HERB - SPICEd MEATS

[N.D. Wederstrandt]

Clare here


 Meat in the middle ages was not normally eaten off or spoiled.  There is
an abundance of evidence that while they didn't eat everything in the same
way we do they didn't   eat spoiled meat.  They did use spices to preserve
meats and other foods.  I know they used spices more than green herbs but
they used green herbs to cook with meats.

 Many of our pickled meats can be traced to this period.  Corned beef is a
type of process to help preserve and extend meat.  So are potted meats.  It
is true that they prefer game aged to where it was considered high, but
they did that in the Victorian period as well and certain types of meat are
eaten aged as well in England as well.  When I was in the market in Oxford
they were selling rabbits and pheasant uncleaned and well aged for people
to buy.  There is evidence of them making and drying fish and meat in
period.   Two of my friends recently made sausages that could easily be
dried and kept without spoilage.
	For an idea of the spices used on meat you can try accessing the
web page
	www.press.uchicago.edu/misc/chicago/706842.html
to find a recipe for sweet spice mix and a few recipes.
As far as we can observe seasoning used in the middle ages were used to
flavor and enhance meat much like we do today. Over seasoning was not a
common thing. Sorry, I don't have all the figures but I have a list of the
spices that people bought and used and they are not extravagent.... People
in period seemed to prefer "sweet and sour type dishes" but did not use
sugar and honey widely in cooking.  They did use verjuice which is a type
of soured juice (vinegar type) or sour seville orange to season.  Some of
the spice combinations can still be found in mediterrean cooking cooking
today.  Cinnamon is a very common greek seasoning that was used in period
and in modern cooking today.  Of the spices used pepper seems to have been
the most commonly bought.   Spices were very expensive but not so out of
range that middle class people couldn't afford it.  The book I have at home
is Food and Feast in Medieval England by P.W. Hammond, Gloucestershire,
1993.  It talks quite a bit about spices and herbs used in the middle ages
in england.

A great many herbs were used as "greens".  I recently bought a very good
cookbook,  The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy by Odile
Redon, Francoise Sabbab, Silvano Servanti, University of Chicago Press,
based on French and Italian period recipes that list herbs used as a
principal igredient in dishes.  "A tart of greens" could be comprised of
borage, parsley and spinach.  Also in a book on Food and feasting in
Medieval England they list the amounts of spices and such that a well to do
household would have bought.  They seemed to realy like making omelets with
greens in it as well.   Check out Caradioc's page on medieval and
renaissance cooking.  If you look at the recipes you'll note that the use
of spices and herbs, while not outrageous were high.

I'm not home but when I get home this evening I'll look in the books  and
find the relevant passages.  It's really annoying not being able to snap
your fingers and have the book suddenly show up.


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