SC - Quantities of salt and spices used.

[James L. Matterer]

At 10:54 AM -0800 2/1/99, James L. Matterer wrote:
>Here is just a thought I'd like share:
>
>W. E. Mead in "The English Medieval Feast" talks about the overuse of
>spces being due to their lack of potency. He claims that after traveling
>via merchant's routes into Europe, the aging process and improper
>storage conditions would decrease the flavor and strength of spices.
>What would seem like a huge quantity for us to use would actually be
>needed to acquire the right taste and flavor.

And what evidence does he offer for the existence of the
phenomenon--overuse of spices--that he is explaining?

>I, however, don't agree with what a lot of what Mead has to say. He was
>one of those early 20th century writers who believed that Medieval food
>must have tasted just awful, and his writings are based on that
>assumption. I just wanted to share another idea (right or wrong ) with
>you.


David Friedman
Professor of Law
Santa Clara University
ddfr at best.com
http://www.best.com/~ddfr/


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

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".

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