SC - A&S competitions - long response
Debra Hense
debh at microware.com
Fri Nov 21 16:04:38 PST 1997
Murkial,
I enter a single competition every other year or so, and usually do very
well. So, here are my suggestions:
If your items should be served hot for best flavor, aroma, whatall, use
seal-a-meal, or crockpots or hotplates, or microwaves. You can get high
scores serving it cold, but its easier serving hot things hot, or at least
lukewarm.
For documentation, I try to place my entry (I usually do a whole course),
in a country and time period. I explain why these items would be found
together in a course (using actual menus from that time and place as
examples). I also try to explain who would have eaten this food and on
what occasion. For example: wealthy middle-class merchant upon the wedding
of his son or daughter.
Then for each individual dish, I include the original recipe I worked from,
and english translation (if original is in another language - a transaltion
from one or more authors - as in Le Menagier, Goodman of Paris, Le
Tavaillent, all three are from the time period and are probably the same
manuscript, just different translations). Then I discuss the different
transations, noting where all agree, and where they seem to disagree. Then
I give my redaction, noting where I followed one translation over another.
I also describe in my ingredient/measurement list, where I substituted an
ingredient and why I used the substitute I did. For example, I substituted
raw sugar where the recipe called for sugar, because I felt that it was
much more approximate to the rendering of sugar cane during period, (all
the molasses was not cooked out, the sugar was not bleached) and because it
gives me a better texture, flavor combination with the other ingredients
than white sugar or even unbleached sugar does.
Then I detail the process. If I use a modern stove, I tell them so. they
cannot deduct points for using a stove because few of us, if any, have
stone hearth and stone ovens. But, if I made a special effort to cook the
item in the coals of a campfire, I do tell them that, because it adds to
the complexity factor, and attempt to be completely period.
And, I attempt to make sure the place setting is as period as possible,
spoons, forks and knives are included for each of the judges, as well as
five copies of the documentation. Three for the judges (there are usually
three and its a lot easier if each has their own copy), and two just to
give out to people who wander by and are interested.
Sometimes, if I have time, I do go into the properties of some of the herbs
and spices and why and where they are used in the meal. Like the red spices
such as cinnamon and nutmeg, and ginger are used earlier the first courses
of the meal to pique or stimulate the appetite. And why mint was often
included in the last course to sooth a stomach that has perhaps eaten too
much, and to relieve the gas. I also sometimes talk about the sauces, and
whether they heat up a cold item, or cool a hot item. This is all gone
into in great detail at the back of Le Menegier in the Cariodoc collection
of Medieval Cookbooks where they talk about boiling is better for certain
meats because of their humors, and how certain herbs are better for
counterbalancing those humors.
But, thats what I do. And if it just a single dish, doing all of the above
can only help. It help you develope better research skills and developes
your own knowledge of Medieval foods and recipes.
I have learned a lot about cooking from studying the Medieval recipes and
cookbooks and treatises. And that knowledge is something I can apply to my
modern day cooking also. Never having obtained a sense of how things work
together in terms of cooking, and what would taste good or compliment what
until I started teaching myself about medieval cooking, I can honestly say,
I have learned so much. Just adding cinnamon to a dish will give it a
sweeter taste, because our palates are so trained to cinnamon being served
with sugar. Using margarine doesn't give one the same texture or flavor as
butter does. Butter flavored crisco isn't. Cinnamon added to meat adds a
new dimension to roasts, casseroles, pies and stews. I can serve Ember pie
to my family and have them love it, if I line the pastry crust with
pepperoni slices before adding the filling and baking it.
Oh, well, gone on long enough.
Kateryn de Develyn
debh at microware.com
Two of my feasts/meals are located at:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/4756/index.html
I will be adding the English one before Christmas. I am almost done
adding/converting to html.
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