Translation correction and expansion for “A Proper newe Boke of Cookery”.
In 2008 I translated the 1575 printing of “A Proper newe Boke of Cookery” and at the very beginning a made a translation error. I translated “Brawn” as shoulder from a wild or tame boar because that is what I found in some sources and it seemed to fit. However in the Summer of Covid, 2020 I took an online class by the Leslie and Sam Falzone (Aibhilin kennari fra Skye and Valdr jarnsmithr) which showed that I mistranslated it, or that there were multiple meanings to the word. They translated “Brawn” as what we know today as head cheese. In doing some of my own digging, I find that this is correct. I will use an example out of Cindy Renfrow’s classic work, “Take a Thousand Eggs or More.” Second Edition, Volume One.
Pages 145-147 give recipes from two different Harleian manuscripts, 279 and 4016 (commonly referred to as the Two Fifteenth Century Cookery Books) for Brawn in Comfyte which Cindy translated as Boar in confit. This is probably where I made my mistake since I didn’t read too deeply. Also, the recipes state: Take Freyssch Brawn & seethe yt y-now, & pare it & grynde it in a mortere. So you can see where I made my mistake from a quick read. I should have read the whole thing. Here is Cindy’s modern translation of the recipe from MS 279:
Boar in confit. Take fresh boar and seethe it enough, and pare it and grind it in a mortar and mix it with almont mil and draw it through a strainer into a pot and cast thereto sugar enough and powder of cloves and let boil; then take flour of cinnamon and powder of ginger and then take it out of the pot and put it in a linen cloth and press it, but let it boil so lon in the pot till it is all thick; then take it up and press it on a cloth, and then cut it fair with a knife, but not too thin and then if though will, though might take the ribs of the boar all bare and set them endlong through the slices and so serve forth a slice or two in every dish.
Yup, 15th Century Head Cheese. Then next pages 148-149 have recipes for “Blaunche Brawen” which works out to be something similar to scrapple. But then, pages 150-151 have recipes for “Brawune freyez” which is fried pork and could be made either with plain pork or either of the head cheese or scrapple versions since it says, “Take Brawune and kytte it thinne”.
So, in closing, be careful when you translate and read all of the surrounding recipes.
Æduin of Skye 