SC - Modern Myths-period

[Aine of Wyvernwood]

I do not know about tradtions.  The fact of live on a fram is that animals that
would take from the breeding animals food for the winter were 'culled' so to
speak.   I used to own a ranch, and it was in late summer, early fall that I
would start my downsizing of my herd, not to mention the animals raised for
market were about the right size to sell.
Like a squirrel stashing nuts, in an economy basid on agriculture, the folk
would  put food by to make it thru the winter.   It is all part of the
harvest....
geez, how is that such a mystery.  Tis only logical that one butchers ones
meat when they are the fattest - not months later after lean ration and they are

thier thinnest...or worse dead.
aine

Phyllis Spurr wrote:

> > Date sent:      Thu, 02 Oct 1997 00:55:17 -0400
> > From:           Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
>
> > LrdRas at aol.com wrote:
> > >
> > > As far as food spoilage I do not belief (and extant
> > > period documents do not support) the idea that period people ate tainted
> > > food. It was dried, salted, or cooked. Placed in vinegars or honey or
> > > otherwise preserved or used.
> >
> > One mustn't forget the ever-popular expedient of  leaving the animal
> > alive, on the hoof, to produce eggs or milk, or whatever. If you look at
> > some period menus and the days of the year that they are from, you will
> > probably see that chickens and other domestic fowl, and rabbits, are
> > primarily being eaten in the warmer months, and the larger domestic and
> > game animals are being slaughtered or hunted in the late autumn and
> > through the winter. To some extent this may have had to do with the
> > availability of animal feed and/or forage, but I suspect it was also no
> > accident that the annual hog-killing is in the cold part of the year.
> >
> > Adamantius
> > ______________________________________
> > Phil & Susan Troy
> > troy at asan.com
>
> To this day, our family slaughters hogs in the early winter.  There
> are reasons for this "tradition".  The hogs have been allowed to
> forage all spring, summer, and early fall and are nice and fat.  To
> keep them over the winter, we would have to supply expensive feed for
> them and even so they would become quite lean.  It defeats the
> purpose of raising the hogs in the first place- to provide meat for
> the family.
>
> We allow two hogs to live with their litter through the winter to
> provide next year's "crop".
>
> In addition, meat is supplemented with deer, rabbit, squirrel, and a
> variety of barnyard fowl.  Usually the barnyard fowl are slaughtered
> as the need arises, keeping in mind the age of the intended victim
> along with an eye towards its continued usefulness in laying eggs.
> But rarely are they slaughtered in the winter, who wants the smell of
> scalded and singed feathers in the house and who really wants to
> stand outside in very cold weather to pluck a chicken!
>
> Prior to the acquisition of electricity in our grandparents house,
> meat was slaughtered as needed or hung in the smoke house until
> needed.  The root cellar was always stocked with "roots" and
> preserved fruits and vegetables.
>
> Fortunately, my memory has faded considerably since that time.  I
> guess I didn't know better, but I still have nightmares about being
> trapped in the root cellar or about all that meat handing in that
> smoke house.  I do remember being told to go get a "collander full" of
> potatoes from the root cellar and picking up really mushy ones.
>
> Think I'll stop the stroll through memory lane, I'm getting the
> willies.
>
> Phyllis L. Spurr
> Eowyn ferch Rhys Cyfurdd
> Barony of Elfsea, Ansteorra
>
> ============================================================================
>
> To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
> Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".
>
> ============================================================================



============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================