SC - Currents, Grease and Other Thoughts

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/27/99 2:33:37 PM Eastern Standard Time, 2maples at dnaco.net
writes:

<< Having lived in England for 6 years, I believe the currants in most British
 recipes are either redcurrants or blackcurrants which are small berries grown
on
 bushed rather than grapes. The Zante raisins were packeaged and labelled as
such. >>

I believe you about current currant recipes in Britain. However, the
discussion revolves around use or 'raysons of coraunce' in period recipes,
IIANM. Those currents were definitely not the currants you see in modern
British recipes , or maodern USA recipes, but rather were 'raysons of
corounce' or raisons of Coprinth better known today as Zante raisins. The
documentation on the bastardization of the word 'couraunce'  and it's
inappropriate use for the berries of the plant we know as 'cuurents' today
has, IIRC, already been posted in this thread.

This reveals another problem when dealing with period recipes. That being
confusing modern terms with those used in period. I think that this is one of
the hardest things about learning period cooking and learning to redact
medieval recipes. Other terms that mean something different in period include
cinnamon (modern word for cassia; medieval term for true cinnamon), corn
(modern term for maize, medieval term for wheat or grain in general), seeth
(modern term for low boil; medieval term for simmer), slay (modern term for
kill; medieval term for slaughter), white grease (modern term for vegetable
shortening; medieval term for lard), livre (modern term for liver; medieval
term for meat), etc. 

The second biggest problem is when the introduction of certain foods occured
in what country. England being on the tail end for most foods and Italy being
on the early edge of introductioon with the whole lot being used in the middle
east before Europe saw any of a substantial number of ingredients like
cherries, oranges, lemons, melons, almonds, all the spices, etc. For instance,
celery leaves were being used in middle eastern cooking while Europe was still
using them as a medicinal to treat urinary diseases. Fresh podded green peas
were apparently being consumed with impunity in Italy while  Frenchmen had to
wait until post-period to even be introduced to the idea. 

So, in conclusion, the time and the place should always be a major factor when
considering the redaction of any period recipe. English cookery even more so
since a large number of foods was introduced there after every one else on the
European mainland had been eating it for years. 

In many instances, the OED is an invaluable resource for sifting out the
answers to redaction questions. Unfortunately as of Dec.31, 1998 , regular
people no longer have free access to this invaluable work. Perhaps a little
pressure on our universities to open up their vast stores of knowledge to the
entire human race through the internet would be a cause worthy of pursueing.
In the meantime , reading and comparing authors, experimentation, and sharing
the knowledge that we have access to is our only options.

al-Sayyid A'aql ibn Rashid al-Zib, AoA, OSyc
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