exotic species like the North American crayfish (Orconectes limosus), the Danube or Galician crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus) and the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). I made my blancmange with the last one, imported from a Chinese fish farm.
In the Middle Ages native crayfish were still plentiful. According to the German text Wie man fisch und vögel fahen soll (How to catch fish and birds) from 1493 (edition) they were at their best in March and April, especially during waxing moon. They could however be eaten as late as July. This is how they were caught: "Item nim ein pocks leber vnd prat die vast woll. Nach dem praten so bestreich sy mit dem bereiten gaffer. Darnach mit ein netzlyn von einem kalbe oder schoffe daz frisch ist vnd schlag das netz vmb die leber. Darnach pint die leber vff ein pretlin als du kanst. Dar mit fachestu krepps vnd visch on zale." (Take the liver of a billy goat and roast it very well. After roasting spread it with prepared camphor. Then take a fresh caul from a calf or sheep and wrap it around the liver. Then tie the liver on a little board as best as you can. With that you will catch innumerable crayfish en fish - Translation by Richard C. Hoffman, except for netzlyn, that I translated with caul instead of peritoneum).
 

The original recipe
There are no less than five Middle English cookbooks with this recipe: Diuersa Servicia from the fourteenth century (editie Curye on Inglysch), Liber cure cocorum and two more manuscripts from the fifteenth century (Harleian ms 279 en Harleian ms. 4016, editie Austin), and the first printed cookbook in English from 1500, A noble boke of festes ryalle and cokery, which I haven't been able to find (anyone ...?).
The four recipes from the manuscripts all resemble each other greatly, only the Liber cure cocorum leaves out any mention of lobster and uses other fish, and Harleian ms. 279 is the only manuscript that mentions ginger. here you find the version from Diuersa servicia, because that is the oldest (1381), and just for fun the version from Liber cure cocorum (1460), because it rhymes.
The original text below should show a particular symbol, the letter thor (þ), that looks like a p and b combined. This represented the English 'th'-sound in the Middle Ages. On the keyboard it can be reproduced by using ctrl-alt-t. But if your pc or browser does not recognize the symbol, you'll see something else altogether, I can't help that.

The modern adaptation of the recipe:
Printout version
De adaptation is based on Diuersa servicia, but I have allowed myself some major liberties. I have chosen to prepare the almond milk with stock, made from the shells of the crayfish that are used in the recipe. This results in a delicate taste. And I have added the ginger mentioned in Harleian ms.279.
You could serve this blancmange with a sauce made from cream, reduced with Noilly Prat and a spoonful of crayfish fumet. Not medieval, but quite delicious.

List of ingredients:
300 gram (2/3 pound) crayfish meat (1,5 kilo/3 pounds unshelled crayfish), or 300 gram (2/3 pound) perchfillet (or tench or lamprey)
200 gram (1 1/2 cup) peeled blanched almonds, ground
150 gram (3/4 cup) rice (uncooked, after cooking about 400 gram/2 cups)
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ginger
pinch of salt
some whole crayfish, or heads with claws, to decorate
crayfish shells to make the stock, and a tablespoon olive oil

Preparation in advance:
Shell the crayfish, don't forget to crack the claws if they are fleshy. Put the meat in the refrigerator. Save four whole crayfish or heads with claws for garnish (also: refrigerator).
Rinse shells well under the tap, and drain. Use a third of the shells to prepare the stock for the almond milk, but use the rest to make this concentrated crustacean fumet you can freeze.
Heat olive oil in a pan, fry (as I said, a third of) the shells at high temperature for a minute, then add five decilitres water. Let simmer for 45 minutes, strain the resulting stock.
When making the blancmange with fish, poach the fish preferably on the bone and with skin, fillet when it is done. Save three decilitres of the strained cooking liquid.
Use the cooking liquid (or use fish fumet or crustacean fumet) to make almond milk: steep the (freshly) ground almonds for twenty minutes in the hot liquid. Then strain through a cloth, be sure to press the almond pulp to get as much almond milk as possible.

To prepare:
Chop the crayfish meat. Don't forget to remove the intestine first, unless you get a kick out of eating crayfish poo. Put meat, rice, sugar, salt and ginger in a skillet, and add enough almond milk to moisten the rice. Heat over a low fire until the almond milk has been absorbed or evaporized. If you want to, you can use a blender to purée the rice, but this is not necessary.
Line a pudding mould with plastic foil, scoop in the blancmange, and let it cool to room temperature. Or line small cups or soufflé moulds with plastic foil to get individual portions.

To serve:
Demould the blanc mange on a dish. Use whole crayfish, or the heads and claws, to garnish. You can also use flowers or herbs. Just not slices of lemon. Lemons were an extreme rarity in fourteenth century England.

Cats will love this blancmange too. If you refrain from adding salt, and used ginger sparingly, this dish can be given without any qualms. That is to say ... Hiro gobbled it up, but his mother Clio wrinkled her nose and tried to bury the dish under the kitchen tiles. Cats have just as individual tastes as humans.

Bibliography
The editions below are in my possession. Links refer to available editions. 
All books mentioned on this site 

T. Austin, Two fifteenth Century Cookery-Books. [,,,] Reprint Oxford University Press, 2000 (oorspr. 1888), digital edition. Here you can find Harleian ms. 279.
Constance B. Hieatt en Sharon Butler, Curye on Inglysch. English culinary manuscripts of the fourteenth century (Including the 'Forme of Cury'). Oxford, 1985. Here you can find Diuersa servicia.
Richard C. Hoffmann, Fisher's Craft & Lettered Art. Tracts on fishing from the end of the Middle Ages. Toronto, 1997.
Richard Morris, Liber Cure cocorum, copied and edited from the Sloane ms. 1986. Asher and co., Berlin, 1862. digital edition.