To Make Flummery

This flummery recipe, compiled by Andrew Slee around 1654, emerges from the English mid-17th century—a time of varied innovations in household cookery. Flummery was a simple, comforting pudding, typically eaten as a nourishing breakfast or light supper. Unlike later versions thickened with gelatin or isinglass, this version uses oatmeal as the principal thickener, reflecting both Scottish and English influences. The inclusion of orange flower water or Sack (a type of dry sherry) hints at the increasing availability of continental ingredients and flavors in English kitchens after the Restoration, though this recipe actually predates it—showing just how cosmopolitan even relatively simple dishes could be.

Originally, cooks would have used a large ceramic or wooden bowl for steeping the ground oatmeal—often simply ground at home with a mortar and pestle or a hand quern. The mixture would be strained through a fine linen cloth or a hair sieve—a type of fine-mesh sieve made from horsehair or similar material. For boiling, a heavy pot or cauldron was suspended over an open hearth or fire, and a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula would have ensured smooth stirring. For serving, the thickened flummery would be poured into shallow wooden or earthenware dishes or bowls.