SC - Cold Dishes

[charles@macquarie.matra.com.au]

>>Yes, it
>>means that I am not always 1000 percent authentic because I may 
not
>>use lard or sugar in a dish, or I may drop the salt amount, etc.

>This assumes that you have period recipes which specify how much 
salt they
>contain. Is this a real example?

Yes, I have some recipes for pickling and chutney that do specify the 
amount.  These are from a great grandmother's recipe book that was 
written around 1610 and has been handed down in the family.  She was 
a MacKay, living in Holland and was trying to record her 
grandmother's and Aunt's recipes before they were lost.  She has a 
great bread recipe and a fabulous shortbread recipe for "Snow breads".
  If I get to Canada and borrow it to make a xerox of the original I 
will bring it Pennsic for you to see.  If not all I have is my 
fathers copy which he made when he was a kid for his mother's 
birthday.

>>When I can not substitute or I am trying to be 1000 percent 
authentic
>>for some reason, I make sure that the heralds announce that with 
the
>>crying of the dish so that people who have concerns will have 
notice,

>Trying to cook a feast that everyone can eat is a fine idea, 
although not
>always practical given the range of allergies etc. in the population.
 What
>bothers me here is the assumption that doing so is inconsistent with 
being
>authentic. Medieval people ate a lot more vegetarian meals than we 
do
>(albeit with fish), given the Lenten/fast day restrictions, and we 
have
>lots and lots of such recipes. They didn't use meat broth or meat 
oils for
>their vegetarian meals either.

I have the heralds cry the dish as a courtesy so that people can come 
and look at the ingredients and ask questions if they need to. That 
way they can see if there is anything that might be a problem to them.
  It's just my way of red flagging a dish for those who need to be 
concerned.

>In this case as others, one virtue of a policy of trying to be 
authentic is
>that it gives you an incentive to find out how they did things.

According to the reports on Mytton Manor and the dePeshal Manors of 
Shorpshire, Salt Society, Shropshire,1930.  This was a common 
practice as the Adam dePeshal I, knt and Sheriff of Shropshire 
(ancestor of mine) was guested by the Hearld of Edward I on his way 
from a Marcher Lord back to his Grace, the King.  The Herald did not 
know that there was fish in a pie served him and when he became ill 
Adam dePeshal I laughed at him.  When the man was like to die Adam, 
being in his cups, slew the man to make room at the table for someone 
else. (Adam was not one of my brighter ancestors)  He was killed by 
Edward himself, being run through and pinned to the wall with the 
kings great sword.  His wife and children were then set to gleaning 
in the fields until the oldest son grew up and was for given his 
fathers trespasses (17 years).  So every dish was cried the hall and 
all of the ingredience as well from then on until the family (by then 
Washburne) moved to the new world.

>Elizabeth (reading over my shoulder) points out that medieval feasts 
had a
>small number of courses (typically two or three for the 13th-15th c.

>French/English feasts), each with lots of dishes. That pattern makes 
it
>easier to provide alternatives than the pattern we frequently see in 
SCA
>feasts of lots of courses each with a few dishes.

My normal feasts run 3 courses with dessert with 4 dishes per course. 
 It makes it much easier.

>>I feel that is a courtesy also.  I also, ALWAYS, ... 2) fix a large 
amount
>>of chicken legs,
>>cucumbers, apple slices and cheese for the children.

>Do you find that children are unwilling to eat period food? I 
routinely
>bring period nibbles to events, and find that children (not just my 
own)
>like them--especially medieval gingerbread. Not, I should add, that 
any of
>the things you list is out of period as a food--I just don't have 
any
>reason to think they were served that way at feasts.

>Which raises an interesting question--what do we know about the age 
range
>for the guests at a period feast? Were children present, and if so 
how were
>they dealt with?

I find that most children in this area will not eat the feast for one 
reason or another and received complaints from parents for years 
until I went to this.  They get the gingerbread for dessert.

Some research that I have done on children do show that they 
sometimes did attend but always with nurses and often had a small 
portion of the meat and a milk sop and comfits and were sent out at 
the end of the first course.   Except of course on their birthdays 
and I have several birthday parties I have documented through diaries 
and tax records.

Annejke