SC - Modern Myths-period

[Phyllis Spurr]

> 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

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