This is the right way.
January 30, 2022 4:53 AM Subscribe
John Locke's nutmeg pancake recipe.
pancakes
Take sweet cream 3/4 + pint. Flower a
quarter of a pound. Eggs four 7 leave out two 4 of
the whites. Beat the Eggs very well. Then put in
the flower, beat it a quarter of an hower. Then
put in six spoonfulls of the Cream, beat it a litle
Take new sweet butter half a pound. Melt it to oyle, &
take off the skum, power in all the clear by degrees
beating it all the time. Then put in the rest of
your cream. beat it well. Half a grated nutmeg
& litle orangeflower water. Frie it without butter.
This is the right way
Trying to interpret his recipe is a lot like trying to interpret his philosophy. At first blush it often looks like perfectly reasonable English, but both include phrases that are just weird enough to make you stop and take a minute to try to figure out what he meant.
I think I get what he means by “ Melt it to oyle, & take off the skum, power in all the clear by degrees beating it all the time.”
But there is just enough ambiguity to make things uncertain.
posted by oddman at 5:33 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
I think I get what he means by “ Melt it to oyle, & take off the skum, power in all the clear by degrees beating it all the time.”
But there is just enough ambiguity to make things uncertain.
posted by oddman at 5:33 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
The quarter of an hour is to make sure you’ve thoroughly mixed your labour with it.
posted by opoponax at 5:42 AM on January 30, 2022 [26 favorites]
posted by opoponax at 5:42 AM on January 30, 2022 [26 favorites]
Stuff like this is a big part of why I come to Metafilter. Thanks!
posted by Alex404 at 5:49 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Alex404 at 5:49 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
That's enough nutmeg to give you weird dreams.
posted by Bee'sWing at 5:52 AM on January 30, 2022 [25 favorites]
posted by Bee'sWing at 5:52 AM on January 30, 2022 [25 favorites]
This might be enough to get me to read Locke. The fat ratio is huge! Is his writing the same?
posted by SNACKeR at 5:53 AM on January 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by SNACKeR at 5:53 AM on January 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
Clearly there is no room for lumpy pancake batter in his philosophy; I can't wait to try this!
posted by TedW at 5:55 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by TedW at 5:55 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
No salt? Come on, Locke! Surely a 1/2 tsp of salt is going to make the flavors really sing.
posted by rikschell at 5:57 AM on January 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 5:57 AM on January 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
The rest looks reasonable, but I'm ?! about the beating for 15 minutes *after* adding the flour. I know there's no yeast or chemical leaveners, thus the beating in air, but normally you'd beat the whites and fold them in. Is there so much cream and egg that the gluten never overdevelops?
posted by tavella at 5:57 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by tavella at 5:57 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
That quarter hour is just long enough to have serious thoughts about the nature of property. Specifically: these delicious pancakes are the property of me!
posted by basalganglia at 6:00 AM on January 30, 2022 [14 favorites]
posted by basalganglia at 6:00 AM on January 30, 2022 [14 favorites]
The article writer says "From what I know about historical and contemporary flour milling, this would not have been a concern for Locke or his cook" about the overbeating, which only increases the mystery to me. Did early modern millers somehow reduce the gluten?
posted by tavella at 6:05 AM on January 30, 2022
posted by tavella at 6:05 AM on January 30, 2022
Use the extra whites in a 1/3 cut recipe angel food cake. Similar to shortcakes and such.
posted by filtergik at 6:05 AM on January 30, 2022
posted by filtergik at 6:05 AM on January 30, 2022
This seems like a remarkably modern recipe for the era. Precise numerical measurements, clear and simple instructions, no unfamiliar ingredients. (For example no Hartshorn as a leavener.) Even a fairly normal amount of nutmeg; recipes from this time are often full of outrageous amounts of spices.
Honestly my first question was whether it was authentic. But I'll assume so, I have no reason to doubt the provenance. But are there other 17th century recipes that are like this, so modern you could basically just edit for contemporary spelling and publish it as is?
Maybe this site of 17th century recipes has some comparables. For instance this recipe for ginetoes and a modern interpretation.
Honestly my first question was whether it was authentic. But I'll assume so, I have no reason to doubt the provenance. But are there other 17th century recipes that are like this, so modern you could basically just edit for contemporary spelling and publish it as is?
Maybe this site of 17th century recipes has some comparables. For instance this recipe for ginetoes and a modern interpretation.
