SC - Cooking in a Period Environment

[Philip & Susan Troy]

L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt wrote:
> How many of you have attempted to make your "camp cooking" period---not just
> the recipes and ingredients, but the fire irons, the pots and pans, the
> beehive ovens and the open spits. etc?

Up to a point. I've used a cast-iron bean pot (buried in a firepit) for
a pottage of canebyns with ham, and have baked in a Dutch oven up on
legs, and used both stone and cast iron bakestones. Can't seem to find a
smith who'll make me a rachingcroke I can afford, though...some
day...<sigh>
.  
> It's extra work, I grant you, but I also have had it shown to me that many
> of our recipes are altered by the situations in which we cook them and the
> modern tools we use.  A pie baked in a kettle with coals heaped on the lid,
> and a pie baked in a gas oven,  and a pie baked in a brick bakery oven will
> vary considerably as to taste, texture, and appearance.  I really want to
> try a small event (perhaps our household of 40-odd) with no (or few) modern
> conveniences. Can anyone offer me some advice?

One of my dream EKU (insert name of your kingdom university here)
scenarios is a day  in a tavern kitchen. This would be a class taking
pretty much the entire day, with a brewing, a baking, and meal
consisting of a pie, a pottage, a roast with sauces and a sallet or two.
Possibly a late period sweet. Since this would be a teaching kitchen,
I'd figured on doing about 3/4 of the food in advance, to be reheated in
pots near the fire or in the warm bread oven. (This would go a ways
toward preventing some disasters.) Most of the day would be spent doing
the remaining 25%, slowly and carefully, for both the students (and in
my case, the teacher) to learn some of the techniques.

You might consider something like that...

Adamantius