SC - "Lee A Stephens" <falworth at prolog.net>: Fw: New book The Medieval Kitchen

[LYN M PARKINSON]

A really good review.  Thought you all might like to read it, too.

Regards,

Allison
allilyn at juno.com, Barony Marche of the Debatable Lands, Pittsburgh, PA
Kingdom of Aethelmearc
- --------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: "Lee A Stephens" <falworth at prolog.net>
I just thought I'd pass this little bit of info on.

Megan
Blak Rose chronucler

>
>Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban, and Silvano Serventi.  <I>The
>Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy</I>.  Chicago:
>University of Chicago Press, 1998.  Pp. xvii, 285.  $32.50 (hb)
>ISBN: 0-226-70684-2.
>
>   Reviewed by Wanda Oram-Miles
>        Principal Food Scientist
>        Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service
>        wanda.oram-miles at aqis.gov.au
>
>Food is important for life, but few historical works explore the
>preparation of food in a particular historical period.  In most
>historical work food is mentioned only in the context of the
>setting or the action of eating, rather than the joy and
>technicalities of preparation and consumption.  Redon, Sabban and
>Serventi provide not only a recipe book but a historical guide to
>all aspects of cooking and culinary arts in medieval France and
>Italy.
>
>I heartily enjoyed reading and working from this book, so much so
>that my analysis cannot be objective.  The work unashamedly
>encourages the reader to indulge in the practice of medieval food
>preparation as it is discussed and presented in the text.
>
>The authors' love of food and approach to the topic inspires
>readers to gorge themselves on reading about the delights of the
>kitchen.  The translation by Edward Schneider is sensitive and
>conveys the vivacity of the writing style.  This is a book
>designed to be used, rather than placed on a bookshelf; the
>recipes are adapted to suit four or six people, and the style
>makes for easy use by novices or by those experienced in the
>medieval style of food preparation.
>
>The quality of the document is astounding -- one becomes immersed
>in a detailed account of all things culinary from medieval France
>and Italy; from the advice of a husband to his inexperienced
>wife, to the intricate recipes of a master chef to the king of
>France.
>
>The foreword by Georges Duby gives a warning of the treats to
>come, his first sentence "To open this book is to set your mouth
>watering" is proven very true.  He then tempts us forward into
>the book by setting the medieval scene, calling up visual and
>auditory imagery.
>
>Modern readers with access to a wide variety of ingredients, many
>introduced to Europe only within the last four hundred years, are
>reminded in the Preface of the ingredients available to a
>medieval cook and the spices used to impart different, if subtle,
>flavours.  The second person grammatical style of the Preface
>immerses the reader within the sensual aspects of cooking from
>the beginning of the book.  Further descriptions of "clouded in
>the scent of rose water" and "showering a chicken with sugar"
>assist in evoking a very real atmosphere for the work.
>
>The first quarter of the book is presented as an easy to read
>historical text.  Use of contemporary anecdote, gleaned by the
>authors from manuscripts and recipe books of the period, serves
>to make this section enlightening and entertaining.
>
>The first chapter, "Histories and Tales from the Kitchen,"
>acquaints the reader with a background to medieval cooking
>gleaned from 17 manuscripts.  Setting out the cultural landmarks
>invoked in the text to understand the recipes, the chapter delves
>into the society of the middle ages; cooking being a cultural
>activity, the chapter compares the differences between dishes
>served on normal days and feast days, the table of a peasant and
>a lord, of clergy and laity.  The manners of a medieval meal are
>made clear in the discussion of a determination of seating
>position, order of the meal, sharing a "taillor" and eating
>delicately with the fingers.
>
>The technicalities of some preparation practices similarly need
>the detailed explanation given.  Although chopping, grinding,
>filtering, straining and cooking are all common practices in the
>modern kitchen, in the medieval kitchen multiple practices were
>often used for one dish; the reason for using such practices in
>medieval cooking is discussed in such a way that the reader gains
>from the first-hand experience of the authors.
>
>The aesthetics of cooking are combined with evocative
>descriptions, further tempting the reader to try out the recipes.
>
>The chapter, "Medieval Cooking Today" is reassuring to the modern
>novice without being at all patronizing.  The language is that of
>the modern cookbook; the medieval terminology which litters other
>such cookbooks is missing here, replaced by solid practical
>advice on use of modern kitchen equipment and available
>ingredients.
>
>The technicalities of reading and using the recipes selected by
>the authors is discussed, however specifics are confined to the
>recipe section itself.  This chapter is a direct communication
>from the authors to the reader about the use of the book and the
>recipes contained in it.  The chapter goes on to give detailed
>advice about selection of ingredients and brief advice on menu
>planning for a medieval meal with example menus.
>
>The book is well cross-referenced throughout and moving from
>section to section, dipping into or hopping about in the book is
>not problematic, although the authors recommend reading the first
>chapters before embarking on the recipes.
>
>The 153 recipes, some with variations, take up two thirds of the
>book.  Each recipe is presented as a translation of the medieval
>text, followed by the authors' comments, which are very detailed
>and helpful, then by a rendering of the recipe for the modern
>cook.  A separate chapter presents the numbered medieval texts in
>their original language at the back of the book.  This format is
>very user friendly.
>
>The recipes retain the detail of advice laid down by the original
>authors of the medieval versions.  Some of the most entertaining
>are those containing advice and instructions to the medieval cook
>on purchasing ingredients or on alternative cooking practices.
>These anecdotes within the recipes maintain the cultural context
>of the recipes and keep what could be a banal recipe book as a
>lively guide to the period.
>
>Colour plates in the centre of the book add to the context of the
>historical work, and line drawings throughout complete the feel,
>but as a cook I would have liked some colour plates of the dishes
>themselves as in a modern cook book, especially some of the more
>spectacular ones such as baked rabbit in pastry or the various
>blancs-mangers.
>
>The recipes I have tried from this book not only work but are
>acceptable to the modern palate.  The authors' comments on
>delicacy of flavours and interpretations make the recipes easy to
>choose and prepare.
>
>The appendices include the medieval texts of the recipes, a list
>of recipes by manuscript source and a list of mailorder
>addresses.  These last, although in France and the USA, included
>web sites, indicating that worldwide advice is available for
>those of us in the antipodes who are interested in medieval
>cooking.
>
>This book is a delight.  It is not often that one has the
>privilege of working from a text this detailed and easy to use.
>It is living history, able to be practiced by novice and master
>alike, practical history which can be carried out in our own
>homes by those of us living in modern times.  The grammatical
>style of this book and recipe formatting would lend itself to
>publication in the format of a modern recipe book for the masses.
>
>
>
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