Fw: HERB - potpourri

[Lynette K LaFontaine]

My guess here is there was alway something simmering in the pot.  But for
more practical reasons than just to make the place smell good.  Slow simmer
as you know keeps food moist as it cooks and tenderizes meat especially from
older animals who might be tough.  (ever try to eat and old chicken) I
remember my grandmother who heated her house with a cook stove.  I t was not
unusual to come in to the smell of pies or a stew, or both.  Remember
cooking even in our grandmothers day was usually on a bigger scale than
today.  (how many people do we cook for on a daily basis)  if you were
cooking for and entire household, castle, army etc you had a lot of food to
prepare.  This took time.  Simmering was also an easy way to cook that was
not as labor intensive as some othe way.
Take frying for example you must tend it constantly and it uses oil which
would have been too precious in period.
Even rosting on a spit was labor intensive even when you were clever enough
to rig up a machine to turn it for you.  It still had to basted.  As I go
along in my mind I still come back to slow simmer as the best.  Today it is
crock pots, a slow simmer device we put on in the morning and leave and have
dinner at night.
My guess is they simmered with more of a reason than odur.  The sent was a
bonus not the goal.
----- Original Message -----
From: Drisana Amineh Ayieshia <drisana at ncinternet.net>
To: <herbalist at Ansteorra.ORG>
Sent: Monday, July 12, 1999 8:55 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: HERB - potpourri


> I do not know how period this would be but wouldn't they do like we do and
> keep a pot on the fire with herbs and spices in it??  I like to use apple
> pie spice when i am cleaning and then also have used star anise, nutmeg
> cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice..when they get old they go into the
potpourri
> jar to use...
>
> I have really enjoyed the list so far and hope to share and learn allot
> more..
>
> Drisana
> icq  #412273
> ( : Make an appointment today for your yearly mammogram : )
> "I count not a day complete till needle thread and fabric do meet!"
> drisana at ncinternet.net
> http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/Atrium/6284/
>
>
>
>
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