SC - Me toos!

[LYN M PARKINSON]

Hi, Katerine here.  Adamantius writes:

>By the way: Confits are believed by many to be Savoyard in
>origin...Anybody know offhand if they appear in Chiquart? I don't have a
>copy...I guess it would depend on the season of the feast Chiquart
>covers.

Depends what you call confit.  There are confit recipes in English cuisine
going back to the 14th C -- but they fall into three distinct categories,
and none are meat stored in fat.  Eel and pork in confit are both simply
dishes with sauce, and the indications are that they are to be served 
directly from the kitchen.  Pears or quinces in confit are fruit stewed
in sweet wine syrup; they may have also been used for preserving, but
it isn't clear that they were.  And anise (and similar nuts and seeds)
in confit is a nut or seed surrounded by a hard sugar shell.

So what is it that people think originates in Savoy (and who are they,
and why do they think it)?

Cheers,

- -- Katerine/Terry