Re(2): SC - mustard history

[Terry Nutter]

Hi, Katerine here.  Derdriu writes:

>Actually, Markham gives a recipe for salvaging spoiling venison.  My account
>is through work, so I don't have the book available, but I can post more on
>the recipe tomorrow (if I remember).

I'm not familiar with that particular recipe (I don't do much work that late),
but I'll lay strong odds the salvage doesn't involve slapping on a sauce
and eating the bad parts.

Salvaging is not the same as covering a bad taste.  I do know an earlier 
such recipe, and it's revealing about the actual nature of the attitude.

Recipe number 58 from Diuersa Servicia, the second collection reproduced in
Curye on Inglysch, describes what to do with a joint of venison that has
just begun to show signs of going bad in spots.  (It is explicit, by the
way, that it should only have bad *spots* which have *begun* to show.)

It starts by cutting away the bad spots.  Next, you soak it in cold water, 
then bake it slowly in the hearth for three days and three nights.  After 
that, you apply saltpeter to the area around where you cut out the bad 
bits, then soak overnight in rainwater.  

I am not a microbiologist (or for that matter a culinary hygienist); and I 
am modern enough to want to just throw the thing out and do without venison.  
But my impression, from reading the recipe and thinking about it, is that 
even by modern standards, this ought to just about turn the trick.

And leave no taste of rot to cover.

Recipe number 57 describes how to prevent venison from turning (essentially, 
how to dress and salt it).  They are *very* clear about not exposing it 
to air before salting.

There are similar recipes in other collections, including one that preserves
venison by immersing it completely in honey, and then sealing the container.  
They all look, from a modern standpoint, like preservation techniques.
 
The whole business, both of preventing rot and of dealing with a joint some
spot of which has begun to turn, involves a lot of time and effort.  No 
one would go to all that trouble if s/he thought that it were okay just to 
slap on a little mustard to cover the nasty taste.  The clear presumption 
is that eating bad meat is a bad idea.

Cheers,

- -- Katerine/Terry