Sambocade

PERIOD: England, 14th century | SOURCE: Forme of Cury | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: Elderflower cheesecake

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

179. Sambocade. Take and make a crust in a trap & take cruddes and wryng out þe wheyze and drawe hem þurgh a straynour and put hit in þe crust. Do þerto sugar the þridde part, & somdel whyte of ayren, & shake þerin blomes of elren; & bake it vp with eurose, & messe it forth.

- Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.

GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:

Elderflower Cheesecake. Take and make a crust in a pie pan & take curds and wring out the whey and pass it through a strainer and put it in the pie shell. Add sugar (a "þridde part" - about 1/3 cup), and a portion of egg whites, and add dried elderflowers; and bake it with rosewater, and serve it.

MODERN RECIPE:

• 1 nine-inch pie shell
• 1 ½ lbs. cottage cheese
• 1/3 cup sugar
• whites of 3 eggs
• 2 Tbs. dried elderflowers
• 1 Tbs. rosewater

Elderflowers can be found at natural food stores, herb & spice specialty shops, stores that carry exotic teas, etc. I find them at my local food co-operative. Don't use a substitution - the flavor of elderflowers is unique and the taste of the final product depends on the real thing.

Rosewater is a remarkable liquid that can be found in Oriental, Indian, and other imported food stores. The rose aroma & flavor are strong and powerful - be sure to use the real thing and not a substitute.

When making Sambocade, I prefer my variation which I call Sambocade Cheesecake. It contains a few more spices, some cream & butter, and a mixture of Cottage & Ricotta cheeses.