SC - feastware question

[Decker, Terry D.]

In a message dated 10/21/98 9:09:19 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
melisant at iafrica.com writes:

<< what would be the point of "blanching" a
 roast like this?  Why would two highly competent redactions have left it out
 - Is it a function of the fact that you're using domestic pork instead of
 wild pig?
  >>

The blanching process would seal the outer layers allowing for more retention
of the juice because it would cook quicker than if not blanched. I always
blanch/perboil if the recipe calls for it and have had consistently better
results by doing so. Since domestic pig was used in period I seriously doubt
that the 'wild pig' scenario is a reality. Many people including 'competent'
redactors frequently  and wrongfully assume that the animals used in the MA
were 'wild'. There were pig farmers, cattle farmers, chicken farmers and their
commercial equivalent in the MA with animals being raised specifically for
consumption.

This is especially true for pigs in the MA which were fatter and therefore
more tender than those available now. In fact one of the main concerns of
modern pig breeders is the decided lowering of quality in the flesh of market
pigs.

Tough, dry, old flesh may have been common in small households and peasant
hovels but most certainly was not the norm for those with large agricultural
landholdings. Non-farmers were the exception to the rule in the MA not the
norm.

Ras
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