SC - Fried Sage -another way

[DianaFiona@aol.com]

linneah at erols.com wrote:
> 
> Any comments on the recent article by Edythe Preet ( LA Times syndicate) that
> said:
> 
> "In the Middle Ages, mustard was a fixture on every table.  It disguised the rank
> taste of spoiled food and camouflaged the immense amount of salt used to
> preserve meat.  The small seeds, crushed into powder, were mixed with the
> leavings of wine - grape must.  Hence the name for this mixture is much the
> same in most European languages...  When made by those who did not have
> access to wine, mustard powder was mixed with vinegar.  Honey was often added
> to minimize its sharpness."

We've been through this pretty exhaustively before on this list. Not a
comment on the above poster, just a comment on the claim about
disguising "the rank taste of spoiled food" and camouflaging "the
immense amount if salt used to preserve meat", which is one I've never
heard before ;  ). It does seem to be true that mustard was fairly
ubiquitous across medieval Northern Europe; it i s one of the relatively
few spices that is native to much of Europe, and therefore comparatively
inexpensive. It is also true that mustard seems to be commonly used in
combination with cured or salted meats, just as it is used today.
However, I find it hard to accept the implication that such meat was
eaten without soaking and otherwise desalting it. Recipes generally are
pretty detailed about this process, and in an environment where salt
meats were eaten pretty frequently it would have been common knowledge
how to get around this.  
 
> I like mustard but I don't often see it at feasts.  Was it really as ubiquitous as the
> above makes it sound?

As with many things, it depends on when and where you are. Taillevent
refers to it several times, and gives at least one recipe, IIRC. Le
Menagier either gives a recipe or says to buy it from the sauce merchant
in different references, or both. Both The Forme of Cury and Das Buoch
Von Guter Speiss include recipes for a mustard sauce for preserving
fruits and vegetables: a similar recipe is in Le Menagier de Paris, but
I believe offhand that the mustard element ios toned down in comparison
to the other recipes I mention.

Adamantius