SC - Redacting

[Crystal A. Isaac]

If you live near a university, try there, although some county libraries
have medieval cookery cook. You can also check the various on-line
bookstores such as amazon or bibliofind to find more books. Borrowing
depends on your neighbors and how trusting they are. 

Learning to make medieval food is a combination of many things. Being a
good guesser is one. Having some competency in the kitchen is also a
good start (perhaps I do not need to say that in this forum, but there
are people whose parents did not teach them to cook). Getting a medieval
reprints with a good glossary or footnotes is really one of the best
things you can do. There has been a lot of times I've read through a
medieval recipe and thought "good heavens WHAT is this supposed to be?" 

When I redact a new recipe I follow a couple of basic steps. I read the
recipe (several times). I look up all the words I do not know. Sometimes
I look up the words I think I know just to be sure. [Many words that
look familiar are deceiving. For example in an unrelated dessert recipe
is the line, & after frie hem which looks like "and after[wards] fry
them" but is glossed by the editors as "and after[wards] cool them" frie
also looks like freeze, but only if you know what you are looking for.]
Then I rewrite the recipe in my own words, listing the ingredients and
approximate amounts. I've been cooking for a while, so most of time my
best guesses are ok. Sometimes, if it something that has a modern
equivalent, like and apple pie, I look in The Joy of Cooking for
something similar. Reading the preface of the book and the authors'
notes can be very helpful. Then I throw caution to the winds and just
make it, writing down what I do along the way. That's about it. If
there's someone in your area who redacts, ask them to let you help next
time. 

good luck.
Crystal of the Westermark

donna_m_smith at icpphil.navy.mil wrote:
> 
>     Where does one get ahold of these books?  Or does one borrow them, or go
> to the library to use them (because, for instance, they're huge or expensive
> or hard to get)?  This leads to obvious questions for a newbie like me, such
> as, how does one learn to redact?  How does one redact?
>                                         Meadhbh ni hAilin
>                                         East
> 
> ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
> Subject: Re: SC - Scrambled Eggs
> Date:    2/18/98 10:07 PM
> 
> >At 11:31 AM -0600 2/18/98, Mark.S Harris wrote:
> >>How do you get *sliced* from *yleched*?
> 
> >You look it up in the glossary of one of the Early English Text Society
> >collectons (_Two Fifteenth Century_ and _Curye on Inglysche_)--very useful
> >references. A "leche" is a slice. Both forms are fairly common; I don't
> >know the etymology.
> 
> >David/Cariadoc
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