"The first source is a cookbook written by Johann of Bockenheim, who was the chef to Pope Martin V (1417-31). A document in the Papal archives reveals that Johann was hired on 1 December 1417 to be responsible for the general kitchen for the court and guests. This would have been a good way to learn the food preferences of the many visitors the Papal court would receive-knowledge he put to good use when he wrote Registrum Coquine in the 1430s."
"Take some fresh cheese, mix it up with eggs and season it with saffron and other sweet spices. Then take some fat broth, pour it on and let everything rest until you are ready to eat; with it fill a bowl as large as you wish it to be and sprinkle with spices. It will taste good to the French and the English."
"In another section, the same dish is prepared a little differently for Romans: Take grated bread and place it on plates. Add on top aged, good grated cheese with sweet spices. Then arrange bread and spices until you have filled the plate. Pour on top good, fat broth, and then bread and spices. Here are some other recipes aimed at particular peoples, starting with spinach soup for Italians: Wash the spinach well, then boil it. Remove the water and pound it well with the knife, mixing with almond milk and making a mash. Add lard or olive oil."
Over eighty recipes from the Papal court reveal distinct regional preferences across medieval Europe. Cheese soup appears in multiple regional forms, seasoned with saffron and sweet spices for French and English tastes and served over grated bread and aged cheese for Romans. Spinach was boiled, pounded, and mixed with almond milk and fat for Italian palates. Mutton preparations included soaking in fresh water to draw out blood before cooking for northern tastes. Common ingredients included fat broths, almond milk, lard or olive oil, and sweet spices, reflecting varied textures and seasonings by region.
Read at Medievalists.net
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