SC - Fw: [Mid] Is camping without a cooler out of period?

[Alderton, Philippa]

This is part of an on-going thread on the Middlebridge. Thoughts, folks?

phlip at morganco.net

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider that cain't be throwed.

- ----------
: Date: Thursday, April 02, 1998 11:26:32 
: From: Scott Wilkerson
: To: Middlebridge
: Subject: [Mid] Is camping without a cooler out of period?
: 
: Here is a thought for you.
: 
: Why would someone want to camp without a cooler?  I assume that it is in
an
: effort to recreate a more period style of food preparation.  In that
case, I
: would argue that the cooler actually allows for a more period style of
: cooking than going without one.  I sincerely want to encourage people to
: attempt safe experimentation with period methods of food preparation.
: However I believe that coolers are unfairly maligned and the virtues
: attributed to camping without one are misguided.
: 
: Canning, which has been touted as an alternative to coolers, was invented
in
: the 18th or 19th century and is completely out of period, so to maintain
the
: virtue of your experiment you must use only pickling, salting, smoking and
: drying for preserving methods.  You can combine these foods with cheeses,
: fresh eggs and vegetables, but given the heat you will probably have to
take
: the car to town at least every other day.  Please do not try to bring
fresh
: meat from town unless you bring it straight back to camp and cook it
: immediately.  At this point I have to wonder, are frequent car trips more
or
: less in period then a hidden cooler?
: 
: The real question, though, is what type of period cooking are you trying
to
: emulate?  During the winter months people certainly had to survive
primarily
: on preserved foodstuffs. However, they would also have continued to use
milk
: and eggs and eat the beasts that died by mischance.  To what extent did
they
: use the cool weather as a preservative?  Does not the use of a cooler
: simulate this method of preservation?
: 
: During the summer months I doubt that there was much use of preserved
foods.
: The people would have used primarily freshly slaughtered meat and freshly
: picked vegetables.  They would have used methods such as cool spring
houses,
: cellaring and burying to keep vegetables, meats, eggs and dairy products
: edible for short periods of time.   A cooler is the only safe way to
emulate
: the fresh food that they would have eaten in the warm months.
: 
: Since war campaigns were almost exclusively prosecuted during the summer
: months, armies lived on carted grains and legumes, herded animals and
: foraging.  The foraged food and slaughtered beasts would have been mostly
: fresh.
: 
: My point then, is that though the cooler is a modern item, the food that
it
: preserves safely is what would have been eaten by mediaeval man.  Canned
: foods are far more out of period then cooler kept foods.  If you prepare a
: meal relying on pickled and dried foods you are probably simulating what a
: person would eat at the end of a long winter.  Since we do most of our
: camping in the summer emulating fair weather activities such as
tournaments
: and wars, eating a winter diet makes little sense.  The cooler should be
the
: last piece of modern equipment sacrificed in the SCA camp, it is safe,
: unobtrusive and allows for more period meals to be served then can be
: prepared without it.
: 
: As a final note a very good way to use your  cooler to simulate a period
: method of preservation would be to dig a hole in the ground for it.  This
: will help insulate the cooler, keep it out of sight and it will look
: accurate when you get down on your knees to root in the ground for food. 
I
: prefer to keep it hidden under our cooking table's cloth or covered to use
: as a seat.
: 
: 
: From:  "Scott Wilkerson" <Scottw at gsbux1.uchicago.edu>
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