r/CulinaryHistory

https://www.culina-vetus.de/2026/05/11/sweet-sour-chard-salad/

I got home a little earlier than expected, so here is another brief recipe from the Solothurn MS:

https://preview.redd.it/n3kcyjap4k0h1.jpg?width=404&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd7aff444d7ec1b96b411b0fc8686bccd1218ad8

A4 Cold chard as a dish

Take chard that is young, with the root attached. Boil it in a courtly fashion (brüwe es hofelich) in a cauldron or a pan, then pour it out on a sieve and let the water drain off. Take it and cut it up on a serving tray. Salt it lightly, pour on vinegar that is mixed with fresh wine, and sprinkle it with sugar. This is a lordly dish for the evening meal, the colder, the better et caetera.

This is one of the relatively rare vegetable recipes surviving, and I find it a little hard to envision, but it is interesting: Cooked chard seasoned with vinegar and sugar and served cold. The closest analogy I can think of is a salad, though it is not called that. The recipe includes both the root and the leaves which with chard, a variety of Beta vulgaris, absolutely works even with the modern versions bred to produce almost only leaves. Historically, we should probably imagine a plate full of fairly solid pieces, chopped root and thick leaf stems, to make bite-sized morsels. With a sweet-sour dressing, this seems an interesting idea.

The recipe collection I am currently translating is part of a manuscript now held at the Zentralbibliothek Solothurn as S 392. The entire manuscript looks fascinating, a collection of craft recipes for things like dyes, stains, paints, vanishes, and parlour tricks, but I will limit myself to the culinary recipes in it. The majority of them are in German and were edited and published in Brigitte Weber: Die Kochrezepte der Handschrift S 293, Transkription und Untersuchung einer spätmittelalterlichen Kochrezeptsammlung aus der Zentralbibliothek Solothurn, Gießen 2026.

The manuscript dates to the period around 1490-1510, based on watermarks and handwriting. There is no internal date. The recipes are an eclectic collection, which is not unusual for the medieval manuscript tradition. They were most likely written down in Baden. Some refer to Italian customs which were fashionable at the time while others are solidly in the German tradition.

The collection is sometimes called the oldest Swiss cookbook, a title that is contested because of its origins north of the modern border. The designation makes little sense at the time anyway, given how closely connected the cities of the Confederation were with their neighbours at the time. The recipes clearly were valued in Solothurn, most likely because they were useful.

https://www.culina-vetus.de/2026/05/10/instant-horseradish-sauce/

I’m afraid the coming week is shaping up to be extremely busy and I cannot promise any posts between now and after the coming weekend. Today; I want to at least give you a short thing, a sauce recipe from the Solothurn MS:

First page of the recipe collection

A6 To make a good sauce

Take horseradish and clean it well. Put it into a pot in a baking oven and let it become very dry. Afterwards, grind it to powder and rub it through a sieve so it becomes similar to (i.e. as fine as) flour. Then store this flour carefully until it is needed. Mix it with wine or with good broth, or with boiled almond (milk). Serve it at the table with roast dishes or fritters (gebachen oder gebraten).

This is very interesting, another addition to the list of portable sauces from medieval Germany. We have a good deal of recipes for instant sauces that could be kept until needed and then dissolved in wine, vinegar, or broth and served quickly. A well-run household could have been set up to provide a variety of condiments at short notice. I have not tried this one, but I think I will because it sounds like it could be practical as well as posing a technical challenge.

The recipe collection I am currently translating is part of a manuscript now held at the Zentralbibliothek Solothurn as S 392. The entire manuscript looks fascinating, a collection of craft recipes for things like dyes, stains, paints, vanishes, and parlour tricks, but I will limit myself to the culinary recipes in it. The majority of them are in German and were edited and published in Brigitte Weber: Die Kochrezepte der Handschrift S 293, Transkription und Untersuchung einer spätmittelalterlichen Kochrezeptsammlung aus der Zentralbibliothek Solothurn, Gießen 2026.

The manuscript dates to the period around 1490-1510, based on watermarks and handwriting. There is no internal date. The recipes are an eclectic collection, which is not unusual for the medieval manuscript tradition. They were most likely written down in Baden. Some refer to Italian customs which were fashionable at the time while others are solidly in the German tradition.

The collection is sometimes called the oldest Swiss cookbook, a title that is contested because of its origins north of the modern border. The designation makes little sense at the time anyway, given how closely connected the cities of the Confederation were with their neighbours at the time. The recipes clearly were valued in Solothurn, most likely because they were useful.