Frumenty - perfect for historical breakfast or lunch

This Sunday morning I decided to do somthing extra with my breakfast so I made frumenty. Frumenty is found in cookbooks from the Middle Ages and into the 18th century. It is a good exampl of the changing taste of the people eating the food. In the Middle Ages it is mentioned as a staple and it should be served together with lamb or veal. In the 18th century though it is considered as a food suitable for invalids.

Frumenty is basically a porridge made from wheat berries. There is a difference between the medieval and 18th century recipes. In the 18th century it is cooked with milk, and even sometimes with cream, while the medieval recipes has it made with water and just a bit of milk or almond milk. The almond milk was to be used during lent and other fasting periods when you should not eat dairy. The option with almond milk of course makes it easy to turn this into a vegan dish.

This is a medieval recipe for frumenty for two persons. Swedish translations of some of the words are in italics.

100 ml wheat berries (matvete)
200 ml water
75 ml milk or almond milk
pinch of salt
pinch of saffron
handfull of xanté currants (korinter) or raisins
1 egg yolk (skip for a vegan meal)

Pour everything except the egg yolk into a pot and simmer on a low heat for around 15 minutes. Take a spoonful of the warm mixtures and whisk it with the egg yolk before adding all the egg to the pot. This s to temper the egg yolk so it doesn't turn into scrambled eggs when added to the porridge. Stir until the mixture has thickened.

A recipd with both currants and saffron is a recipe for the upper classes. To make it a more lower class meal you can remove those. If you want to really show off your wealth you add not just a pinch but a lot of saffron and even some sugar on top.

The taste of the medieval frumenty is pretty bland, it is a porridge after all. I think that the 18th century version, that is richer due to the milk, is better and more suited to my taste of what a porridge should taste like. It is very filling though and you will not go hungry after a bowl of frumenty. It is a very easy recipe though and I recommend it for warm breakfast or lunch.

The great 18th century cookshow Townsend and Sons have an episode when they make 18th century frumenty. They take the time to remove the husks from the wheat berry, I didn't bother about that this morning.