16th Century German Apple Butter called Latwerge

Introduction

Latwerge is a German thickened fruit preserve that could be made with various fruits, such as pears, plums, cherries, or apples. This preserve was first used by apothecaries and used as an internal medicine. By the 16th century, it had become part of regular German cookery. In today's society, one common version of this fruit preserve is apple butter.

Gravenstein apples (one of the oldest varieties still in existence today) may have historically been used for this recipe, as these apples existed at least as early as the 17th century. This type of apple is green, moderately tart, and softens easily (which is great for making applesauce and apple butter).


The Source Recipe

Ein New Kochbuch, by Marx Rumpolt (1581)

(Rumpolt)

Confect 23. Hungarian Plum Confect/ be it white or brown. Take the sour cherries/ and take the stems from it/ set them in a kettle over the fire or coals/ and let simmer/ until they give from themselves enough juice. When they are cold then strain them through a hair cloth/ put them in a tinned fishkettle/ and set on coals/ let simmer/ and stir well/ that it doesn't scorch. And when it is half cooked/ then take a little ground cinnamon and cloves in it/ make well sweet with sugar/ and let simmer together/ until it becomes well thickened/ take away/ and let cool/ so you can lift it up/ and keep it a year or two.

28. Also (a latwerge or preserve) from apples. 

(English translation by Palmer)

Related Recipes

Le Menagier de Paris (1393)

Quince Paste: 313. Pour Faire condoignac. Prenez les coings et les pelez. Puis fendez par quartiers et ostez l’ueil et les pepins. Puis cuisier en bon vin rouge et puis soient coulez parmi une estamine. Puis prenez du miel et le faictes longuement boulir et escumer, et apres mectez vos coings dedens et remuez tresbien, et le faictes tant boulir que le miel se reviengne a moins la moictie. Puis gectez dedens pouldre d’ypocras et remuez tant qu’il soit tout froit. Puis tailliez par morceaulx et les gardez.

TO MAKE QUINCE PASTE, take quinces and peel them. Then cut in quarters and take out the eye and the seeds. Then cook in good red wine and then they are pressed through cheesecloth. Then take honey and make boil for a long time and skim it, then put in your quinces and stir well and make as to boil the honey until it is about halved. Then add powder of hypocras and stir until cold. Then cut into pieces and keep them. (Lady Alicia)

Materials

3 apples
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/2 cup water


Procedure

Peel, core, and chop the apples. Place in a pot with the water and cook under medium-low (or simmering heat) for at least 20 minutes, or until the the apples are soft enough for mashing. A lid may be place on the pot. Drain the water. Either mash the apples with a potato masher or run the apples through a food mill. Return the mashed apples to the pot. Add in the sugar, cinnamon, and clove. Stir. Continue to cook on low heat until the mash turns into a thick, soft paste (like a thick jam) and stir occasionally. Spoon the apple butter into a jar or lidded container. Allow it to cool. Store in the refrigerator.

For video instructions, please click here.

Bibliography

Ellicott Lea, Elizabeth and William Woys Weaver. A Quaker Woman's Cookbook. Stackpole Books: Mechanicsburg, PA. 2004. P. 311. https://books.google.com/books?id=pEZh2xeCb1QC&pg=PA311&lpg=PA311&dq=latwerge+recipe+apple&source=bl&ots=VWCkjJufzq&sig=ACfU3U0jVyADhOV9EY7ZohKjWvfYcyc5wA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS5eCKmsHpAhUQVc0KHdLYA4kQ6AEwDHoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=latwerge%20recipe%20apple&f=false.

Lady Alicia. "October: Apple Butter and Quince Paste." 4 October 2016. https://ladyaliciascookerybooke.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/october-apple-butter-and-quince-paste/. 21 May 2020.

Palmer, Sharon. "Ein New Kochbuch 1581." https://www.academia.edu/6272538/Ein_New_Kochbuch. 2014.

