Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks

Pleyn Delit is the first mediæval cookbook I bought, and it's an excellent one. All recipes are presented in two versions: the exact original (in Middle English, vulgar Latin, Old French or whatever) and a modern redaction. Having the original there enables one to do one's own redaction if the modern one is unsatisfactory, or if one suspects it makes some unwarranted assumptions. It's a great start for someone interested in historical cuisine.

Finally a decent medieval cookbook I can recommend in addition to internet sources. As a person who announces the date, time and place for monthly medieval feasts and who participates in these feasts, I always try to give participants decent sources and recipes for the food preps used in the Middle Ages. Pleyn Delit provides a wealth of useful recipes, all quite tasty, though our modern palattes might require some re-adjusting. The recipes are easy to follow, and this book makes my life as a medieval feast planner much easier. I hope the authors will expand on the recipes in the future. Sandra Jones Ireland (avid SCA participant and an excellent cook/baker, feast planner), Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

This was my very first medieval-food book. To my amazement, it actually works well as a "mundane" cookbook too. The recipes are presented with the primary source they come from first (translated if the source isn't in at least somewhat-recognizable English), with a redaction following.Not all the redactions are easy to work with, and sometimes the results are.. well.. uneven (watch out for the sage sauce one that calls for chopped boiled eggs). I suspect that three people making the same recipe would come out with three different dishes. That said, some recipes are just mouthwatering -- a thickened wine sauce for meats went over well at one feast I helped with, and most of the vegetable recipes are tasty and easy to prepare. A decent bibliography is included with the work, as well as an analysis of period spices and spice mixes. I'd recommend this to anybody interested in medieval cooking -- it dispels a lot of myths and presents a number of dishes that prove that we haven't changed all that much.

Pleyn Delit offers a great variety of simple to medium hard recipes that can be adapted to your current menu or replace it if the ambition is there. The recipes are tasty and well-explained. Some ingredients are hard to find but for the most part replacement items are named. With this book, I've concocted complete medieval meals as well as odds and ends for special occasions while increasing the depth of my family's usual menus.

This is easily a must-have for anyone who looks to prepare a feast in proper medieval style. The writing is well done, the recipes are succulent, and accessible too! The original text side-by-side with the modern text sets you up to make similar translations for yourself.