SC - cognac
Terry Nutter
gfrose at cotton.vislab.olemiss.edu
Thu May 8 14:08:15 PDT 1997
Mark Schuldenfrei wrote:
>
> > Note that Digby is about fifty years out of period, Markham somewhat less.
>
> Noted. I only mention these sources because they represent a style and
> level of technology substantially unchanged from what is seen in the
> late 16th-century sources, but seem to be more commonly recognized by
> most SCAdians.
>
> Adamantius, this may not be as true as one might hope.
>
> At least in brewing. My friends (Morgaine and Muiredach) wrote an article
> on brewing history, showing that Digby was instrumental in the introduction
> of the sealed bottle. As anyone can figure, a bottle is more air-tight than
> a cask, and there is a resulting impact in recipes, sugar residuals, aging,
> and carbonation. Making Digby brewing recipes substantively different in
> result than period ones.
Generally, I'm inclined to agree. There's a big difference between 1600
and 1669. However, way back when I referred to Digby as a source (it had
to do with icing cakes) I mentioned him as secondary to Markham and, I
believe, Fettiplace, precisely because of the lateness of the date.
>
> This does not imply that his cooking techniques have also evolved past the
> period ones. But it is a small indicia that there is the possibility of
> change.
>
> As they frequently say about Digby in terms of brewing, "Digby is not just
> post-period, but 3 generations post period. Lots of things change in three
> generations."
You may be right. But actually Hugh Plat contains instructions for
brewing bottled ale, sixty years before the publication of Digby's work.
>
> Tibor (The more I learn, the more cautious I get)
Adamantius, suffering from a surfeit of exposure to Ms. Frizzle and The
Magic Schoolbus, whose motto is something like "Go ahead! Make mistakes!
Get messy!"
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