Waffres

PERIOD: England, 15th century | SOURCE: Harleian MS. 279 | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: Thin waffles made with cheese

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

.xxiiij. Waffres. Take þe Wombe of A luce, & seþe here wyl, & do it on a morter, & tender cheese þer-to, grynde hem y-fere; þan take flowre an whyte of Eyroun & bete to-gedere, þen take Sugre an pouder of Gyngere, & do al to-gerderys, & loke þat þin Eyroun ben hote, & ley þer-on of þin paste, & þan make þin waffrys, & serue yn.

- Austin, Thomas. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books. Harleian MS. 279 & Harl. MS. 4016, with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1429, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS 55. London: for The Early English Text Society by N. Trübner & Co., 1888.

GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:

Wafers. Take the womb of a pike, & boil it well, & mash it in a mortar, & add tender cheese, grind them well; then take flour and egg whites & beat together, then take sugar and ginger, & mix all together, & see that the egg is hot, & make a batter, & make the wafers, and serve.

MODERN RECIPE:

• 1 dozen eggs, beaten
• 3 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbs. ginger
• 1 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Waffres, or wafers, were enormously popular in the Middle Ages, and were very similar to our modern waffle. In cities & towns, wafer sellers (called wafereres) would stand on street corners, making wafers for customers passing by using an iron form resembling our old-fashioned waffle iron. The original recipe has as one of its main ingredients the womb of a pike, and it is thereby assumed that this wafer was originally intended to be eaten on a fish-day or during Lent. Caviar may make an interesting substitute, but this is essentially an unnecessary ingredient and has been left out of the modern version. And because this was a fish-day item, the egg yolks were left out of the period receipt; I've included them in the modern version.