SC - [colleges] Period recipes (fwd)

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Sharon Nevin wrote:
> 
> Hi
> I don't know if this has already been forwarded but I think it unlikely (I
> don't know because I can't get to my sca-cooks email at home for the last
> 2 weeks). If anyone can help could they please reply to ale at sca.org.au
> as he is not on the list
> 
> Sharon

I think we have a philosophical difference here which may make helping
in this project difficult. Most of us are proponents of the 'fairly well
known fact' that medieval tastes weren't all that different from ours,
and that most period dishes, if properly prepared, are usually pretty
tasty, and it would be irresponsible of me to lend credence to a claim I
don't believe in.  
 
> ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
> 
> It is a fairly well know n fact that medieval tastes were different from
> ours, and many dishes don't fare well on the modern palate. I have cause
> to create a number of dishes that taste really foul, and I'd like them
> to be period. If anyone has ever made any meals to a period recipe that
> tasted awful, could you please send me details, or a reference.
> Thank you,
> 
> Ale Constantine
> ale at sca.org.au

What I would be happy to do, though, is point you to both Anthimus' "On
the Observance of Foods", and Platina's "De Honesta Voluptate et
Valetudine", both of which contain the occasional reference to foods
which many people ate, but which the authors considered unhealthy. For
example, I believe Platina has a recipe for a torte of some kind, which,
as the final instruction, tells the cook to take it piping hot from the
oven and serve it to his worst enemies, as it is so unhealthy to eat
that it would serve the purpose of wiping out enemies better than any poison.

I'm not sure if this is in keeping with your project, but I think you
won't find too much genuine material for what you've described, and I
suspect most of the recipes you receive don't detail intrinsically bad
dishes so much as detail dishes cooked by bad cooks, which isn't the
dish's fault.

It sounds as if you're prepared to use non-period dishes to make your
point, which only seems to support my position.

Have fun, though, and enjoy learning whatever it is you learn from this!

Adamantius
Østgardr, East Kingdom
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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