Cast iron cookpots (was: SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #183)

[Par Leijonhufvud]

At 10:13 AM -0500 7/2/97, L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt wrote:

>Yep, we do this, too. You'd be surprised the number of people who are not
>willing to be an event cook, but are interested in period cooking. It's a
>shame that the monumental task of preparing a feast scares off so many
>prospective cooks.

I have long argued that cooking guilds and similar groups should make it
clear that they are not in the business of doing feasts but of researching
period cooking, for precisely the reason you describe. Obviously people in
such a guild are a potential source of both recipes and  cooks--but joining
should not automatically amount to volunteering to help do feasts.

>But back to the topic: I understand that you try to make as period an
>environment as possible at your "Enchanted Ground" encampments. Does this
>extend to your cooking  implements and practices, or only the materials and
>recipes?

It includes the cooking. The Enchanted Ground involves different people
doing different things. Elizabeth and I in recent years have generally done
one dinner for the whole encampment during the week. We cook over a fire,
using a tripod, trivet, cast iron utensils, etc. We've never built an oven,
although I know other people who have. Other people in the encampment have
done spit roasting.

Given the time constraints, Elizabeth and I also make heavy use of period
foods that don't require cooking--dried fruit, sausage, bread, islamic
pastries, gingerbrede, and the like.

Elizabeth had an article in (I think) the most recent T.I. on camp cooking.
We have a fair number both of recipes that are reasonably easy to do and of
recipes for period things that keep, including one pickled meat recipe. We
decided years ago that a cooler was not only out of period but a nuisance,
and have never regretted abandoning it.

David/Cariadoc
http://www.best.com/~ddfr/