Advent Calendar 15th December

Frumenty is an old English porridge or grain dish sometimes served with meat, sometimes afterwards in a sweet version. There were plain versions for every day; nicer ones for Christmas, and a tradition in some areas that frumenty should be the first thing eaten on Christmas morning. 

It wasn’t completely replaced by potatoes in the public taste until the 19th century, and has had a minor revival in the 21st century.

Waitrose has a recipe. 

This is a recipe from cookit  for a plain version using modern bulgar wheat. 

This is a sweet pudding version from the Yorkshire Dales, where my father-in-laws family originated. 

 There are variations on the recipe, but the basis is: equal parts of 1 pint crushed wheat, 1 pint milk and 1 pint of water, soaked overnight, traditionally in a stone jar.

It is then cooked for three hours in a slow oven, with sugar to sweeten, till the Frumenty is thick and porridge-like.  It can be flavoured with spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, and honey and currents can also be added – these can be stirred in just before serving. Eat hot, with cream or milk if preferred.

And this is the oldest written version from the 14th century. Original Receipt in ‘The Forme of Cury‘ by the Chief Master-Cook of King Richard II, c1390 (Cury 1390)

FOR TO MAKE FURMENTY
Take clean wheat and crush it in a morter well that the hulls go all by them selves. Take fair fresh broth and milk of almonds or sweet milk of cows and temper it all. and take the yolks of eggs. Boil it a little and set it down and present it forth with fat venison and fresh mutton.