“The _voidee_ was, in fact, a sort of dessert. The word _spices_ included many things besides what it now implies. In the Ordinances above-mentioned, there is a list of spices, at p. 103. It includes pepper, saffron, ginger, cloves, maces, cinnamon, nutmegs, dates, prunes, quinces, comfits, raisins, currants, figs, and even rice. In the North of England, even at the present day, it includes sweetmeats, gingerbread, cakes, and dried fruits.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
_Potatoe Butter._ Boil three pounds of potatoes, bruise and work them with two ounces of butter, and as much milk as will make them pass through a colander. Take half or three quarters of a pint of yeast, and half a pint of warm water, mix with the potatoes, then pour the whole upon five pounds of flour, and add some salt. Knead it well; if not of a proper consistence, put a little more milk and water warm. Let it stand before the fire an hour to rise. Work it well, and make into rolls. Bake about half an hour in an oven not quite so hot as for bread. They eat well toasted and buttered.
Sources: The passage is from Geoffrey Chaucer, Chaucer's Works, Volume 2 — Boethius and Troilus, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Rundell, New system of domestic cookery, formed upon principles of of 1806, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — forest cloth, tankard stamp.