Ambrosino Sweet and Sour Chicken with Almonds and Spices from the Anonimo Veneziano Trying to reconstruct a medieval recipe is fraught with difficulties. The first problem is that the recipes are seldom well written, at least by contemporary standards. What’s more, they assume that we know all sorts of things that we have no way of knowing. How big is a capon, for example, or how big is a “big tench?” Then you have to keep in mind that the people who copied and recopied the manuscripts probably had no idea how to cook. As you can also imagine, the job of transcribing recipes wasn’t necessarily given to the brightest light in the scriptorium. So when a recipe doesn’t seem to make sense you have to ask yourself whether some transcription error didn’t creep in. When it comes to determining just how much spice is in a recipe, we venture into another minefield. Take for example the ambrosino recipe from the Anonimo Veneziano I mention in The Taste of Conquest. At first glance you sigh with relief. Here are actual measurement that can be followed. But then you look closer. This is the recipe as translated by Louise Smithson (see http://www.geocities.com/helewyse/libro.html for a full translation of the manuscript) followed by instructions on how to make the “sweet spices” called for in the recipe. My comments are in square brackets. IV. Ambrosino good and perfect and such. 
If you want to make ambrosino for twelve people take 6 lean capons, 2 pounds of almonds, a pound of currants, 1 pound of dates and a pound of prunes (*1).  Also take 1 1/2; of ginger (no measure is given in the original but ounces seem more likely than pounds), half an ounce each [more likely ½ ounce made up of] of whole nutmeg, cloves, saffron and half a pound [presumably of 6 oz] of sweet spices.  Take the capons and cut into seven portions each and fry in the clean lard in a pan.  When the capons are well fried add the ginger, the saffron rubbed, the nutmeg that has been chopped finely, the cinnamon broken into pieces, whole cloves, whole peeled almonds, dates, currants and prunes (*2).  Add a large amount of sweet spices and let it cook a little longer.  When it is cooked reduce the heat or remove from the flame.  Take unskinned almonds, grind (see note) and distemper with a little vinegar, strain the almonds and add the almond milk to the dish, and add to the sauce spices and enough saffron.  This dish should be sharp and sweet and red in color.  Serve in a bowl with powdered spices over it. *1 —Brognole is translated in Florio as any prune or damson plum, given the context it is most likely to indicate prunes. 
*2 — The ingredient list for this recipe lists currants and prunes along with the dates.  However, there is no mention of them in the method.  Common sense seems to indicate that the dried fruit is added to the dish at the same point in the cooking process. LXXIV Sweet spices, enough for many good and fine things 
The best fine sweet spices that you can make, for lamprey pie or for other good fresh water fish that one makes in a pie, and for good broths and sauces.  Take a quarter (of an ounce) of cloves, an ounce of good ginger, an ounce of soft (or sweet) cinnamon, and take a quantity [the same amount of???] Indian bay leaves (*) and grind all these spices together how you please.  And if you don’t want to do more, take these things (spices) in the same ratio (without grinding) and they will be marvelously good. * the glossary at the end of the Arnaldo Forni edition of this book indicates that folio in this recipe refers to malabathrum or Cinnamomum tamala also known as Indian bay leaf. When you look at the original Italian it gives no measure for the individual spices even as it itemizes the ginger, nutmeg, cloves and saffron (ij [2] libre de mandole,e una libra de uva passa, e 1 datali, e una libra de brognole, e 1 1/2 de genzevro fino,e una 1/2 entra noce moschate e garof. e zafarano intrego, e meza libra de specie dolçe fine). So the question is, are we talking ounces as Louise Smithson suggests or pounds? Pounds isn’t as outrageous as you might think when you consider that spices were sold in libre sottile (light pounds) of 12 ounces or about 300g (the Venetian ounce was about 25g). I can certainly imagine some 30 pounds of meat being seasoned with 300g of spice, especially given that half the spices are chopped up rather than ground. That’s about 10g or a little over a tablespoon of spice per pound of meat. Indian recipes are typically more generous than this in their spicing. Still, that’s an awful lot of saffron. But here’s the rub: even if the syntax seems to indicate pounds, the other recipes in the manuscript (at least those that give quantities) are nowhere near this generous. A recipe for Mortarolo calls for six hens, 18 eggs, three fresh cheeses and a half ounce of ginger and an 1/8 ounce of cloves as well as a finishing sprinkle of spices. Another recipe for stuffed hens (Polastri pini e boni) calls for three ounces of spices. A recipe for a fish aspic (Gellatina communa e bona de pesse) has you take 3 large tench (tench can grow to as much as seventy pounds but let’s say, for the sake of argument, that they are only ten pounds each) and season them with two ounces of mixed spices plus 1/8 ounce saffron. Is it pos-sible that the recipe for the ambrosino would call for two ounces of saffron for sea-soning a similar quantity of food? Is it not more likely that here too we are talking about 1/6 of an ounce (a little more than 4 g) of saf-fron or possibly, if we fol-low Smithson’s less likely interpretation, ½ ounce (12.5g). That’s my guess at any rate. Try my recipe out. Who knows how authentic it is. I like it, though personally, I’d cut back on the Indian bay leaf or even omit it altogether. It gives the dish a bitter edge that doesn’t appeal to me. lard 2½ kg (5 pound) chicken or capon, cut in 7 or 8 pieces 2.5g (about 2 teaspoons) whole dry ginger, chopped into pieces 1 small cinnamon stick, broken in pieces 1g nutmeg sliced (about ¼ of a whole nutmeg) 1g whole cloves (about 10) a scant gram of saffron, ground fine (divided) 50g (about 1/3 cup) whole blanched almonds 50g (about 1/3 cup) currants 50g (4 medium) dates, cut into pieces 50g (6 medium) prunes 50g whole unblanched almonds, coarsely chopped 25 g finely ground sweet spices: mix 8g (4 teaspoons) cinnamon, 8g (4 teaspoons) ginger, 8g (4 teaspoons) Indian bay leaf and 2g (3/4 teaspoon) of cloves) 1/3 cup white wine vinegar, or to taste 1. Brown the capon pieces in hot lard until well-browned. Add the chopped ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt to taste and about half the saffron. Cook until very aromatic. Stir in 1 cup water. Cover and simmer, turning the chicken pieces occasionally until the meat is just cooked through. About 1/2 hour. Add the blanched almonds, currants, dates and prunes and about 1/2 of the sweet spices. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender. 2. Combine the unblanched almonds, vinegar and a 1/4 cup water in a blender. Blend until pureed. Press though a fine sieve. Stir into the chicken along with the remaining saffron and all but a tablespoon of the sweet spices. Taste for salt and vinegar, the flavor should be sweet and sour. Serve, sprinkled with the remaining sweet spice. serves 6 twenty-first-century commoners http://www.geocities.com/helewyse/libro.htmlshapeimage_4_link_0
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