SC - Size of Eggs

[Elysant@aol.com]

> castorquinn at crosswinds.net writes:
> << what spices flowed through to Western Europe,
>  before about 1300?  I am talking here of exotic spices, not the native
>  spices , if there were any (were there?). >>
> 
> A quick glance at period recipes reveals cassia, cinnamon, galengal, long
> pepper, black pepper, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, grains of paradise, mace,
> raisins of Corinth, etc.
> 
> Native 'spices' were pretty much NOT used in noble cookery, SFAIK. Herbs such
> as laurel, thyme, parsley, sorrel, etc., are occasionally mentioned along
> with onions and, rarely, garlic.

Probably. A key word here is "noble" cookery. Unfortunately, sometimes the
recipes seem to simply call for "fine herbs" and if local herbs were used they
might have been gathered locally or taken as rent and not show up in purchase
records. But yes, spices often seem to have been used as a sign of wealth and
as such were likely used more in noble cookery, especially for feasts and such.
 
> I am sure that Stefan has loads of references in his Flore-thingy regarding
> the use of spices in period.

Not as well organized as one might wish, but I would check these files in the
PLANTS, HERBS AND SPICES section:
capers-msg        (14K)  9/14/99    Use of capers in medieval food.
garlic-msg        (30K)  7/27/99    Medieval use of garlic. Garlic storage.
herbs-msg         (71K)  2/10/99    Herbs used in period and how they were used.
                                       Modern sources.
lavender-msg      (18K) 10/13/98    Period use of Lavender in food and elsewhere
p-herbals-msg     (30K)  4/ 2/99    Period herb books. Modern editions.
rue-msg           (29K)  9/ 1/98    Medieval uses of the herb "rue". Cautions.
saffron-art       (16K)  8/11/97    How to buy and select saffron by Tony Hill.
saffron-msg       (47K)  9/ 4/98    Types of saffron. period uses.
seeds-msg         (57K)  4/ 2/99    Sources for period plants and seeds.
spices-msg       (132K)  8/ 3/99    Info. on spices, sources for spices.

> Importation was usually through Venetian middle men with the Middle East
> providing the wares.

I would think that Bynzantine would use more spices than points further to the
west simply because it was closer to the start of the delivery chain. Maybe not
more in a particular dish, but in more dishes or across a wider breadth of
society. India would certainly seem to bear this out. Has anyone done any studies
comparing spice use in Bynzantium to say England?

> Ras

Stefan
- -- 
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****
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