Martinmas

So, along with Remembrance Day, the 11^th of November is also the feast day of St Martin.

In medieval England, St Martin’s day, or Martinmas, was the day in which welcome was officially welcomed in and marked the end of the harvest in many areas. 

The first two weeks of November were traditionally a time for slaughtering livestock for winter and tasting the wine made in the summer. Indeed, when a prize cow was killed at this time, the cow was called the “Martlemas” and there are references to such an ox in Henry IV Part 2, scene II.

 

Along with beef, this festival is associated with pork products which in Yorkshire, were referred to rather charmingly as “pig cheer”. 

In honour of the occasion, I thought I’d share a recipe of fifteenth century recipe for beef stew:

“Beef y-Stywyd. Take fayre beef of þe rybbys of þe fore quarterys, an smyte in fayre pecys, an wasche þe beef in-to a fayre potte; þan take þe water þat þe beef was soþin yn, an strayne it þorw a straynowr, an sethe þe same water and beef in a potte, an let hem boyle to-gederys; þan take canel, clowes, maces, graynys of parise, quibibes, and oynons y-mynced, perceli, an sawge, an caste þer-to, an let hem boyle to-gederys; an þan take a lof of brede, an stepe it with brothe an venegre, an þan draw it þorw a straynoure, and let it be stylle; an whan it is nere y-now, caste þe lycour þer-to, but nowt to moche, an þan let boyle onys, an cast safroun þer-to a quantyte; þan take salt an venegre, and cast þer-to, an loke þat it be poynaunt y-now, & serue forth.

Stewed Beef. Take fair beef of the ribs of the fore quarters, and smite in fair pieces, and wash the beef into a fair pot; then take the water that the beef was washed in, and strain it through a strainer, and boil the same water and beef in a pot, and let them boil together; then take cinnamon, cloves, mace, grains of paradise, cubebs, and minced onions, parsley, and sage, and cast there-to, and let it boil together; then take a loaf of bread, an steep it with broth and vinegar, and then draw it through a strainer, and let it be still; and when it is nearly done, add the liquid there-to, but not to much, and then let boil once, and add saffron there-to a quantity; then take salt and vinegar, and add there-to, and look that it taste poynaunt enough, & serve forth.”

Follow the link in the notes for a recipe you can actually try!

Notes

Modern recipe courtesy of:

http://www.godecookery.com/mtrans/mtrans29.htm

Austin, T., Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books. Harleian MS. 279 & Harl. MS. 4016, with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1429, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS 55. (London, N. Trübner & Co.: 1888)