Pumpes

Two 15th century cookbooks
Ab. 1420 A.D.

Pumpes

—Take an sethe a gode gobet of Porke, & noȝt to lene, as tendyr as þou may; þan take hem vppe & choppe hem as smal as þou may; þan take clowes & Maces, & choppe forth with-alle, & Also choppe forth with Roysonys of coraunce; þan take hem & rolle hem as round as þou may, lyke to smale pelettys, a .ij. inches a-bowte, þan ley hem on a dysshe be hem selue; þan make a gode Almaunde mylke, & a lye it with floure of Rys, & lat it boyle wyl, but loke þat it be clene rennyng; & at þe dressoure, ley .v. pompys in a dysshe, & pore þin potage þer-on. An ȝif þou wolt, sette on euery pompe a flos campy flour, & a-boue straw on Sugre y-now, & Maces: & serue hem forth. And sum men make þe pellettys of vele or Beeff, but porke ys beste & fayrest.

Modern English

Pumpes (Meat Balls)

—Take and (boil- cook in liquid over heat) a good chunk of Pork, and not too lean and cook it as tender as you may; then take it out of the liquid and chop it up as small as you like; then take cloves and mace, along with currants, and chop this up with the meat; Then take this and roll it as round as you may, like small balls 2 inches thick, then lay them on a dish by themselves; then make a good almond milk and bind it with rice flour and let it boil a while but make sure it runs clean (that it does not get too thick); And at the dresser, lay 5 "pompys" (meatballs) in a dish and strew enough sugar over this and if you want, set a campion on every "pompe" and strew sugar and mace over this and serve them forth. And some men make the balls of veal or beef, but pork is the best and fairest.