SC - Spice, Spicey, and Spicier

[Mordonna22@aol.com]

Maryann Olson wrote:
> 
> 3) My curiosity wonders if the "myth" that medieval food was spiced to cover
> spoilage is related to the realities of keeping things edible faced by
> different cultures in different climates.
> 
> Any thoughts on this?

I'm thinking that if the problem you speak of did exist, that might be
one solution to it, but the evidence seems to indicate it didn't, so no
such solution was likely to have been needed.

We have enough information about how and when meat animals were
slaughtered, how meat was preserved and stored, and the occasions and
season when meat was not eaten in most of period Europe to show that
there wasn't a whole heck of a lot of spoiled meat to be disguised,
especially when fresh meat was cheaper than the pepper it would take to
cover the taste of the spoiled meat.

The myth makes no economic sense. If you think in terms of, say, the
problem of loaves of bread getting moldy, you can either go to extreme
measures to disguise or remove the mold, or you can buy a fresh loaf,
but what is most important is that the _baker_ realize the loaves are
moving too slowly, and he should bake fewer.

Adamantius
Østgardr, East
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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