SC - Greetings and Chicken

[Laura C Minnick]

On Wed, 21 Apr 1999, Wendy wrote:

> I simply want to make sure that the recipe *could* be period.  That some cook
> somewhere (who never bothered to write it down for the future) could have made it
> in Europe in the Middle Ages.  I don't want to offend anyone with any glaring
> errors.

While I appreciate what you are trying to do, Wendy, this argument has
some serious holes in it. It is the same argument that gives us the
"thousand monkeys + thousand typewriters x many years = the works of
Shakespeare" bit. And the "well they could have made it..." is not how
recreation works. The medieval seamstress _could_ have made a gown that
looked like Dior, or Chanel, or Tommy Helfinger. The medieval musician
could have used a three-chord progression and bowl haircuts and started a
Beatles craze in the 15th century. The skills were there, the materials
were there, but the aesthetic was oh so different. Adapting a modern
recipe and attempting to 'medievalize' it usually doesn't work because the
basic aesthetic is not the same. Yes, vinegar would taste different
(though bitterness is not necessarily a taste that I associate with it)
than the lemon, but that may be because your modern palate is accustomed
to the taste of lemon, and associates vinegar with salad dressing.
	If you _really_ have your heart set on cooking something that is
similar to your modern recipe, I would suggest figuring out the basics of
the recipe, and then looking for a medieval recipe that resembles it; i.e.
you have herbs, a 'hot' spice (the paprika), and an acid (your lemon
juice). If you come upon a medieval recipe that has herbs, long pepper,
and vinegar or more likely verjuice, you're in business! But don't try to
change it to be more like the other recipe- then it is no longer medieval
and if you might as well have used the paprika and lemon juice. 
	It is worth the while to learn to appreciate the different
aesthetic, but it is rather like learning to swim- you can practice the
strokes on land, but you aren't swimming until you've gotten good and wet!

'Lainie
- -
Laura C. Minnick
University of Oregon
Department of English
- -
"Libraries have been the death of many great men, particularly the
Bodleian."
	Humfrey Wanley, c. 1731




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