The Forme of Curry. The first cookery book written in the English language.
Portrait of Samuel Pegge the elder of Whittington drawn by Gustavus Brander, and engraved by James Basire
The Forme of Curry was the title given to a book of recipes translated from Latin by Rev. Samuel Pegge. It is thought The Forme of Curry means the art of cookery or ways of curing or preparing.
The origins of the recipes are said to come from the master cooks in the Court of King Richard ll around 1390. The recipes were written, in Latin, on vellum. It is thought there was originally around 205 recipes and they were compiled by stitching pieces of vellum together as they came to the end of a piece another was added thus making a scroll.
Samuel Pegge was born in Chesterfield in November 1704, he studied at St.John’s College, Cambridge where he graduated B.A. in 1725 and M.A. in 1729. He went on to be ordained in 1729 and served as curate in Sundridge in Kent. He was also a renowned antiquarian and wrote numerous articles, many for the Gentlemen’s Magazine.
In 1751 he was inducted to the Parish of Whittington and also elected fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
One of his acquaintances was Gustavus Brander, Director of the Bank of England and a Trustee of the British Museum. Gustavus did a drawing of Samuel but he also owned the original manuscript of the recipes which he lent to Samuel.
Samuel then set about translating the scroll to ‘middle’ English. He presented the finished book as follows;
THE FORME OF CURY,
A ROLL OF ANCIENT ENGLISH COOKERY.
Compiled, about A.D. 1390, by the Master-Cooks of King RICHARD II,
Presented afterwards to Queen ELIZABETH, by EDWARD Lord STAFFORD,
And now in the Possession of GUSTAVUS BRANDER, Esq.
A MANUSCRIPT of the EDITOR, of the same Age and Subject, with other congruous Matters, are subjoined.
“-ingeniosa gula est.” MARTIAL.
TO GUSTAVUS BRANDER, Esq. F.R.S. F.S.A. and Cur. Brit. Mus.
The Forme of Cury is the first known English cookery book to mention some ingredients such as cloves, olive oil, mace and gourds. Many recipes contain what were then rare and valuable spices, such as nutmeg, ginger, pepper, cinnamon and cardamom.
As well as enhancing flavour a number of spices were used to add colour to the dishes, as Samuel put it, “gratifying the sight”. There is a particular emphasis on yellows, reds and greens, but gilding and silvering were also used in several of the recipes. Yellow was achieved with saffron or egg yolk, red with “sanders” (sandalwood) and green often with minced parsley.
There are recipes for preparing many types of animal meat, including some which may seem strange to us including whale, crane, curlew, heron, seal and porpoise.
There are about ten vegetable recipes, including one for a vinaigrette salad, which indicates influence from Portugal and Spain, as French cooks rarely used vegetables at that time. There are also several pasta dishes, evidence of Italian influence.
Some examples;
Pykes in brasey
Take pykes and undo hem on ye wombes and waisshe hem clene and lay hem on a roost Irne penne take Gödel wyne and powdour gynger and sugur good wone and salt, and boile it in an erthen panne and messe forth be pyke and lay the sewe onoward
Pykes in Brasey – Pike in sweet wine
Take pike and open them on the belly, and wash them clean and lay them on a roasting grid. Then take good wine and powdered ginger & sugar, a good deal, & salt, and boil it in an earthenware pan & dish forth the pike & lay the sauce on.
Payn ragoun
Take hony suger and clarifie it togydre and boile it with easy Frye, and kepe it wel fro brennyng and whan it hath yboiled a while; take a drope perof wip by fyngur and do it in a litel water and loke if it bong togydre. And take it fro the fyre and do perto the thriddendele an powdour gyngener and stere it togyder till it bigynne to thick and cast it on a wete table. Lesh it and serue it forth with fryed mete on flessh or on fysshe dayes.
Payn Ragoun – Candy Strips (Ragoun = Highly Flavoured)
Take honey sugar and clarify them together, boiling over a gentle fire, taking care not to burn it. And when it has boiled a while, take a drop by your finger and drop it in a little water and see if it sticks together. Then take it from the heat and while it is thickening stir in powdered ginger. As it becomes thick throw it onto a wet table and make it into strips and serve it forth with fried meat on flesh days or fish days.
Chyches
Take chyches and wry hem in ashes all nygt, open lay hem in hoot aymers, at morrow, waisshe hem in clene water and do hem ouer the fire with clene water. Seep hem up and do perto oyle, garlic, hole safroun, powdour fort and salt, seep and messe it forth.
Chyches
Take chick-peas and dry them in the fire-ashes all night, or lay them in hot embers. At the morrow, wash them in clean water and cook them over the fire with clean water. Boil them up with oil, garlic, whole saffron, hot spice powders and salt, boil it and dish it up.