Rumpolt, Marx. Ein New Kochbuch. https://books.google.com/books?id=ne9U3i9c2DoC&pg=PR180-IA1&lpg=PR180-IA1&dq=rumpolt+latwerge+23&source=bl&ots=wS23ai-IUA&sig=ACfU3U1fQXdSIIdxMGFuUQYFXlI86AkRgw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZgrCnlcHpAhUGV80KHS95By8Q6AEwCnoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false. 1581.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Today was my first time ever making this delicious dessert!

Ingredients:

Topping:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar (light)
10 pineapple slices or 4 containers of chopped pineapple, drained
cherries, optional

Cake:
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup pineapple juice (or milk can be substituted here)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Pour melted butter in pie plate or cake pan. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of the butter. Then evenly add the pineapple on top of the sugar. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the cake ingredients. Add this mixture on top of the pineapple. Bake for 30 minutes. Cover the top of the pan with foil. Bake for another 10-15 minutes. Use a toothpick to poke the cake to make sure the toothpick comes out clean (if there is batter attached to the toothpick, then it needs to bake longer).

Let it cool for 15 minutes before flipping the cake on to a serving dish. Serve and enjoy!

For video instructions, please visit here.

How to Make Fine Pappe.

Today's experiment was a recipe from A Good Huswifes Handmaide from 1594 called "How to make fine pappe."

Here is the original recipe:

How to make fine pappe.
<"048">TAke Milke and flower strain them, and set it over the fire till it boyle. Then take it off and let it coole, then take the yolkes of egs straine them and put it in the milk, and some salt, and set it in the fyre, and stir it till it bee thicke, and let it not boyle fullie. Then put it in a dish abroade, and serue it foorth for good pottage.  


First, I set out to find out what "pappe" is. Based on my findings, it is pap. This was term used to describe something as either related to the Pope (papal) or (more commonly) something shaped like a nipple. Pap was used as baby food as the nourishment between weaning a baby off from a nursemaid and actual food that had to be chewed.

Once I knew what the consistency of this item was supposed to be (pudding versus a cookie, for example), then I looked to see if anyone else had attempted this recipe or a similar recipe before. I find that this helps me with a starting place, since the original recipe does not provide measurements for the flour, milk, or salt. I found two others who had modern interpretations of similar recipes: a papyns recipe from 1430 on the Give It Forth blog and a papyns recipe from the 15th century on the Gode Cookery website. The Gode Cookery's modern interpretation suggests using 1 cup milk and 3/4 cup flour. The Give It Forth blog's modern interpretation suggestions using 3/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup cream, and 2 Tbsp flour. Both call for 1 cup of liquid, but there is a significant difference between 2 Tbsp of flour and 3/4 cup of flour.

Both of these earlier recipes call for something sweet to be added: one calls for honey and the other calls for sugar. Even later period recipes from 1670 (Woolley) and 1685 (May) call for sugar and rosewater to sweeten up the mixture. However, this specific recipe from 1594 does not call for anything sweet to be added to it. Was this on purpose or by accident?

Not wanting to waste too much of my ingredients while experimenting with the 1594 recipe, I first tried this recipe using 1/4 cup of milk and 2 Tbsp flour. After it was mixed together, I put it on the stove to set it to a boil (per the original instructions). This did not happen, as I quickly ended up with what looked like a pancake or crepe. See below.

So, back to the drawing board for my second attempt. This time, I used only 1 Tbsp of flour to go with the 1/4 cup of whole milk. It requires constant stirring. This time, the mixture turned out more like a pudding consistency. (see below)

Once it's heated up to a boil, remove it from heat and let it cool. I became impatient for it to cool. So, the pot went into the freezer for about 5 minutes. (see below)

After the mixture has cooled, then add in one egg yolk and a sprinkle of salt (no more than 1/8 tsp). Stir the mixture together. Heat it up again to medium heat this time, while constantly stirring. I found that the mixture first seemed to become more liquefied before thickening up during this second heating.

Then, the original recipe says to put the mixture into a dish abroad. This sounds like a wide, shallow bowl. And then "serve it forth for good pottage" sounds like it should be ate while still warm.

