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.