BOOK 2
Vegetable Cookery with an Introduction Recommending Abstinence from Animal Foods & Intoxicating Liquor (The First Vegetable Cookbook)
The first vegetable cookbook was compiled by Martha Harvey the wife of Joseph Brotherton. Both Martha and Joseph were born in Whittington. Martha was born in 1781 and Joseph in 1783.
Joseph moved with his family to Manchester in 1789 where his father set up a cotton mill. Joseph became a partner in the business in about 1802. Joseph and Martha were married at St.Bartholomew’s, Old Whittington on 30th March 1806. Meanwhile Joseph joined the Bible Christian Church. Members of this Church were vegetarians and total abstainers.
In 1818 Joseph took over as Pastor of the Church following the death of the Rev. Cowherd who had welcomed Joseph to the Church. In 1819 he retired from the Mill having made sufficient income for him to be ‘comfortable’.
In 1832 Martha published a collection of Vegetable Recipes which was published anonymously as ‘by a Lady’. The second and further editions were published under Martha’s name.
Following the Reform Act of 1832 Joseph became the first MP for Salford, a position he held until his death in 1857.
As interest in vegetarianism grew Joseph was invited to chair a meeting on 30th September 1847 at which the Vegetarian Society was formed.
A few examples from Martha’s Vegetarian Cookbook
Martha offers 15 different recipes for pea soup, here’s one example
Green Peas Soup
In shelling the peas, separate the old from the young, and to a quart of old peas put a pint of water, an ounce of butter, a lettuce, two onions, pepper and salt, stew them till quite tender, pulp them through a sieve; then add two quarts more of water, the hearts and tender stalks of lettuces, the young peas, and a handful of spinach cut small; stew them till quite soft. If the soup be too thin, or not rich enough, a little flour or butter may be added, and boiled up in it. Have ready a little boiled mint and parsley to put in when you serve it up.
Common Crumpets
Take a pint and a half of milk, just warm, mix with it five tablespoons full of good yeast; when it has stood to settle, pour it off by degrees into two pounds of flour and a little salt, stirring it till well mixed, beat it till it become a thick batter. A small portion of salt of tartar dissolved in a little milk (in the proportion of about a teaspoonful to two pounds of flour) and stirred well in, is a great improvement. When well risen, keep taking the batter from the top with a wooden spoon, and bake it on a bake-stone or iron plate, rubbed over with a bit of butter in a clean cloth: about a quarter of a pint of batter will make a good-sized crumpet; turn them again, and lay them on a cooler part of the stone to soak a little, always keep the hottest part to pour the fresh batter upon, and take care not to burn. As they are baked, lay them on a clean cloth, and keep them covered. When to be used, toast them, or lay them on a tin with a clean wet cloth over them, set them in the oven, and they will eat as if fresh baked. To dip them quickly in milk or water, answers the same purpose as a wet cloth.
Whittington Orange Pudding
Take half a pound of melted butter, half a pound of sugar, and the yolks of eight eggs, mix all well together with two ounces of candied orange. Put puff paste all over the dish, and bake it half an hour. Two ounces of biscuits may be added.
Chesterfield Biscuits
One pound of sugar, one pound of flour, sixteen eggs, and one ounce of caraway-seeds. Put the yolks of the eggs, sugar and seeds into a bowl, beat them very well; then beat the whites to snow, mix them in while the flour is sifted lightly over; bake them in paper cases; when done, cut them in long thin slices, and dry them in a cool oven.
Martha also give lots of household tips
For the sting of wasps, bees and gnats.
Apply olive oil immediately, or cut an onion in two round the middle put some salt alone, moistened with a little water will give immediate relief.
She also offered tips for Hooping Cough, Influenza, hoarseness, asthma, small pox, measles, sore mouth, chilblains, ringworm, hiccough, fits, lockjaw, toothache, nosebleeds, earache, stitch, sunburn, sore throat, stomach and bowel complaints!
Sources
The Forme of Cury – A Roll of Ancient English Cookery Compiled by Samuel Pegge
Published by Forgotten Books ISBN 978-160620960-8. 2008
A version can also be found in the Kindle Library
The Forme of Cury – From the Master Cooks of King Richard ll, the oldest English cookery book. Rendered into Modern English by Glyn Hughes (originally transcribed by Samuel Pegge). Published by Foods of England in Conjunction with John Roland’s Library. ISBN 978-132676871-3 2016
Vegetable Cookery by A Lady Published in 1832 2nd Edition onwards attributed to Martha Brotherton. A later edition is available https://archive.org/details/b21531614
The Vegetarian Society https://vegsoc.org/about-us/history-of-the-vegetarian-society-early-history/
Joseph Brotherton entry in the Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-22