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----------------INTRODUCTION TO 1475 RECIPES---------------------

DE HONESTA VOLUPATE ET VALETUDINE (OF HONEST VOLUPTUSNESS AND HEALTH)
OR VIRTUOUS ENJOYMENT AND GOOD HEALTH) BY BARTHOLOMAEUS DE PLATINA
Printed in roman Type in Venice 13 June 1475 THE title of Platina's
work, as is true of many books of the period, appears in various
forms. One variant, De obsoniis ac honesta voluptate, can be freely
translated as: "On meat dishes and their virtuous enjoyment." Platina
stresses that his recipes do not lead to the sin of gluttony. So you
can enjoy your three-inch charcoal-broiled steaks and still feel
virtuous. This book is important not only as the first printed
cookery text, but also as an excellent source of knowledge of daily
life in the mid-fifteenth century, and particularly for insights into
dietary customs of the time. Platina, I discovered, was not a cook.
He is recorded first as a soldier and later as a distinguished
scholar. In 1474 he presented the handwritten manuscript of his now
famous Lives of the Popes to Pope Sixtus IV. The original is still in
the Vatican Library. His reward was an appointment to the extremely
important post of Librarian to the Vatican. How did this scholar come
to write a cookbook? The clue may be found in the book itself, where
he mentions his "good friend Martino" the chef of one of the
Chamberlains to the Pope. They must have become acquainted at the
Vati- can. A manuscript treatise on food and cookery written by
Martino is in the Library of Congress. It is quite evident that
Martino's manuscript formed the basis for Platina's book, for he says
of his friend in Chapter VI, "which cook, by the immortals, could
compare with my companion Martino of Como, by whom these things I
write have for the most part been considered? You will call him
another Carneades if you hear him discussing extemporaneously the
things put forth here." Platina's book is rather casual in its
approach to actual cooking, and the entries in the long table of
contents may not guide the reader to any hint of a recipe. For
instance, the chapter on edible birds deals with swans and storks,
but only relates their living habits. It must be remembered, however,
that in the fifteenth century the common people could neither read
nor write. Books were commissioned by rich patrons who collected
handwritten books with elaborate hand-painted illuminations. Any
cookery manuscript would have been a carefully guarded secret,
available only to professionals. I suppose the student apprentices
who had to pay for their training were sworn to secrecy and learned
not by reading but by working with their masters, who probably
couldn't write out directions anyway. But Platina, a trained scholar
and experienced writer, turned out a well-written book by the
standards of his time, even though the recipes lack specific
information. What fascinates me is that so many of the same foods we
use today were being used then in practically the same way. Platina
refers to eggs, pastry, bread and grains, cheese, all the vegetables,
practically all the fruits, including cherries, grapes and eggs,
chicken, frogs, salted meat, squid, octopus and all our modern
spices. And his chapters of advice concerning healthful habits seem
amazingly timely today, when exercise and recreation are considered
of vital importance for good health. All of Platina's recipes are
frustrating, for no quantities are given and no definite cooking
directions appear. You were just supposed to be a "born cook" in
those days. Have a look at these old recipes, but, for goodness
sakes, don't try them unless you are the gambling type. Use the
modern versions--I can guarantee them, for we have eaten them one and
all. Source: Pepperidge Farm Cookbook, by Margaret Rudkin -----

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