SC - Pigs revisited-long

[LrdRas@aol.com]

Phlip said:
> 
> The basic rule you need to understand about pheasant is that it is a very
> dry/unfatty meat, so ...

Thanks for this info.

> Also, keep in mind, that pheasant, IIRC, originated in China, and is an
> import to almost everywhere else. In order for it to be "period", you might
> consider finding out when it got to "your" area.

But according to Waverly Root in "Food" it may have been fairly wide-spread
by the Middle Ages:

"According to legend, Jason and his Argonauts, after capturing the Golden
Fleece, sailed for home down the Phasis River" (He says elsewhere that
this river was where the pheasant got it's name. The river being the 
dividing point between Europe and Asia) ", where they discovered pheasants
and brought some birds home to Greece." No matter how they got there, 
Pheasants were raised in Greece. "The Romans then imported pheasants from
Greece and subsequently introduced them into countries of their European
conquests, including England".
 
> In the meantime, enjoy- it's my favorite game bird ;-)

Root also says: "Pheasant is the most widely eaten of all feathered game,
and is, in the almost unanimous opinion, the finest flavored of the game
birds, with the possible exception of the grouse."

He also talks about the necessity of needing to lard the pheasant when
cooking but considers this one of the reasons it is the most digestible
of game birds.

Stefan li Rous
Ansteorra
stefan at texas.net

(Sounds wonderful. Now I just have to find a feast serving it to us
peons and not just the head table :-) )
============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================