SC - Good Broth

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/13/99 12:41:25 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
mermayde at juno.com writes:

<< Use a bouquet garni of
 fresh or dried herbs, fresh bay leaf adds a whole dimension to the stock
 all on its own.  
    
 Christianna
 OK, my French restaurant roots are showing... >>

Is there any evidence that such a procedure was used in the MAs? While I 
would tend to agree that the above procedure would produce a nice 'stock,' i 
am leery about applying it to medieval cookery. 

The foremost problem that I see is the introduction of flavors (e.g., bay 
laurel and others herbs) not mentioned in the original recipe. The second is 
that using such a technique that you describe quickly transposes a simple 
broth into a 'stock' which is a completely different thing. The third is that 
there are several techniques and suggestions in medieval manuscripts which 
indicate the procedure for replacing broth with other liquids none of which 
include vegetable broth. 

The description I gave previously would work and be less obtrusive in the 
area of adding undocumented flavors but I would personally never use it for 
fear of transforming a perfectly acceptable period recipe into something 
unnecessarily period-like.

The best way would be to simply follow and use period recipes that fit the 
criteria. At the Weekend of Wisdom, I had only one person contact me in 
advance concerning an allergy to almonds. Since only one dish contained 
almonds, I did nothing to change the menu or recipes. At the fast sight, 
there were several people who came to me with this 'food problem' or that 
'food problem.' Again I listened to what they were saying and pointed out the 
ingredients list posted outside the kitchen and at the troll. I did not 
change the menu or the recipes and the feasters were able to go away with the 
satisfaction of knowing that the feast was an event happening and NOT a 
restaurant offering. No one left the hall hungry and complaints of too much 
food were heard by the end of service. The only real complaint with possible 
merit was that there was not enough bread. I thought 3 loaves per table was 
sufficient and still do given the large number of dishes served.

I did use water to make the rice after the milk was scorched because I had 
little choice and it was a period substitute.

Ras
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