Take halfe a pound of fine Wheat flower, an ounce of powder of Pomecittrons, an ounce of powder of Lemonds, a quarter of an ounce of fine cersed Ginger, the weight of sixe pence of the finest Basill, Marioram beaten into powder, make all this into a perfect Paste as stiffe as for Manchetposted by Nelson at 6:29 AM on January 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
Baking powder wasn't invented yet, so the effort is probably an attempt to get in some fluff.
posted by pan at 6:43 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by pan at 6:43 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
That seems like a lot of nutmeg. I wonder if maybe nutmegs were smaller back then. Did big spice breed giant nutmegs over time?
posted by being_quiet at 6:56 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by being_quiet at 6:56 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Just tried it, though I do not have orange blossom sitting around in the house, so used orange zest instead. It's...eh. (I followed the recipe as presented, so didn't do the long mix...see below for details.)
You can't do it in pancake thickness - the batter is simply too eggy for that and it is not tasty at all. In crepe-like form, it's a reasonable eat, if a little aggro on the nutmeg to my buds. It is very rich and notably buttery, and it really doesn't cool well, so it can't be rolled like a crepe, which is unfortunate. It is simply not structurally sound.
My daughter declares them "too sweet", even without slathering them in Nutella. Given that orange blossom water is a little more honeyed than zest, I'd anticipate the normal recipe would be even sweeter. Maybe a marmalade would be a good accompaniment.
I doubt the long mix was for adding fluff - the mixture is already a relatively thick batter by the time it reaches that point in the recipe, so you won't be adding air without really vigorous whisking. Spending 15 minutes vigorously (manually!) whisking a mixture that thick would mean that Locke had some serious guns. Instead, this time may have been, contra the author's assertion, intended to break down any gluten and get a more egg-like structure. It seems like the result might be more like a custard that you're thickening with flour, rather than tempering the ingredients with heat.
posted by ptfe at 7:05 AM on January 30, 2022 [29 favorites]
You can't do it in pancake thickness - the batter is simply too eggy for that and it is not tasty at all. In crepe-like form, it's a reasonable eat, if a little aggro on the nutmeg to my buds. It is very rich and notably buttery, and it really doesn't cool well, so it can't be rolled like a crepe, which is unfortunate. It is simply not structurally sound.
My daughter declares them "too sweet", even without slathering them in Nutella. Given that orange blossom water is a little more honeyed than zest, I'd anticipate the normal recipe would be even sweeter. Maybe a marmalade would be a good accompaniment.
I doubt the long mix was for adding fluff - the mixture is already a relatively thick batter by the time it reaches that point in the recipe, so you won't be adding air without really vigorous whisking. Spending 15 minutes vigorously (manually!) whisking a mixture that thick would mean that Locke had some serious guns. Instead, this time may have been, contra the author's assertion, intended to break down any gluten and get a more egg-like structure. It seems like the result might be more like a custard that you're thickening with flour, rather than tempering the ingredients with heat.
posted by ptfe at 7:05 AM on January 30, 2022 [29 favorites]
Someone needs to call Jon at Townsends. I’m sure he’d agree that this is the way.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 7:11 AM on January 30, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 7:11 AM on January 30, 2022 [8 favorites]
Pancake recipe from John Locke? Down the hatch!
posted by xedrik at 7:14 AM on January 30, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by xedrik at 7:14 AM on January 30, 2022 [6 favorites]
I think I get what he means by “ Melt it to oyle, & take off the skum, power in all the clear by degrees beating it all the time.”
This is actually a very clear and straightforward description of clarifying butter and pouring it into the batter.
posted by ourobouros at 7:26 AM on January 30, 2022 [11 favorites]
This is actually a very clear and straightforward description of clarifying butter and pouring it into the batter.
posted by ourobouros at 7:26 AM on January 30, 2022 [11 favorites]
@ourobouros: That's what I took this instruction to mean (and what I did with the recipe). Guess I didn't fully read the author's interpretation, as he doesn't even make the attempt at that part, simply using a regular old melted stick of butter.
posted by ptfe at 7:35 AM on January 30, 2022
posted by ptfe at 7:35 AM on January 30, 2022
That seems like a lot of nutmeg
Nutmeg per se was a lot.
posted by progosk at 8:49 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Nutmeg per se was a lot.
posted by progosk at 8:49 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
While I did prepare my version using a hand-held mixer to ensure thorough beating, I did reduce the mixing time to avoid over-mixing which can lead to a chewy pancake.