I taste-tested my results, along with having four children taste test my results. In my opinion, it was quite bland. However, the original recipe simply calls for milk, flour, egg yolk, and salt... only something bland would most likely result from it. The two older children did not care for the taste, as again it was quite bland. The toddler and the baby, on the other hand, liked it quite well. So much so, that the toddler demanded more of the pap.

As time rolled on after this 1594 recipe was written, paps became a dessert item. People began to get creative with the paps by making molds with the mixture. Examples of some of these molds can be found here, here, and here. By the time these molds were made, the dessert had gone from a custard-like substance to more of a jelly-like (gelatin) substance.

It was interesting testing out this new-to-me recipe.

Here is my brief modern interpretation of this 1594 recipe:


Ingredients:
1/4 cup whole milk
1 Tbsp flour
1 egg yolk
1/8 tsp salt

Mix the flour and milk together and strain them. Heat the mixture up over medium-high heat while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let it cool. Once cool, add the egg yolk and salt. Stir. Warm up to medium heat, while stirring constantly. Serve and enjoy.

When to Cook Which Meats

According to The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin (published in 1594), here is when it's ideal to cook different meat.


"To knowe the due seasons for the vse of al maner of meats throughout the yeare.
BRawn is best from holy Rood day til Lent, and at no other time commonlie vsed for seruice. Bacon, Beefe and Mutton, is good at all tymes, but the woorst tyme for Mutton is from Easter to Midsommer. A fatte yoong Pig is neuer out of season. A Goose is worst at Midsommer, & best in stubble tyme, but they be best of all when they be yoong green Geese. Veale is all tymes good, but best in Januarie and Februarie. Kidde and yoong Lambe is best between Christmasse & Lent, & good from Easter to Whitsontide, but Kid is euer good. Hennes be all times good, but best from Alhallowntyde to Lent. Fatte Capons be euer good. Peacocks bee euer in season, but when they be yoong and of a good stature, they be as good as Feasants, & so be yoong Grouces. Sinets be best betweene Alhallowen day and Lent. A Mallard is good after a frost, til Candlemas, so is a Teal and other wild foule that swimmeth. A Woodcocke is best from October to Lent, and so be all other birdes, as Ousels, Thrushes and Robins, and such other. Herons, Curlewes, Crane, Bittour, Bussard, be at all times good, but best in Winter. Feasant, Partridge and Raile, be euer good, but best when they bee taken with a Hawke, Quaile & Larks be euer good Connies be euer in season, but best from October to Lent A gelded Deare, whether he be fallow or red, is euer good. A Pollard is speciallie good in May, at Midsommer he is a Bucke, and verie good till Holy Rood day before Michaelmas, so like wise is a Stagge, but he is principal in Maie. A barren Doe is best in Winter. A Pricket and a Sorell syster is euer in season. Chickens bee euer good: and so be yoong Pigeons." (Dawson)



                                                    My Interpretation

Boar meat is best from September 14th (Holy Rood Day) until Ash Wednesday (Lent lasts 46 days until Easter), and at no other time is commonly used for service. Bacon, beef, and mutton are good at all times, but the worst time for mutton is from Easter to Midsummer (the Summer Solstice, which is between June 19th-25th depending on the year). A fat young pig is never out of season. A goose is worst at Midsummer, and best in stubble time (September 29th ... stubble refers to when they have grazed on the stubble after the harvest). Geese are the best of all when they are young green geese. Veale is good anytime, but best in January and February. Kids (young goats) and young lambs are best between Christmas and Lent, and good from Easter to Whitsuntide (known as White Sunday, it is the 7th Sunday after Easter). But kids are always good. Hens are always good, but best from All Hallow's Tide (October 31st) to Lent (Ash Wednesday). Fat capons (castrated male chicken) area always good. Peacocks are always in season, but when they are young and of a good stature, they are as good as pheasant and so are young grouses (a medium to large game bird). Sinets are best between All Hallow's Day (October 31st) and Lent (Ash Wednesday). A mallard is good after a frost until Candlemas (February 2nd), as well as a teal and other wild foul that swim. A woodcock is best from October to Lent (Ash Wednesday), and so be all other birds, such as ouzels, thrushes, and robins, and such. Herons, curlews, crane, bittern, and buzzards are at all times good, but best in winter. Pheasant, partridge, and rails are always good, but best when they are taken with a hawk. Quail and larks are always good. Connies are always in season, but best from October to Lent (Ash Wednesday). A gelded deer, whether he be fallow or red, is always good. A pollard is especially good in May, at Midsummer if he is a buck, and very good until Holy Rood Day (September 14th) before Michaelmas. So is the stag, but he is best in May. A barron doe is best in winter. A pricket (a male fallow deer in its second year) and a sorrel sister is always in season. Chickens are always good, and so are young pigeons.




