SC - Another Novice Reci

[Marisa Herzog]

                      RE>SCA myths                                 8/4/97

The below is one of the current threads on the arts list, for all you gentles
amusement.  I am quietly biting my toungue and not commenting on that list
- -brid
>
>Franz said:
>
>> My reaction to those who comment my cooking 
>> isn't period is that they wouldn't eat it if it was. 
>
>Isn't that one of those SCA myths???? :)


Actually, no.  But they wouldn't eat what we prepare either. There were many 
problems with the preservation of food that gave it an over flavor that we 
find unpalatable. Because of the spoilage speed, meat of all kinds was eaten 
the same day it was slaughtered. Mundanely, we prefer ours to have a 
slightly "aged" (spelled 'controlled spoilage') flavor. Theirs would taste 
"gamey" by comparison.  Common preservation technique was by salting, a 
process which normally required a minimum of three days of soaking in fresh 
water changed every six hours to remove the salt. Even still, it was overly 
salty. 

The myth is that the excessive spice amounts were used to hide the fact that 
the meat had spoiled. This is wrong on three counts. First, as stated 
before, spoilage to them meant the "aged" level we enjoy. The added spice 
*would* cover that flavor, but would not cover what even we consider as 
spoiled. Second, the spices acted to balance the heavy flavor of the 
preserving salt. Hence the proliferation of fruited meats. Sugars help 
molify the salt taste, and fruits were the major source of sugar available. 
Third, the spices were weak by today's standard. Read the side of a modern 
spice jar. "Keep in a cool, dry, place out of direct sun." Remember, most of 
Europe's spices came from the Orient, and there were only two ways it could 
travel: by sea, or by spice road.  If it went by sea, there went the "dry" 
instruction. If it went by spice road (ie thru the desert), there goes the 
"cool" part. Either way, by the time the spice arrived in England and 
France, it was so old as to have lost a majority of its flavor. One merely 
has to taste the difference between commercial herb flakes and fresh from 
your own garden to understand how much greater it would have been. 

As for what they ate, it was radically different. A good reason to go on the 
hunt was the opportunity to eat Hunter's Stew, made from all the "best 
parts" of the kill. These had the least fat, the most flavor, and the 
greatest nutrients. They included the Heart, Liver, Kidneys, Lungs, Tongue, 
Brains, all which spoil very quickly. (The fat acts as a protection against 
spoilage - no fat, spoils quickly.) These were eaten by the Hunting camp, 
with the rest of the meat brought back to the homestead. Oddly, if most of 
these parts were not removed, the kill was tainted BY these organ meats. 
(this is still the parts taken out in a field dress by hunters today. 
Generally, today they are just buried in the field at the kill/dressing 
site.) But they also ate turtle, eel, snake, bear, and any other type of 
meat they could find catch and kill. 

Vegetables were ALWAYS cooked, generally boiled, and usually overdone by our 
standards. Instead of potatoes, they ate turnips. They salt preserved their 
vegetables too, in the manner of pickling. Even their grains were boiled for 
eating, flavored with a touch of salt and maybe some butter. 

All in all, a very drab, mostly flavorless *daily* cuisine. The wonderful 
sauces of the french, like so many other items in our society, came very 
late in period or just out of it. The fruit dishes were all highly seasonal 
and thus more of a treat than expected. And of course, the church placed 
some highly restrictive laws on what could be eaten at what time of year as 
well.

Would you eat "period food"? I don't know. When doing my research into 
cultural cuisine, I look at traditional foods. Tell me, would you eat proper 
English Blood Pudding? Haggis? Jellied Ram's Eye? All Documentable as 
Festive Occasion Fare delicacies.  Just not to us.

The rule I use for my cooking is: Raise the lowest level of knowledge by 
teaching while utilizing the "CREATIVE" aspect of the SCA to ensure 
enjoyment by the greatest number.  Same with my bardic work. I do Beowulf in 
the original old english, but no one understands what I am saying. Its 
period, its correct, but you won't enjoy it unless *I* make it enjoyable for 
you. And for that, I must provide a translation into a more modern idea of 
taste...er, the english language. 

Should any of you decide to enjoy yourself on a actual non mediterainian 
european culinary experience, contact me.  I and my cooking team would be 
happy to help you debunk this myth yourself.

Franz
(i'm just a cook)


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