cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Pastry Coffins, The Medieval Tupperware

Breanna
Former Staff
  • 1808 Posts
  • 117 Topics
  • 17 Solutions
Registered:

I was doing a bit of casual, late night weird reading last night and came upon this interesting little titbit from Atlas Obscura.

 

A predecessor to the pies we love today, pastry coffyns were hard boxes made of dough used to hold and preserve food. Basically they were so hard and tasteless to be inedible but it does sound like a great biodegradable food storage solution!

 

Apparently lamprey (look that up if you want to have nightmares) was a favourite to be sealed inside the pastry box with mint, parsley, cinnamon, ginger, saffron, and ground almonds. And after it was cooked, the coffin would be cut open and the juices drained out to make sauce. It sounds...slimy.

 

Of course, in true aristocratic excess, some took it a bit further by ordering huge pastry coffins that could accommodate things like birds, frogs, and even small people-- painted with mercury and lead for that *extra special* touch.

 

I'll be honest, I always wondered about the nursery rhyme where the "four and twenty blackbirds" get baked in a pie. It's all adding up now...

 

Thankfully this horrifying moment in food history has led us to the short crust pastry and pie as we know it today. I think I'll skip the peacock and tortoise and go for apple though. 

 

Pie anyone?

 

 

 

 

Message 1 of 27
4,045 Views
26 REPLIES 26

Breanna
Former Staff
  • 1808 Posts
  • 117 Topics
  • 17 Solutions
Registered:

@Enlli 

Nothing like having dinner in slow motion so you don't get a bone stuck in your throat!

 

We always had an abundance of squirrel stew in late winter as it was never the first choice to grab from the chest freezer. Of course, my father left the processing of squirrel and fish to the kids-- too tedious for his tastes.

Message 11 of 27
898 Views

Breanna
  • 1808 Posts
  • 117 Topics
  • 17 Solutions
Registered:

@Cleoriff  @TallTrees 

That reminds me of a short story by Neil Gaiman - Sunbird - about a secret club that makes some truly wild dishes.

Message 12 of 27
894 Views

TallTrees
Level 52: Innovator
  • 12292 Posts
  • 120 Topics
  • 398 Solutions
Registered:

No I don't think I would ever eat "eel"   @Enlli 

you are very brave.  Squirrel best for the Fox 😁



HAPPINESS IS BEE SHAPED

Message 13 of 27
890 Views

TallTrees
Level 52: Innovator
  • 12292 Posts
  • 120 Topics
  • 398 Solutions
Registered:

Swan? Anyone

  @Breanna   @Cleoriff   @Enlli 

 

Swan for a meal.jpg

 

This was also a fav dish for the Kings and Queens



HAPPINESS IS BEE SHAPED

Message 14 of 27
885 Views

Breanna
Former Staff
  • 1808 Posts
  • 117 Topics
  • 17 Solutions
Registered:

Nooo way. And they made the swan watch 😂 oh dear oh dear.

 

That reminds me of a time someone trapped (and later admitted to eating) a local black swan where I lived in China. It was quite the scandal!

Message 15 of 27
877 Views

sheepdog
Level 26: Upbeat
  • 3363 Posts
  • 31 Topics
  • 39 Solutions
Registered:

@Breanna wrote:

I was doing a bit of casual, late night weird reading last night and came upon this interesting little titbit from Atlas Obscura.

 

A predecessor to the pies we love today, pastry coffyns were hard boxes made of dough used to hold and preserve food. Basically they were so hard and tasteless to be inedible but it does sound like a great biodegradable food storage solution!

 

Apparently lamprey (look that up if you want to have nightmares) was a favourite to be sealed inside the pastry box with mint, parsley, cinnamon, ginger, saffron, and ground almonds. And after it was cooked, the coffin would be cut open and the juices drained out to make sauce. It sounds...slimy.

 

Of course, in true aristocratic excess, some took it a bit further by ordering huge pastry coffins that could accommodate things like birds, frogs, and even small people-- painted with mercury and lead for that *extra special* touch.

 

I'll be honest, I always wondered about the nursery rhyme where the "four and twenty blackbirds" get baked in a pie. It's all adding up now...

 

Thankfully this horrifying moment in food history has led us to the short crust pastry and pie as we know it today. I think I'll skip the peacock and tortoise and go for apple though. 

 

Pie anyone?

 

 

 

 


I no longer want to eat a Greggs Steakbake 🤣

Message 16 of 27
868 Views

Enlli
Level 69: Guiding Light
  • 8846 Posts
  • 63 Topics
  • 1793 Solutions
Registered:

Peacock tastes fine. (Although the one we had was a pea hen.

This is not O2 and we are all customers here similar to yourself and cannot answer account type queries.
Message 17 of 27
863 Views

Breanna
Former Staff
  • 1808 Posts
  • 117 Topics
  • 17 Solutions
Registered:

@sheepdog The verdict is still out on Greggs steak bake for me. Tried it and it felt like 

200 (2).gif

 

Message 18 of 27
845 Views

Breanna
Former Staff
  • 1808 Posts
  • 117 Topics
  • 17 Solutions
Registered:

Weirdest thing you've ever eaten @Enlli?

 

Mine is definitely cicada pupae. Hated it even more than I thought I would 😂

Century eggs are pretty funky too but they have their time and place.

Message 19 of 27
844 Views

Cleoriff
Level 94: Supreme
  • 127420 Posts
  • 834 Topics
  • 7586 Solutions
Registered:

@Breanna 

You should watch I'm a Celebrity, Get me Out Of Here, 12 'celebs' are taken to the jungle in Australia. They undergo tasks to win stars for food for camp. Some of the eating tasks are horrendous. Kangaroo anus, Animals eyes, Maggots, Vomit fruit, 100 year old eggs. Animal testicles etc etc.

It starts in November. I can't wait. 😂

Veritas Numquam Perit

Girl in a jacket
Message 20 of 27
841 Views