SC - Cooking in a Period Environment

[Par Leijonhufvud]

Greetings, Aoife!

At one of my first SCA events, the entire feast was cooked over a wood fire
set in a long, narrow trench to allow enough area for everything we needed.
 I'm afraid I can't remember much of the menu except the gingered carrots and
poached pears.  I do remember that it rained lightly most of the day, but not
enough to put the fire out.  The downpour came, literally, as we took the
last pot off the fire and got it under the covered pavilion.  We didn't have
to worry about keeping an eye on the fire after that.  The nearby stream, on
the other hand...
We did not use period utensils - in fact, one of the biggest problems was the
fact that someone decided that refrigerator shelves would make good fire
grates.  (Do NOT try this.  They bend under the combination of weight and
heat and try to dump your food in the fire.)  Also, things tend to heat
unevenly, so in rescuing the food that was about to fall into the fire,
somebody grabbed one side of the pot and said "Oh, it's cool, you won't need
a potholder" - which resulted in the guy on the other side getting a nasty
burn.  So it is important to turn and stir pots frequently, and to make sure
there are plenty of potholders available and use them, even if you think it
might not be hot.
Also, on another list (I think) the point was brought up that wind will rob
the heat form your fire and increase cooking times.  Wind breaks are a good
thing.

Bronwyn