SC - Re: sca-cooks SCA-ck Lard Preservation

[Philip W. Troy]

Terry Nutter wrote:

> 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)?


Yes, I realize that the word "confit" has numerous definitions. I
believe the clue to eel and pork confit might be this: are they served
cold? I'll have to check. The possibility exists that they were served
like some galantines in a jellied sauce made from the cooking liquid. I
don't know this, not having looked at the recipes, but I'd be surprised
to see a use of the word without some preservation connotation.

However, we were speaking in terms of goose, duck, or pork confit. The
Larrouse Gastronomique (a resource I have learned to implicitly distrust
EXCEPT in a case where French cooking is concerned) says that confit du
canard/oie/porc originated in the province of Savoy. Also, Savoy says
so, for what it's worth. Third, and most telling, is the fact that
confit of bird or beast is generally made using the same set of
ingredients, with changes made only to reflect the meat being used, and
the herbs used to accompany them. Standard issue is garlic, salt,
garlic, other herbs, and garlic. Considering the fact that the cuisine
of Savoy is now characterized by precisely these ingredients (with goose
fat being the preferred frying fat and shortening), I'd say this is a
possibility worth looking into. Bear in mind, I only asked about
Chiquart. Is Chiquart full of references to eel, anise, caraway, or
quince confit?

Incidentally, Savoy has a population noted today for the fact that they
consume more animal and other saturated fats per capita than any other
region on Earth, and have just about the lowest frequency of heart
problems. I presume the propensity for heart problems was weeded out of
the gene pool centuries ago.  

Adamantius