                                                      Works Cited

Dawons, Thomas. The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin. London. 1594. http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/book1594huswife.htm. 

How Meats Were Served in Order to the Table in 1591

According to A Book of Cookrye by A.W. in 1591 (original publication was in 1584), here are how meats should be served in order to the table.

The First course.

Potage or stewed broth.
boiled meat or stewed meat.
Chickins and Bacon.
Powdred Beefe.
Pyes, Gooce, Pigge.
Rosted Beefe.
Rosted Veale.
Custard.

The second course.

Rosted Lamb.
Rosted Capons.
Chickins.
Pehennes.
Bakte Venison, Tart.

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The service at Supper.

Potage or Sew.
A Sallet.
A Pigges petitoe.
Powdred Beef sliced.
A shoulder of mutton or a brest.
Vele, Lamb, Custard.

The second course.

Capons rosted.
Cunnies rosted.
Chickins rosted.
A Pye of Pigions or Chickins.
Baked Venison, Tarte.

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The service at Dinner.

Brawne and Mustard.
Capons stewed in white broth.
A Pestell of Venison upon brewes.
A chine of Beef & a brest of mutton boild.
Chewets or Pyes of fine mutton.
Three green geese in a dish, sorrell sauce.
For a stubble goose, mustard and vinagre.
After Alhalowen daye a Swan, sauce Chaudron.
A Pigge.
A dubble Rib of Beef rosted, sauce Pepper and Vinagre.
A loyne of Veale or brest, sauce Orenges.
Half a Lamb or a Kid.
Two Capons rosted, sauce wine & salt, Ale and Salt except it be upon sops.
Two Pasties of falow Deer in a Dish.
A Custard.
A Dish of Leash.

The second course.

Jelly.
Pecock, sauce wine and Salt.
Two Cunnies or half a dozen of rabbets.
    sauce Mustard and Sugar.
Half a dozen of chickins upon sorrel sops.
Half a dozen of Pigions. Fesand, sauce water and salt with Onions sliced.
Half a dozen of Woodcocks, sauce Mustard and Sugar.
Half a dozen of Partriges.
Half a dozen Railes sauced as the Fesand.
A dozen of Quailes.
A dish of Larkes.
A pasty of red Deere.
Tarte, Ginger bread, Fritters.

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Service for Fish daies.

Butter.
A Sallet with hard Egges.
Potage of sand Eeles and Lamprons.
Red Hering green broiled sugar strewed upon. Salt salmon minced, sauce mustard and Vinagre and a little Sugar.
Whiting, sauce with liver and mustard.
Plaice, sauce sarrel, or Wine and Salt, or Vinagre.
Thorne back, sauce Liver and Mustard, Pepper and Salt strewed upon it after it is brused.
Fresh Cod, sauce Greensauce.
Bace, Mullet.
Eeles upon Sops.
Roches upon Sops.
Perch.
Pike in Pike sauce.
Troit upon Sops.
Tench in Gelly or in Grissel.
Custard.

The Second course.

Flounders in Pike sauce. Bream upon sops.
Carp upon sops.
Soles or any other fish fried, sauce the dripping.
Baked Lamprye.
Almonds blanched.