SC - Cooking in a Period Environment

[L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt]

Hello Folks!

I just got back from our French Azilum adventure, where I was priveledged to
watch a friendly Rev. War group cooking from historical recipes using
historical implements and practices. I also (with much anxiety, as it was my
first totally period camp meal) made our dinner with an open spit, and a
nifty cast iron trivet thingy attached to the spit's upright that held my
pots over the flame. I am a new woman with a new goal! I want to do some
historical cooking with the appropriate environment and tools. So here's my
question:

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?

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?

Thanks in advance


Aoife
"Many things we need can wait. The child cannot."
				---Gabriela Mistral, Chilean Poet 1889-1957