Ane Almond Tairt Or Rather Apple

This recipe hails from a late 17th-century English household manuscript, dating approximately from 1650 to 1700. During this time, cookery was transitioning from oral tradition to written instruction, with recipes recorded by hand for household use. The fusion of almonds and apples points to a fondness for textural contrasts and rich, subtly spiced flavours—hallmarks of period baking. Rosewater and sugar for glaze reflect the era's love of scented, decorative touches, derived from both medieval banqueting and emerging modern pastry techniques. Such tarts would have been made for family tables or special occasions, signaling hospitality and the growing accessibility of sugar and imported spices in well-off English kitchens.

Cooks in the 17th century would have used a large, heavy saucepan for stewing the fruit, a sharp paring knife for peeling and coring apples, and a sturdy mortar and pestle for blanching and chopping almonds. The pastry was likely rolled by hand with a wooden pin, and the tarts baked in a wood-fired oven on metal or ceramic tart pans. Pastry brushes did not exist, so feather quills were used for glazing the crust with egg and rosewater. An open hearth or brick oven set into a kitchen wall would provide the necessary radiant heat.