SC - Reconstructing recipes (was: All Members)

[Sharon L. Harrett]

On Thu, 5 Jun 1997, Gretchen M Beck wrote:

> Excerpts from internet.listserv.sca-cooks: 4-Jun-97 Re: SC - All Members
> by Michael Macchione at coplan 
> > I still tend to freak when I do a
> > recipe that I have no idea what the final result is supposed to be.  Thus
> > I tend to have troubles researching period cooking.  
> 
> That's interesting!  Along those lines, I'm curious--how to people here
> pick which recipes they want to try (or try to reconstruct, assuming
> they are working with period recipes)?
> 
> My, I read through recipes, and when I find one that makes me go "Yum",
> I stop and try.  I've got a strong "food imagination/memory", conjuring
> up what I believe will be the final taste, texture, and smell from the
> recipe. 
> 
> toodles, margaret 
> 
Greetings, and my two cents worth:

	As I read through a period cookbook I read each recipe carefully,
examining it for ingredients, methods, sauces, and the like. I will then
cross-reference to a good modern cookbook such as Joy of Cooking to see if
there is a similar dish. Many times there will be more than one, so I check
back to see which is the closest, and do my redaction from that point. Then
I make up the dish in portions for my family to try, and again adjust if
necessary.	
	I realize that reading Middle English can be a challenge, but it is
mostly phonetic, and after awhile it becomes easy. You begin to recognize
certain combinations of ingredients and methods, and their progression up
through the ages. Many of the recipes are just fine as is, if you are
careful as to spicery (start lightly and add if needed). Many of them are
extremely labor and time-intensive, and not really appropriate for feasts,
unless its a small feast and you can do pre-prep at home. Some are not
suited to the modern palate, or our cultural aspects of "what is to be eaten
and what is not" Many modern folk won't touch organ meats or such things.
Many frown on the combinations of meats and fruits, but if you look at any
modern gourmet cookbook, you will find those same combinations.
	My latest theory is that period cookery could be the "parent" of
modern gourmet cookery, particularly in the realm of French  cuisine. Many
of the sauces considered "de Rigeur" have their roots in medieval cooking,
as do methods of poaching fish, making stock, use of egg whites for
leavening, combination recipes (parboiling and roasting or grilling), etc.
	I have many of the modern versions of period sources, such as Pleyn
Delight, and To the King's Taste. To me, the preface of such book is written
so as to prejudice the reader to the writer's point of view, often that of
"we could't possible eat this as it may have been made, so let's change it
for the better" I tend to browse my period sources with an open mind and
some years of experience in the kitchen, as well as my early years on a
farm. I wish that all could enjoy these experiences as I have.

Ceridwen