Yr doin it the wrong wey
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:44 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
Yr doin it the wrong wey
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:44 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
Agreed that this seems to be a nearly inedible amount of nutmeg as contemporary Americans know it. Maybe the nutmegs were smaller then, or perhaps they had dried out and lost some intensity when being shipped for long periods of time from the tropics in not-idea conditions?
posted by SoberHighland at 10:04 AM on January 30, 2022
posted by SoberHighland at 10:04 AM on January 30, 2022
Haven't tried it, but I'm guessing it's probably better than Thomas Hobbes' recipe for "nasty, brutish, and short stack of pancakes."
posted by Ishbadiddle at 10:06 AM on January 30, 2022 [30 favorites]
posted by Ishbadiddle at 10:06 AM on January 30, 2022 [30 favorites]
It's funny, I framed this as "a fairly normal amount of nutmeg" but I guess it's not; it's been awhile since I worked with whole nutmegs. A modern nutmeg is 5-10 grams. The typical "1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg" in contemporary recipes is about 1.2g. So Locke's recipe is like 5x the nutmeg we'd use now. Nutmeg lasts several years in whole form; I don't think losing potency explains the difference.
The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice is a good history book that helps put spices like nutmeg in context. In the 17th century nutmeg was a luxury spice along with ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and other spices that came from from India. It was more accessible than before; by then the center of the European spice trade had moved to Amsterdam (formerly Lisbon, and Venice). Something like nutmeg would have been an indulgence in England but an affordable one.
In this era there were a lot of recipes written with heroic amounts of spices. Also sugar, another luxury flavoring. It's hard to tell if they were meant to be understood literally or if they were partly the writer showing off their wealth. Locke's recipe seems like it's meant to be taken literally.
The flavor profiles from this time are fascinating; so much warm spice and sweetness. Desserts of course, spiced ones: modern fruitcake or gingerbread are survivors of this era. (As well as a bunch of regional specialty cookies.) The wacky meat dishes mostly haven't made it to modern times, something like lamb with cloves and mace and nutmeg and candied lemon peel and sugar just isn't done now in ordinary European food. Although: see mincemeat, which in modern times may no longer have meat but still has similar spicing.
posted by Nelson at 10:25 AM on January 30, 2022 [8 favorites]
The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice is a good history book that helps put spices like nutmeg in context. In the 17th century nutmeg was a luxury spice along with ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and other spices that came from from India. It was more accessible than before; by then the center of the European spice trade had moved to Amsterdam (formerly Lisbon, and Venice). Something like nutmeg would have been an indulgence in England but an affordable one.
In this era there were a lot of recipes written with heroic amounts of spices. Also sugar, another luxury flavoring. It's hard to tell if they were meant to be understood literally or if they were partly the writer showing off their wealth. Locke's recipe seems like it's meant to be taken literally.
The flavor profiles from this time are fascinating; so much warm spice and sweetness. Desserts of course, spiced ones: modern fruitcake or gingerbread are survivors of this era. (As well as a bunch of regional specialty cookies.) The wacky meat dishes mostly haven't made it to modern times, something like lamb with cloves and mace and nutmeg and candied lemon peel and sugar just isn't done now in ordinary European food. Although: see mincemeat, which in modern times may no longer have meat but still has similar spicing.
posted by Nelson at 10:25 AM on January 30, 2022 [8 favorites]
That's enough nutmeg to give you weird dreams.
posted by Bee'sWing
One can hope.
posted by Splunge at 10:37 AM on January 30, 2022
posted by Bee'sWing
One can hope.
posted by Splunge at 10:37 AM on January 30, 2022
It might be a matter of the grating of the nutmeg. When I use whole nutmeg, the grating is much coarser than commercial powdered nutmeg, and I would expect that, barring very long steeping, less of the flavor would come through.
posted by tavella at 10:46 AM on January 30, 2022
posted by tavella at 10:46 AM on January 30, 2022
this is very silly.
favorited, will probably make.
posted by firstdaffodils at 11:11 AM on January 30, 2022
favorited, will probably make.
posted by firstdaffodils at 11:11 AM on January 30, 2022
Very cool. This is the kind of post I love here: something fun and interesting, maybe even practical (I might try these pancakes) that I would never have stumbled across myself.
posted by rpfields at 11:47 AM on January 30, 2022
posted by rpfields at 11:47 AM on January 30, 2022
I recently figured out how to make really good boring vanilla cookies; so good that I've had to stop baking them or I would just consume vast quantities forever. One of the secrets is a little grating of nutmeg.
Nutmeg: so good in custard. So good in bread & butter pudding. So good in cheese sauce.
