sca-cooks Greetings

[Mark Schuldenfrei]

  	A thread has been heating up on my other listserver and I would like
  to ask you all your opinions. The discussion is on "yeast", for brewing and
  baking. The argument seems to be split between those who believe that
  "yeast" was unknown in period and therefore should not be used in any
  authentic period cooking, baking or brewing. The other side is that although
  folks in period did not neccessarily call their leavening "yeast" we know
  now that most starters work because wild yeasts have taken up residence in
  them, and that therefore to ensure a quality product for SCA consumption it
  would not be a leap of logic to use packaged yeast for baking and brewing.

They certainly knew about Yeast and Barm, and mentioned it in recipes.  All
my books are in the attic (we are remodeling, and getting a new kitchen.
YEAH!) so I cannot pull them out and check.  But I distinctly recall recipes
that call for barm and yeast for the various types of potable (beer, ale,
sherry, claret) and so forth.

Consider, for example, the recipes collected in Curye on Inglisch that call
for "Lyfe Honey" and so forth.  

	Tibor