sca-cooks - subtleties

[Beth Morris]

Angelina Capozello wrote:
> 
> > Some of you out there already know me but I just found the list last
> > night.  I am Annejke (An-ick-ca) MacAiodh (MacKay).   One of my favorite
> > this to do are subtilites and have made well over 100 in the past 21
> > years.
> >
> > If I can help let me know.
> >
> > Annejke MacAiodh Van der Sicklyn
> 
> I would love to see some recipes for subtilities!  I've seen them
> mentioned in novels, and know they often involve marzipan, but i've never
> actually seen one.  Any help or recipes you have would be great!

There are descriptions of many of them in the front "menu" sections of
many of the surviving cookbooks.

They aren't so much things that require "recipes" as creations that
require 'design'.  Many (although not all by a long shot) of them are
sweets, precursors (in a bizarre way) of the interestingly shaped
novelty cakes of the modern era.

Most subtleties (there are at least ten spellings of the word too) are
simply food presented in an ornamental way.  Once for a feast I was
cooking, a friend made a reasonably accurate replica of the Crac' de
Chevalier
(the crusader castle) out of shortbread.  It was fantastic.  Many of the
ones described in period are of famous people or religious scenes:  the
Spirit of God Descending as A Dove or whatever.  There's a great one
that's easy to do with a small roast (pig is good) with a chicken
"riding" on it with little armor (usually a helm and shield) on and a
lance.  You can make it into a local figure or use an allegorical
historical figure through heraldry, etc.  A subcategory of this idea is
that of illusion foods: foods designed to look like other foods. 
Another friend makes great illusion eggs by blowing out the real egg,
rinsing the shell thoroughly, waxing over the hole in the bottom and
filling the shell with an almond milk concoction that sets up a la Jello
into a translucent jiggly texture just like hard boiled egg white.  Only
sweet and almond flavored.  They're great!

Marzipan is often associated with subtletie construction because it is
the "play doh" of desserts and can be molded into anything (and will
even go through a Play Doh pumper!).  Another regular one is the candy
glass Tibor mentioned, and the sugar paste that can be made into
glasses, dishes, boxes, etc.

Keilyn