SC - Inexpensive Spices re:Personal recipes

[Tollhase1@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/12/1999 11:48:31 PM Mountain Daylight Time, 
redbear at hollinet.com writes:

<< The problem with recreating the middle ages and the varying aspects 
thereof is that it was not a highly literate society and much of what was 
written down is no longer extant. This is especially true of cooking, often 
an oral tradition. If we randomly create recipes, we are not recreating the 
middle ages. However, if we only use extant recipes, we are not recreating 
the middle ages, as so much has ben lost. >>

I feel compelled to respond here, which is probably a combination of lack of 
sleep and too strong of coffeee.  :->

In my time on this wonderful list I have learned many things.  One is that 
there is a wealth of sources of period recipies.  The problem is not a lack 
of them, except for a few times and places, but a lack of people redactiong 
and the ever present language problem.  Like so many other aspects of our 
period of study I think it is a big myth that much knowledge was "lost".  we 
just haven't gotten around to translating it.  This does not mean that 
creating a recipie using "educated guesses" is going to make it period any 
more than using period language in a freestyle poem will make it a period 
piece of poetry. (And this from the person who still likes using paprika. :->)

I have made these sort of "educated guesses" in other  aspects of  my SCA 
life, my garb for instance, and I reconize that I may have guessed right or 
wrong to varying degrees.  It still doesn't make it authentic or accurate, it 
remains my attempt based on my research, and I would never label it 
absolutely period.  By the same token, why would I label a recipie created in 
the same manner period?

I think Master Adamantius's fictional account gives us an idea how far off 
track this sort of thinking can take us and it is a scary picture. (I think I 
need more coffee after that :->)

Noemi
half awake and hungery. . .
Windkeep Outlands
Cheyenenne, WY
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