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Sawse blanche for capons (almond and verjuice sauce)
Sawce Blaunche for Capouns Ysode · Sawce blaunche for Capouns y sode · Sawse blanche · White sauce for poached capons
A pale English sauce from The Forme of Cury, about 1390, of blanched almonds ground to a dust, tempered with verjuice and seasoned with powdered ginger. It is a historical sauce, not a modern bechamel.
What the sauce was
The sauce is pale because it is made from blanched almonds, not from flour or egg. The title says it was made for capons, and the method is for poached capon.
It is not a modern bechamel. The thickening comes from ground almond, and the sharpness from verjuice, a juice of unripe fruit that is not fermented and not vinegar.
Sources for this section
Why the ingredients matter
Blanching removes the skins, which leaves a pale paste. Grinding the almonds to a dust gives the sauce its body. Verjuice adds acidity without the sharpness of vinegar, and ginger adds warmth.
A modern translation notes the pleasant acidity of verjuice. The record gives no quantities, so the balance of almond to verjuice is a modern decision.
Sources for this section
Reading the record
The method has three short steps and no quantities, temperatures or holding times. The sauce is served fresh with the bird. No preserving process or safety claim is made for it, and the record does not show how long it kept.
Verjuice is made from unripe fruit. Modern cooks who substitute other acids change the sauce, and the record does not establish that they are interchangeable.
Sources for this section
History
The sauce is recorded in The Forme of Cury, an English recipe collection compiled about 1390 and attributed to the master cooks of King Richard II.
Ingredients
Blanched almondsGround to a fine dust.
Quantity not given
VerjuiceUsed to temper the ground almonds.
Quantity not given
GingerPowdered.
Quantity not given
Method
- Take blanched almonds and grind them to a fine dust.
- Temper the almond dust with verjuice.
- Season with powdered ginger and serve the sauce with the poached capon.
Places
No source in this record establishes a place.
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Sources
Project GutenbergHistory · Method
The Forme of Cury: A Roll of Ancient English Cookery Compiled, about A.D. 1390Blanched almonds are ground to a fine dust, tempered with verjuice and seasoned with powdered ginger (XX.VI.XVI, Sawce Blaunche for Capouns Ysode).
The collection is attributed to the master cooks of King Richard II and dated about 1390.
Cited in: What the sauce was; Why the ingredients matter; Reading the record
Modern Medieval CuisineMethod · Interpretation
A little saucyA modern translation of the white sauce notes the acidity that verjuice gives, verjuice being the unfermented juice of pressed unripe grapes or crab apples.
Cited in: What the sauce was; Why the ingredients matter