SC - Mustard History continued

[Anne-Marie Rousseau]

Hey all from Anne-Marie.
To add to the never ending discussion on the use of spices to cover "off" 
flavors, I'd like to point everyone to Barbara Santiches article in Petis 
Propos Culinaires #51. In it, she points out that it is unlikely that 
medieval people used all those spices to cover unfrigerated meat gone 
awry, as this spice use tapered off considerably long beofre the advent 
of iceboxes. 

I think they used all those spices for the same reasons that Middle 
eastern cuisine uses cumin and cinnamon, that Indian food uses all thier 
curries and garam masala, that we use ketsup (you know why they call it 
Heinz 57? And how many secret herbs and spices in KFC?). Because they 
preferred it that way.

Oh, and about mustard, Barbara Santich in that same article discusses the 
use of mustard as a compliment to salted meat. According to Santich, this 
salted meat (as opposed to fresh) was the fare of the lower classes, and 
so the sauce for this meat would be the ubiquitous mustard. I don't know 
as I buy this totally, but it makes some sense.

- --AM

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Anne-Marie Rousseau
rousseau at scn.org
Seattle, Washington