SC - very OOP & OT

[Arabella de Montacute]

> Date: Mon, 9 Feb 1998 13:56:09 -0800
> From: kat <kat at kagan.com>
> Subject: SC - re:  blancmanger - help!

> >> Hi all, kat here ...still having trouble with that blancmanger.  <snip>
> 
> and good Adamantius replied:
> 
> > I may be completely out of line here, but I notice you aren't
> > mentioning salt. I know it's not mentioned in the recipe (which really
> > isn't much of an indicator that it is absent from the period dish), but
> > you could probably improve the dish greatly by adding some.
> 
> Hmmm... that would be a major moral compromise for me (I NEVER cook with salt) but I'll give it a go next time I test this one out.  At this point I'm willing to try anything...

I understand your desire to cook with a minimum of added sodium. I use
very little salt in my own cooking, when I'm cooking for myself. But,
when I'm cooking for others, I try to meet their expectations, and out
of a large group of a couple of hundred SCAdians, I find a relatively
small number of them don't use any salt at all. Many use far too much,
and if they want that they can add it at the table. But to use none at
all, and expect all salt to be added at the table, definitely changes
the character of the food, and limits the effectiveness of the salt
added at the table. Anyway, it's your call, ultimately.  

> > Another consideration is that blancmanger is supposed to be a bit
> > bland.  Rich, yes.  A New Year's Eve party in the mouth, no. Some
> > recipe collections refer to it as a dish for the sick, appropriately
> > seasoned, of course. 
> 
> Hmmmm... true.  I had taken that into consideration, but I had also been told by a couple of people that it was a wonderfully tasty dish and they loved it...  I just naturally assumed **I** was screwing it up.

I have to assume you were following a recipe of some kind. I wouldn't
call a possible but unproven deviation from the final product expected
by the recipe author "screwing it up".
 
> This may call for a change in menu...  I really need something full and savory to balance that sweet pork sauce.

> > I think your best bet would be to add some salt while the rice is
> > cooking. And don't forget the garnish of sugar raspings. This will add
> > to the vaguely alien effect, and also be somewhat reminiscent of
> > many Middle-and-Far-Eastern dishes, which season chicken with 
> > sugar.
> 
> Garnish of sugar what????  The original I have didn't say anything about sugar... I don't have it with me (work) but I believe it was the one from the Harleian ms.  Which version talks about sugar raspings?  And what are they, and how do I use them?  <<Bambi eyes>>  Tell me more!!!  Please?  :-)

Sugar raspings are gratings from a big lump or loaf of sugar. Granulated
sugar makes a decent substitute, but if you can find a big chunk of
light (in color and flavor) sugar, you'll need to grate it with the
smallest side of a box grater, or a nutmeg grater, or a file or rasp,
hence the name.

I just now posted my own redaction for blancmanger, but aborted it in
transit when I spotted a slight error. If it makes it to the list, fine.
If I managed to keep it off, maybe someone could contact me privately
and I'll post the corrected version (I'm on the digest list and I
probably won't know if it made it or not until late tomorrow morning, I
guess). Believe me, the correction in the second version is minor in the
extreme.

Hope it helps, though!

Adamantius
troy at asan.com
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