sca-cooks Transport of Foodstuffs

[Ron Martino Jr]

...warning, rant to follow...

> I've noticed the avoidence of "new world" foodstuffs, but my
> understanding of history was that Europeans were visiting the "new
> world" before 1600 (1492 comes to mind for some biazzare reason -wasn't
> some viking sailing around then? =8^) Is it that the exportation of
> foodstuffs to Europe didn't begin until after period? My knowledge of
> late 15/16/17th centuries is more than a little rusty...
> 
> -Eogan-

	Among the many reasons folks are attracted to the Society, there is the
plain  'weirdness' of it all. We wear funny clothes, hit each other with
sticks, practice manners that seem to be out of style in the modern
world, and sit down to feasts of steak, corn on the cob and baked
potatoes, or pasta with tomato based sauces. 

	Americans, who make up a majority of SCA members, are terribly childish
when it comes to trying new foods, but we don't have to continue to be.
Compared to many medieval arts, period cooking is very well documented,
and readily accessable to anyone who wishes to make the effort. Despite
this, we still hear comments such as "medieval cooking was over-spiced"
or "period cooking just doesn't appeal to modern tastes." As a result,
we end up with travesties such as the autocrat who's menu at an arts
event consisted of barbequed ribs and watermelon. ("They ate meats with
sauces in period, didn't they?")

	Rather than spend time and effort trying to prove the presence of
paprika in Europe before 1600, so we can serve 'traditional Hungarian
cuisine', why not put our energies towards educating our fellow Society
members in what (to the best of our knowledge) medieval cooking was
*really* like?

	Yumitori