There are many recipes of savory or sweet pies in the medieval Italian manuscripts, prepared with meat, seafood, vegetables, cheese, and other ingredients. We find two kinds of pies, torta and pastello, whose main difference is the type of crust, described extensively in the Renaissance sources, whereas in the medieval cookbooks there are no directions about how to make them.
Cheesecake is an ancient preparation. We find it in Greek and Roman sources, in particular in Cato and Athenaeus’ books, and in the past months we prepared few recipes from De Agri Cultura: savillum, libum, and placenta. There is an important difference between the ancient recipes and this one, written in the 15th century: the presence of sugar instead of honey. Sugar is a fundamental ingredient in the Middle Ages, used for any kind of preparation, not necessarily sweet. It was known in the Antiquity, as reported by Pliny, Dioscorides, and other authors, but its use became fundamental in the medieval cuisine. Another important ingredient is saffron, cultivated in the Mediterranean countries, included Sicily, but rarely used in ancient cuisine. Sugar and saffron make this cheesecake quite different from the ones described by Roman and Greek authors, giving the pie a delicious aromatic complexity.
This recipe is part of a Latin cookbook titled Registrum Coquine, and it is oddly recommended by the author to pimps and prostitutes. Below, you will find the original text with our translation and the video of the recipe, with captions in English and Italian. Enjoy!
If you want to know more about historical pies, read our book Early Italian Recipes. Cereals, bread, pasta, and pies, where you will find historical information about cereals and their preparations from the Antiquity to the end of the Renaissance, with 114 recipes for pasta, bread, pizza, pies, and more, newly translated and explained. To know more about the source of this recipe, read Registrum Coquine. A medieval cookbook
If you are interested in late-medieval cuisine, we also recommend Libro de la Cocina. Medieval Tuscan Recipes. To learn about the transition between ancient and medieval cooking, check out De Observatione Ciborum, written by the physician Anthimus to the king of the Franks Theuderic. If you are interested in recipes for vegetables from the Antiquity to the beginning of the Modern Era in Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers available in English and Italian.
For information about ancient cuisine, read Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Recipes, Sources. Moreover, full translations of historical sources and articles on ancient and medieval cooking are available on Patreon.
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Ingredients
300 gr white wheat flour
400 gr firm cheese
3 eggs
white cane sugar
saffron
Method
Grind the saffron in the mortar and steep it in warm water.
To prepare the filling, cut the cheese and mix it with three egg whites, sugar, and saffron.
Knead well the flour with two pinches of salt adding water a little at a time. Once you have reached a soft and smooth consistency, divide the dough into two parts, one bigger and one smaller. Roll the bigger part in a circular shape.
Grease the pie pan with lard or butter. Lay the bottom crust carefully in your pie pan and fill it with the cheese mixture, cutting the excess part. Roll the upper crust the same size as the pie pan and seal the pie.
Brush the pie with egg wash, then bake it in the oven for about 20 minutes. As soon as the crusts are cooked through, the pie is done. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note about the method and ingredients
The author does not specify how to prepare the crust of the pie, as common in the medieval Italian cookbooks. Luckily, torta continued to be a popular dish in the following centuries, so we find information in Renaissance sources, in particular Messisbugo and Bartolomeo Scappi, in which the crust of the torta is described as similar to lasagna: a thin sheet of pasta prepared with water and flour, in a few recipes, with the addition of eggs, rose water, and saffron. The upper crust is sometimes brushed with saffron or wash egg, as we did in our method.
The author writes nothing about which kind of cheese to use. We suggest a firm cow or goat cheese, not excessively salty and with a good amount of moisture.
Cane sugar was very common in medieval cuisine and it was available both white and brown, shaped in various ways. White sugar, without impurities, was considered the best. In this case, it is better to use white than brown sugar to obtain the beautiful yellow color given by saffron, another popular ingredient in the Middle Ages and beyond. It was cultivated in Italy and imported from Eastern countries to meet the high demand.
Original text
Ad faciendum tortam pro rusticis lenonibus et eorum meretricibus. Recipe caseum frustrum unum, cum albumine ovorum, zucharo, et croco, et pone illa in pastam subtilem, et fac paulatim coquere donec indurescat. Et hoc valde lente. Et erit bonum pro rusticis lenonibus et mulieribus eorum.
Translation
To prepare a pie for peasants, pimps, and their prostitutes. Take one piece of cheese, egg whites, sugar, and saffron. Place it in a thin crust and make it cook a little until it hardens. And this at low heat. And it will be good for peasants, pimps, and their women.
