From ancient times, 'broth' meant meat liquor, i.e., the liquid produced from boiling meats — the most common method of cooking mutton. In historic recipe books, a broth could also mean a thick soup — the medieval 'pottage' — where vegetables and whatever meat could be found would be cooked in a large communal pot, and which often included barley grain: wheat is a relative newcomer to the British diet. This is one such recipe; as is typical of recipes before the mid-18th century, quantities are not given, but were left to the discretion of the cook. Such soups were served with oatcakes.