Recipe Manuscript

In Grue Vel Anate Perdice Turture Palumbo Columbo & Diversis Avibus

Name: In Grue Vel Anate Perdice Turture Palumbo Columbo & Diversis Avibus
Prep time: PTPT20M
Cook time: PTPT1H
Yield: 4
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 1 whole bird (e.g. duck – 1.5kg) or similar available poultry; 2 liters water; 10g salt; 2 sprigs fresh dill (5g); 2 tbsp (30ml) olive oil; 2 tbsp (30ml) fish sauce (garum or Thai nam pla); 1 bundle fresh coriander (10g); 1 bundle fresh savory or oregano (5g, or omit if unavailable); 2 tsp (5g) black peppercorns; 1 tsp (2g) cumin seeds; 1 tsp (2g) coriander seeds; 1 tsp (2g) asafoetida or a pinch of its powder; Large pinch rue (or omit if unavailable); 15ml sweet white wine or Muscat (for passum); 1 tbsp (15g) honey; Dash (10ml) white wine vinegar; 1–2 tbsp (10–20g) flour or wheat starch; Optional: 2 stalks celery leaves or lovage (if available)

"Concerning Crane, Or Duck, Partridge, Turtle Dove, Woodpigeon, Pigeon, And Various Birds"

1475

From the treasured pages of Apicius - De re coquinaria (handwritten excerpts)

Written by Apicius

Renaissance (1400 - 1700)European Intermediate Dinner Lunch

In Grue Vel Anate Perdice Turture Palumbo Columbo & Diversis Avibus

Original Recipe • 1475

Original Manuscript(circa Renaissance, 1400 - 1700)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

In Grue Vel Anate Perdice Turture Palumbo Columbo & Diversis Avibus

"In grue uel anate perdice turture palumbo columbo & diuersis auibus. Gruem uel anatem lauas uel ornas & includis in olla addis aquam Salem anetum dimidia coctura decoquis dum abducitur Lauas et itez in caccabu mittis cum oleo et liquamine cum fasiculo oxigoni & coriandri ppe cocturam defrictum modice mittis ut coloret teres piper ligusticum cuminum Coriandrum Laseris radicem rutam carenum mel suffundis uis de suo sibi aceto temperabis in caccabo re-exmanies ut calefiat amulo obligabis et ponis in lance & ius pfundis."

English Translation

"For crane or duck, partridge, turtle dove, woodpigeon, pigeon, and various birds. Wash and dress the crane or duck and put it in a pot. Add water, salt, dill; cook until half done, then remove and wash. Again, put in a saucepan with oil and liquamen, with a bundle of rue and coriander. When nearly cooked, add a small amount of colored sauce. Crush pepper, lovage, cumin, coriander, laser root, rue, caroenum, honey; pour in wine, adjust with your own vinegar as you like. Pour into the saucepan to heat, bind with starch, and put on a dish; pour the sauce on."

Note on the Original Text

Recipes of this era favored brevity and assumed a high level of skill: precise measurements were rare, and instructions relied on the cook's experience. The Latin includes archaic, contracted spellings and period-specific ingredient names that resist exact modern translation. 'Gruem uel anatem…' sets up the flexible bird options—an expected signal to the skilled household cook to adapt according to market and season. The mixture of ingredients like 'liquamine' (garum), 'laser' (asafoetida), and 'carenum' (passum or sweetened wine) speaks to the eclectic and cosmopolitan palates of ancient Roman and Renaissance Italian nobility. Spelling variations and absent punctuation are typical of manuscripts of this time, requiring considerable contextual understanding to reconstruct these dishes for the modern palate.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

Apicius - De re coquinaria (handwritten excerpts) - Click to view recipe in book

Title

Apicius - De re coquinaria (handwritten excerpts) (1475)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Apicius

Era

1475

Publisher

Venice

Background

A delectable compendium of ancient Roman cookery, this collection invites you to taste the flavors of antiquity through ten tantalizing sections based on Apicius’s famed De re coquinaria. Savor recipes, tips, and culinary wisdom penned in a fine Italian hand for the epicurean elite of the 15th century.

Kindly made available by

University of Pennsyllvania

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This recipe hails from the Renaissance Italian manuscript tradition that drew directly from ancient Roman sources—especially Apicius, the most celebrated Roman culinary author. Compiled in the final quarter of the 15th century, this text reflects both the continuity of elite taste and the hunger for antiquarian knowledge at that time. Birds such as crane, turtledove, and wood pigeon were status symbols on noble banquet tables, and elaborate sauces—layered with sweet, sour, and spicy notes—evoked a culinary world every bit as refined as the chefs of imperial Rome had imagined. Binding and manuscript details show these recipes circulated in scholarly circles, often alongside newly printed treatises. The recurrence of 'Apicius' as a touchstone for grand and exotic cooking reflects the Renaissance obsession with reviving classical Roman ideals, not just in art or literature but on the dining table as well.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

The cook would have used a large cauldron or heavy ceramic pot for boiling, a secondary pot (caccabus) for finishing the dish, and a mortar and pestle for grinding the spice paste—a vital step in Roman and early Renaissance kitchens. Fine sieves and bundles of herbs were standard for flavoring and clarifying stocks. The bird was likely carved at the table with iron knives and served on heavy platters, the sauce poured lavishly over top.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Servings

We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!

Ingredients

1 whole bird (e.g. duck – 3–3.5 lb) or similar available poultry
8 1/2 cups water
2 tsp salt
2 sprigs fresh dill (0.2 oz)
2 tbsp (1 fl oz) olive oil
2 tbsp (1 fl oz) fish sauce (garum or Thai nam pla)
1 bundle fresh coriander (0.35 oz)
1 bundle fresh savory or oregano (0.2 oz, or omit if unavailable)
2 tsp (0.18 oz) black peppercorns
1 tsp (0.07 oz) cumin seeds
1 tsp (0.07 oz) coriander seeds
1 tsp (0.07 oz) asafoetida or a pinch of its powder
Large pinch rue (or omit if unavailable)
1 tbsp (0.5 fl oz) sweet white wine or Muscat (for passum)
1 tbsp (0.5 oz) honey
Dash (0.33 fl oz) white wine vinegar
1–2 tbsp (0.35–0.7 oz) flour or wheat starch
Optional: 2 stalks celery leaves or lovage (if available)

Instructions

Choose your bird: crane, duck, partridge, turtledove, wood pigeon, pigeon, or a mixture of wild birds.
Pluck and dress the bird, then rinse under cold water.
Place it in a large pot and add enough water to cover.
Add salt and some dill.
Bring to a boil and simmer until half-cooked, then remove the bird and rinse again.
In a clean pot, heat olive oil and garum (a fermented fish sauce—replace with Thai fish sauce if needed).
Return the bird to the pot along with a bundle of savory and coriander.
As the bird finishes cooking, add just enough flour to color and thicken the liquid.
Grind together black pepper, lovage (use celery leaves as a substitute), cumin, coriander seed, laser root (asafoetida can be substituted), rue, passum (sweet raisin wine, or substitute with sweet white wine), and honey.
Moisten the spice blend with some of the original cooking juices and a dash of vinegar, then pour this back into the pot to warm through, thickened with starch if needed.
Serve the bird on a platter with the sauce poured over.

Estimated Calories

450 per serving

Cooking Estimates

It usually takes about 20 minutes to prepare the ingredients and around 1 hour to cook the bird and sauce. One bird like a duck gives about 4 servings. Each serving has around 450 calories, considering the meat and rich sauce.

As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.

We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.