And its Latin name is sort of magical sounding: myristica fragrans.
posted by Pallas Athena at 12:29 PM on January 30, 2022 [9 favorites]
Nutmeg: so good in custard. So good in bread & butter pudding. So good in cheese sauce.
And its Latin name is sort of magical sounding: myristica fragrans.
posted by Pallas Athena at 12:29 PM on January 30, 2022 [9 favorites]
Those sound marvellous, Pallas Athena. If you feel liking sharing your recipe, I'm all ears.
posted by sardonyx at 12:38 PM on January 30, 2022
posted by sardonyx at 12:38 PM on January 30, 2022
Nutmeg: so good in custard. So good in bread & butter pudding. So good in cheese sauce.
So good in mashed potatoes/root vegetables as well. It must be freshly ground though. The bright floral flavors absolutely turn to dust when nutmeg is pre-ground.
posted by oneirodynia at 12:53 PM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
I have used a microplane grater and a whole nutmeg (not for this recipe, I put it on top of my painkillers because if I'm doing a tiki drink, I do not skimp on the garnish) and hand-grated nutmeg is pretty fierce as a flavoring. Like it's not... less in-yr-face than commercial pre-ground nutmeg and the aromatics of freshly-grated are delightfully strong.
For that matter, the whole nutmegs I have are for sure more than five years old -- I got them from my friend's grandma's spice cabinet when she died and that was five years gone. Judging from the dust on the bottle when I got it, they may well be old enough to drive. And still, freshly-grated, they perfume my drink and my whole kitchen until I clean the microplane grater. My point here is that whole nutmegs keep for a pretty long time in a sealed jar and not-grated-until-use.
posted by which_chick at 12:54 PM on January 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
For that matter, the whole nutmegs I have are for sure more than five years old -- I got them from my friend's grandma's spice cabinet when she died and that was five years gone. Judging from the dust on the bottle when I got it, they may well be old enough to drive. And still, freshly-grated, they perfume my drink and my whole kitchen until I clean the microplane grater. My point here is that whole nutmegs keep for a pretty long time in a sealed jar and not-grated-until-use.
posted by which_chick at 12:54 PM on January 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
Maybe the nutmegs were smaller then, or perhaps they had dried out and lost some intensity when being shipped for long periods of time from the tropics in not-idea conditions?
Perhaps it’s just my Nutmeg State grade-school education talking, but I immediately assumed that Locke was betting on most people’s “nutmeg” being whittled down cedar that they picked up in a sketchy back alley.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 2:11 PM on January 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
Perhaps it’s just my Nutmeg State grade-school education talking, but I immediately assumed that Locke was betting on most people’s “nutmeg” being whittled down cedar that they picked up in a sketchy back alley.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 2:11 PM on January 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
Yeah, freshly grated nutmeg is not less intense than the ground stuff in jars, and whole nutmegs surprisingly do not lose their intensity over time. I happened into an entire jar of them many years ago and keep thinking their time is about up, but no. They're perfectly good still. Maybe people back then were just super inured to massive mega quantities of nutmeg? Isn't nutmeg in large quantities supposed to have perception-altering quantities? I remember my cousin and his roommate once ate a lot of nutmeg in misguided attempt to get high and threw up instead.
posted by HotToddy at 3:10 PM on January 30, 2022
posted by HotToddy at 3:10 PM on January 30, 2022
Can we please have Odd Old Recipe Postapalooza?
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:46 PM on January 30, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:46 PM on January 30, 2022 [6 favorites]
whittled down cedar that they picked up in a sketchy back alley
True MeFiFact™: The definition of schwag was originally recorded in Johnson's Dictionary as counterfeit nutmeg.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:21 PM on January 30, 2022 [6 favorites]
True MeFiFact™: The definition of schwag was originally recorded in Johnson's Dictionary as counterfeit nutmeg.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:21 PM on January 30, 2022 [6 favorites]
You can slightly edit the last sentence, slap on a Star Wars logo and you've got a great start for a Mandalorian Cook Book.
