[Northkeep] OK, here is a Lenten question...maybe Talana?

[Anawyn at aol.com]

All very good ideas. We certainly don't think about food preservation in  
the same way our ancestors did, even a few short years ago. When I have to 
pause  and think about what I ever did before we had a freezer in the garage, 
I find  that I am grateful for modern conveniences, at the very least. 
 
I'm thinking that a good class for next Winterkingdom might be reviewing  
food preservation methods in the Middle Ages? 
 
Gearing up to ponder that one!
 
Anawyn
 
 
In a message dated 3/13/2011 10:11:55 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
kiamichikate at gmail.com writes:

We all  agree that the surplus milk not used by calving cows would surely be
made  into cheese and/or butter.  Also, in most bishoprics pregnant  women,
young children, and the ill or infirm were often exempted from the  no-dairy
lenten fast, thus they would have consumed the meager supplies not  being
turned into solids for future consumption or taxes.

As far as  eggs go, if the hens are kept from the rooster (no, the rooster 
is
NOT  needed for hens to lay eggs), the eggs would be infertile.  A normal  
hen
will produce 3 or 4 eggs per week.  A good layer gives 5 or more.  So, if 
you
had ten hens who were not being visited by the cock, 30 eggs per  week would
be expected once laying began in the warmer weather (much less  in the
winter).  The most common way to preserve eggs in the olden  times?  Boil
them, peel them, pickle them, and put them in a  crock!  This will preserve
them for weeks, even months in a cool  cellar.  The Germans were 
particularly
fond of eggs long soaked in  herbed vinegar.  Although I have tried several
recipes, my favorite is  just save the juice from Claussen pickels and fill
the jar with hard boiled  eggs.  They're delicious after about 10 days.
Makes a great egg  salad.

Franziska

On Fri, Mar 11, 2011 at 9:37 AM,  <Anawyn at aol.com> wrote:

> We know the restrictions placed on  diet during Lent in the Middle Ages,
> such as no eggs, dairy products,  meat, etc. So...what did they do with 
all
> of
> the continuing  accumulation of foodstuffs? I mean, for those living on a
> farm they  HAD to milk the cows each day, that could not be neglected. The
>  eggs  would pile up and rot, so those would have to be gathered too.  I
> would
> think that wasting or throwing away food would  certainly be considered an
> "ungodly" activity, not to mention the loss  of income for those who
> depended
> on  selling their  various comestibles for a living.
>
> See, this is what happens to  your train of thoughts when you wake up and
> can't go back to sleep. I  suppose worrying about the past beats the 
aspect
> of
>   worrying about the future in some ways. Now I just made myself hungry  
for
> an  omelette...:->
>
> Anawyn
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--  
Remember this: that there is a proper dignity and proportion to be  observed
in the performance of every act of life.  --Marcus  Aurelius
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