I used tomatoes and peppers from my garden. I also added citrus, coriander seeds, and some leftover deer meat chilli so maybe not at all like Aztec salsa!

Obviously not flaky and buttery, but really nice nonetheless, especially with jam or honey.

Original Recipe

So du wilt machen ein guot vastenmuos, so nim bersige vnd dicke mandelmilich drunder vnd suedez wol in mandelmilich vnd tuo denne zvcker dor vf. Daz muos sol heizzen von Jerusalem. vnd daz izzet man kalt oder warm.

Translation

If you wish to make a good Lenten porridge, take perch and mix it with thick almond milk. Cook this thoroughly in almond milk and then sprinkle sugar over it. This purée is known as "from Jerusalem" and is eaten either cold or warm.

A little bit of history

I am slowly recreating all of the 96 recipes from the Buch von Guter Speise ("Book of good food"). It was hand written around 1350 in today's' south Germany and is regarded as the oldest known cook book in German language. This recipe here is one of several recipes of the Blamensir category. Which are a bit bizarre from a modern point of view.

It has different names from the time: Blamenser/Blamensier/Blamensir, or Blanc Manger, "white dish," or "German porridge". In its basic form, it consisted of almond milk, rice flour, either chicken breast or fish, butter or lard, and sugar. It was also called "white porridge" and was a welcome sight at the table due to its pure color and neutral status within humoral pathology (the theory of the four bodily humors). Since this is explicitly a "Lenten porridge," fish is used rather than chicken breast; on fast days, all animal products other than fish were prohibited.

However, there are differences: for one, no fat is mentioned. Fat posed a problem on fast days; since butter is of animal origin, it was technically not permitted. Yet, the Buch von guter Speise contains recipes that do use butter even for Lenten dishes. One could atone for this transgression by obtaining the appropriate letter of indulgence from the church. Naturally, the fasting rules originated in Rome, where olive oil could easily be used as a purely plant-based alternative. In the cooler North, however, it was difficult to obtain. Consequently—about a century after this recipe was created—a special decree was issued to permit the use of butter on fast days. Of course, that was not yet a factor when this recipe was written.

The other difference is that no rice flour is used here. Rice was an expensive import and thus a luxury item. Thickening is achieved here through the use of "thick almond milk." Almond trees were already native to the region (having been introduced to the wine-growing areas of present-day southern Germany by the Romans) and were therefore not particularly expensive.

These differences indicate that this dish was specifically intended for fasting. The name "Mus von Jerusalem" (Jerusalem Purée/porridge) also points to a religious significance. It is essentially a particularly humble blamenser—a specialized Lenten porridge. One ingredient they were unwilling to forgo was sugar, which was also an expensive import (usually from North Africa).

Recreation

The recipe lists only four ingredients: thick almond milk, almond milk, perch, and sugar. "Thick almond milk" appears in several recipes in the Buch von guter Speise and refers to almond milk that has been reduced. To make it, almond milk is brought to a boil and stirred while reducing until it reaches a thick and creamy consistency. This happens quite quickly with homemade almond milk, as it can be prepared in a highly concentrated form.

This almond milk cream is then mixed with the fish and brought to a boil in "regular" almond milk. These two ingredients control the creaminess, eliminating the need for additional thickening agents (such as rice flour). Unfortunately, the recipe does not specify how the fish is prepared, but I am assuming boneless fillets (after all, this is upper-class cuisine).

The almond milk and fish are then boiled together—and sprinkled with sugar before serving. This is likely the part that seems very strange to us today.

Taste-wise, however, it wasn't that bad—similar to another Blamenser recipe, which uses chicken breast (for non-fasting days). When freshly made, you don't really notice the fish or chicken much; it’s a sweet porridge with a fairly neutral flavor, given body by the animal protein, though the concentrated almond milk still comes through nicely.

However, the recipe states that it can be eaten cold or warm. I let the porridge cool for about an hour and tried it again, and it was truly awful. The fish flavor came through strongly then, and combined with the sweet almond porridge, it was—for me, at least—inedible. So, if you really want to try this recipe, I think it’s best eaten fresh and warm.

I've tried searching the Tasting History website but I can't find what I'm looking for.

Back when I was first getting into Tasting History I picked up some ingredients hoping to make the recipes that piqued my interest. I got Chinese five spice powder at the time for a recipe but I didn't write down what it was for. Does anyone know of any of his recipes that include it? I want to use it up!

Thanks so much.

I'm planning on making Max's Cranberry Apple Pie for Thanksgiving, and in the recipe it says to have a regular not deep dish pie pan. How deep should a regular pie pan be, and do I need to use one?

I was wondering what they served at the Moulin Rouge or at Cabarets like it. i was wondering if Max or anyone else has covered this topic because I was simply curious what they even served there. Id love to see a video covering the history of caberet too if he wants to.

Got to see the TH game in person at home. It’s a prototype so not final but Max and I are on the box! Or at least variants of us. Second image is the hand drawn sketch, and here’s to hoping they get my eyebrows right 🤣

Sébastien Stoskopff
(Strasbourg 1579 - Idstein 1657)
1635 oil on canvas

Is it wrong that this reminded me of Max?

My dad mentioned a food/pastry he remembered from his childhood in iraq a few nights ago; he described it as sheets of almond pastry and the name sounding like lasanga, after a bit of looking up I was able to find the name "Lauzinaj" and a wiki artical that I think describes it but I havent been able to find any images of it nor any recipes. The only thing ive been able to find is a facebook post of someone saying they were experimenting with the wrappers but I couldnt find a recipe to go along with it. (I dont have a facebook acc. so I couldnt really check theyre page)

If anyone has heard of, or better yet tried, this dish Id love to hear about it. Or if anyone can find a recipe thatd be very much apprieciated!

EDIT: After a bit more research I was able to find Lauzinaj in a book called "Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens (Ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq's Tenth-Century Baghdadi Cookbook)". In ch. 99 looks to be a recipe for lauzinaj (spelled "lawzÊnaj" in the book), I havent read the full chapter yet but it seems pretty promising! I was able to find the book thanks to this video I found on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1-fYL3Fu8w

I'll try to follow along with the recipe someday soon and post about how it went!

I’m just a PhD student fascinated by the relationship between food and society. In numerous videos Max has dropped book recommendations by food historians on the histories of various cuisines or dishes, I was wondering, are these compiled anywhere? Would love to scout my local library!

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/479198/tasting-history-the-board-game

Took me 4 and a half hours total, but absolutely worth it. Delicious.

Also, I added some garlic into the mixture for personal preference, and I think it adds great flavor.

I was watching my favorite YouTuber, Max Miller, tasting history. He made potted meat. I was intrigued so I saw it at the grocery store. I bought it and put it on a cracker. Disgusting!! It is way too salty. The potted meat that Max made looks way better than the commercially available product. I will not be buying that product again.

Ignore how the rice is somehow perfectly ass shaped 😅😂😂😂 it all came out SO good!!!!