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Books
Early Italian Recipes. Cereals, bread, pasta, and pies
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano. Medieval Tuscan Recipes
Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus. Early-medieval recipes at the court of the Franks.
Registrum Coquine by Johannes Bockenheim. A medieval cookbook
Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Sources, Recipes
Translations of Historical Sources
De Agri Cultura by Cato – first part (2nd century BCE)
De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (Ancient Rome)
Apicii Excerpta by Vinidarius (5th or 6th century)
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus (6th century)
Appendicula de Condituris Variis by Johannes Damascenus (8th or 9th century)
De Flore Dietarum (11th century)
Tractatus de Modo Preparandi et Condiendi Omnia Cibaria (13th or 14th century)
Liber de Coquina – first part (14th century)
Enseignemenz (14th century)
Opusculum de Saporibus by Mainus de Maineris (14th century)
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano (14th century)
Anonimo Veneziano (14th century)
Registrum Coquine by Johannes von Bockenheim (15th century)
Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Maestro Martino – parts 1-4 (15th century)
Recipes
Tuscan Chicken Soup with Unripe Grapes
Early-medieval Kohlrabi Stew
Tuscan Fried Leek Rings
Pork Ribs
Tuscan Pancakes with Wild Flowers
Hop Shoots
Shrimp – Savore de Gambari
Orange Frittata – Fritata de Pomerantiis
Tuscan Soup with Hen and Florence Fennel
The diet of the Franks – Celery Root and Beef Stew
Tuscan Fish Cakes – Salciccie di Pescio
Tuscan Stew with Pork Belly and Rutabaga
Pork and Onion Soup
Tuscan Radish Soup
The Diet of the Franks – Endive and Pork Jowl
Tuscan Fried Meatballs
The Diet of the Franks – Chicken Stew
Castagnazzi
Renaissance Stuffed Cucumbers
Pork Roast with Cherry Sauce
Renaissance Fried Tomatoes
Herbolata
The Diet of the Franks – Beef Stew
Fried Chicken Soup
Beef Roast with Garlic Sauce
Bread Soup
Salted Meat and Peas
Baghdadi Rice Cream
Chicken with White-Pepper Sauce – Piperatum Album
Indian Chickpeas and Meat
The Diet of the Franks – Pork Stew
Chestnut and Mushrooms
Lentils with Oregano and Watermint
Egyptian Bread with Pistachios and Almonds
Veal with Fennel-Flower Sauce
Pork Roast with Green Sauce
Eggs Poached in Wine
Brodium Theutonicum
Crispellae – Pancakes with Saffron and Honey
Brodium Sarracenium – Chicken Stew
Fava Beans and Pork
Erbe Minute – Meatballs with Herbs
Lettuce and Pork Soup
Zanzarelli – Egg and Cheese Soup
Turnip and Beef Soup for Servants
Cheese Pasta – Vivanda Bona
Gratonata – Chicken Stew
Chickpea Soup with Poached Eggs
Apple Fritters
Hippocras and Claretum – Mulled Wine
Pastero – Pork Pie
10th-century Goat Roast – A Langobard at the Court of the Byzantine Emperor
Romania – A Recipe Between Arabic and Italian Tradition – Medieval Chicken with Pomegranates
Emperor’s Fritters
Medieval Pizza – The Origin of Pizza
Roast Chicken with Salsa Camellina
Sweet Rice
Afrutum or Spumeum – 6th-century Byzantine recipe
A Medieval Breakfast – Wine, Carbonata, and Millet Bread
Salviata – Eggs and Sage
Tria di Vermicelli
Cabbage Soup
Frittelle Ubaldine – Pancakes with Flowers and Herbs
Saffron Cheesecake
Drunken Pork – Early Medieval Pork Stew
Medieval Monk’s Stuffed-Egg Soup
Apple Pie
Onion Soup
Gnocchi
Lentils and Mustard Greens
Chicken soup – Brodo Granato
Turnip Soup
Beans and Bacon – Black-Eyed Peas
Prawn Pie – Pastello de Gambari
Foxtail Millet Polenta and Spit-Roasted Goose
Beef Stew
Blancmange
Leek Soup
Quail Stew with Coconut
Chicken Pie
Ravioli
Almond Cream
Red Mullet Soup
Spit Roast Beef with Arugula Seeds
Walnut Bread
Lasagna
Tripe
Fried Fish
Roast Lamb with Green Sauce
Clams
Sweet and Sour Sardines
Trouts with Green Sauce
Lamb Stew
Quails with Sumac
Chicken with Fennel Flowers
Sea Bream
Historical Italian Cooking 