This is the way.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 7:08 PM on January 30, 2022
This is the way.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 7:08 PM on January 30, 2022
somebody needs to edit his wiki page:
4 Other Ideas
4.1 Economics
4.1.1 On price theory
4.1.2 Monetary thoughts
4.1.3 Theory of value and property
4.2 The human mind
4.2.1 The self
4.2.2 Dream argument
4.3 Religion
4.3.1 Religious beliefs
4.3.2 Philosophy from religion
4.4 Pancakes
4.4.1 The right way
posted by emmling at 8:33 PM on January 30, 2022 [9 favorites]
4 Other Ideas
4.1 Economics
4.1.1 On price theory
4.1.2 Monetary thoughts
4.1.3 Theory of value and property
4.2 The human mind
4.2.1 The self
4.2.2 Dream argument
4.3 Religion
4.3.1 Religious beliefs
4.3.2 Philosophy from religion
4.4 Pancakes
4.4.1 The right way
posted by emmling at 8:33 PM on January 30, 2022 [9 favorites]
If you're worried about buying that expensive ingredient that you will use just this once and never again for as long as you live here's something else very delicious you can make with the orange blossom water -- or you can find many other options in Mediterranean and North African cooking..
(Though alas that brioche recipe does call for a special type of pan. I need to try making them as mini-brioches - they look pretty in the crown baker but I am guessing that they would work well even without it.)
But in any case, orange blossom water can be a delicious ingredient - don't shy away from buying it if it's unfamiliar.
posted by Nerd of the North at 8:52 PM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
(Though alas that brioche recipe does call for a special type of pan. I need to try making them as mini-brioches - they look pretty in the crown baker but I am guessing that they would work well even without it.)
But in any case, orange blossom water can be a delicious ingredient - don't shy away from buying it if it's unfamiliar.
posted by Nerd of the North at 8:52 PM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Skimming erowid's trip reports leaves me no closer to figuring out how many of this philosopher's pancakes one would need to ingest to start hallucinating.
posted by sebastienbailard at 10:20 PM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by sebastienbailard at 10:20 PM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Mod note: Sorry, OP; I removed the "pre" tag here, since it's breaking some screens.
posted by taz (staff) at 10:38 PM on January 30, 2022
posted by taz (staff) at 10:38 PM on January 30, 2022
What kind of kitchen worktops are best to use when making this recipe?
Blank Slate worktops.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:39 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Blank Slate worktops.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:39 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
I love Cooking in the Archives. The 18th century Maccarony Cheese with sherry and no faffing about whisking flour into butter is in my regular rotation.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 3:21 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by I claim sanctuary at 3:21 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
The article writer says "From what I know about historical and contemporary flour milling, this would not have been a concern for Locke or his cook" about the overbeating, which only increases the mystery to me. Did early modern millers somehow reduce the gluten?
I think it may be that more of the wheat bran was included in flour in Locke's day, which impedes gluten development.
posted by zebogen at 6:29 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I think it may be that more of the wheat bran was included in flour in Locke's day, which impedes gluten development.
posted by zebogen at 6:29 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
don't tell me what I can't do.
posted by exlotuseater at 7:04 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by exlotuseater at 7:04 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you enjoy this kind of thing, with people (who are much funnier than Locke) taking old recipes pretty seriously, please enjoy Tasting History with Max Miller and Ancient Recipes with Sohla (yes, Sohla El-Waylly from BA), and the History channel is making a mess of that playlist, but I think it's chronologically backwards so start at the end because there's some recurring gags and bits that occur over time.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:34 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Lyn Never at 8:34 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
When I saw the post I thought "I don't remember any pancake references in Lost. Were there?"
posted by srboisvert at 10:59 AM on January 31, 2022
posted by srboisvert at 10:59 AM on January 31, 2022
Can we please have Odd Old Recipe Postapalooza?
Here are a few 4000 year old Babylonian recipes.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:24 AM on January 31, 2022
Here are a few 4000 year old Babylonian recipes.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:24 AM on January 31, 2022
Shy Away, my next sockpuppet account, followed my Bogus Nutmeg. I just transferred the nutmeg from my 35 year old giant Costco nutmeg, to a small spice jar. The three whole nutmegs, in a plastic package, from the same era, are still at the back of the cabinet. I actually use nutmeg in every other thing I bake. The container was about the size of a fifth. I am going to make these, or a facsimile.
posted by Oyéah at 1:58 PM on January 31, 2022
posted by Oyéah at 1:58 PM on January 31, 2022
I bet you prepare water in Babylonian, Sumerian, era by boiling the living daylights out of it. Then you strain it a couple of times maybe three to get the sand out of it. I bet you always boil it first, even if it has been boiled and strained before. Because, people behave differently around the common pot, depending on whether or not they are observed.
posted by Oyéah at 2:11 PM on January 31, 2022
posted by Oyéah at 2:11 PM on January 31, 2022
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posted by fantabulous timewaster at 5:11 AM on January 30, 2022 [3 favorites]