: Re: SC - Ostrich, and cruelty to geese

[Jessica Tiffin]

Greetings, all.

Anne-Marie wrote:

>I've never seen a recipe for ostrich in any of the period cookbooks I've
>looked at. And besides, I've eaten ostrich and was most unimpressed. It was
>like a cross between beef and veal, with the worst characteristics of both.
>Tough and chewy, but very little flavor. Should have had the prime rib...
Interesting - the most common form here is as ostrich mince, which is very
like beef mince - very dark, but a good, rich flavour, and not nearly as
fatty.  The only ostrich steak I've ever had was pretty good.  Maybe South
Africa only exports the old, stringy ones...?:>  Or you may have had a bad
cooking experience.  (or I had a particularly inspired one).
In terms of the period use, obviously it would have to be some kind of
once-off, probably a royal celebration dish - a sort of a food curiosity
rather than a common meat.  Kiriel suggested I look for a copy of  "The
field of cloth of gold", which may indeed be what I need - thanks, Kiriel!

>And does anyone think you COULD boil a goose alive, even if you wanted to?
>Them things will beat you black and blue!
Yes, I did wonder.  Geese are _mean_.  (Bad experiences of being chased by
my great-aunt's psychotic flock when I was a kid).  I thought the reference
may be from something other than a cookbook, i.e. some kind of
pseudo-learned reference to apocryphal curious customs, probably in another
land - like barnacles and barnacle geese, maybe?  (Just to cross topics
horribly...)  Sounds like the kind of thing a learned writer of some kind
would solemnly describe from hearsay, or crossed wires, or no evidence at
all.  Anyway.  I'll try digging up the programme in question from the local
theatre (which I was loth to try initially, they've just had a complete
admin change and getting anything useful out of them will be a mission!).

Thanks for all comments,

Melisent

**********
Jessica Tiffin
melesine at ilink.nis.za  *  jessica at beattie.uct.ac.za
***********
Getting an education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease.  It made
you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on.
(Terry Pratchett, Hogfather).

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