SC - Documenation

[Debra Hense]

In all honesty, this is a sneaky challenge. I'm investing in large amounts
of fruit for preservation and freezing purposes, and it occurs to me that
lots of cooks would cherish the opportunity to figure out food that could be
bought cheply in season and served at a feast mid-winter. Besides, it
encourages us to "think medievally". How do you make all that summer bounty
last?

So, here it is:

You live slightly north of Paris, France, in the year 1589. It's going to be
a hellish winter: all the signs indicate that you'll be up to your eyeballs
in snow. Right now, however you have other worries. You are the cook for a
small Duchy which is well known for it's fruits. In fact, it's been a bumper
year. In one month the King, known for his sweet tooth, is coming to visit,
but the produce will be rotten by then. In three months you'll be
sourrounded by snow and really relishing those long gone fruits. 

Just this morning Henry, your butler, announced to you that there are twelve
bushels of apples in the cellar. Ther are four bushels of peaches in the
cellar. Carrots: a great many, in sand. Parsnips, ditto. Chestnuts are never
a problem. Cabages, thirty at least, hanging by their roots from the cellar
beams. There are seven barrels of grapes which have been sitting,
semi-preserved, in spring water and need attntion soon. And, to make matters
worse, The Duke's hunting party just came back with three deer (a buck and 2
doe), a brace of partridge, and 12 rabbits. He wants a modest but elegant
supper tomorrow to serve 12, when he will be entertaining his future bride
and her parents.

Your job is to deal with this food so that it does not spoil. Rather, some
will be preserved for the long run. Some will be preserved for the short
run. Some will be consumed soon.

Available to you there is: A cold cellar, a root cellar, a banquet (cold)
house, your usual staff of 20, A dairy and dovecote nearby, a typical herb
garden of the day, and the typical autumn fruits you could expect in
northern France in 1589.

Additionally, you are fortunate to have the following:

A full storehouse with flour, sugar, salt spices, dried fruit of choice, and
hams, dried sausages, regional cheese, whole grains and vinegar, wine, and ale.

Your chickens show every sign of some mysterious disease. You may use the
eggs if you wish, which are coming in a quantity of 1 dozen per day. 

Now, what do you make now, what do you make for the King's visit, what do
you preserve for the long winter (and how do you do it)?



Have fun.


Aoife    
_________________________________________________________________



All generalizations are dangerous, even this one.
				---Alexandre Dumas

Experience is simply the name we give to our mistakes.
				---Oscar Wilde

Hold tight, Grommit. Think of Lancashire Hotpot.
				---Wallace, A Grande Day Out 

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