SC - Period Beet Recipe & period quote about beets

[Laura C. Minnick]

Huette von Ahrens wrote:
> 
> --- LrdRas at aol.com wrote:
> > In a message dated 10/18/99 8:17:35 PM Eastern
> > Daylight Time,
> > ahrenshav at yahoo.com writes:
> >
> > << This, to my mind, kind of tells
> >  me, as it did to Ms. Lorwin, that the beet root was
> >  prefered.
> >
> >  Huette >>
> >
> > Possibly. It merely tells me that Gerard himself was
> > partial to beetroots.

I'm with Ras on this one. Lorwin quotes Gerard as saying (caps are mine,
for emphasis), "But what might be made of the red and beautiful root
(which is to be preferred before the leaves, as well in beautie as in
goodnesse) I refer unto the CURIOUS and cunning cooke, WHO NO DOUBT WHEN
HE HAD THE VIEW THERE, AND IS ASSURED THAT IT IS BOTH GOOD AND
WHOLESOME, will make thereof many and divers dishes, both faire and
good." This kind of phrasing is right out of Schwabe's "Unmentionable
Cuisine": through education and an open mind, people all over the world
will begin to understand and fully utilize the delectable culinary
possibilities of the garden slug. Or whatever. The implication seems to
be that Gerard knows they're good, and is waiting for the adventurous
and skilled cooks of the world to catch up to him. They seem,
eventually, to have done so, but _perhaps_ not until after 1589.
 
> > :-) Regarding the recipe you posted it sounds  good
> > but what justification is
> > there for the use of Cheddar cheese? Did this cheese
> > exist at that time? I
> > was under the impression that cheddaring was well
> > out of period. What other
> > cheese would be a better choice and more periodlike?

Lorwin says a bit about cheese, but nothing about why she chose Cheddar.
It is probably just an availability issue. On the other hand, a mild
Cheddar, as specified, is a fairly unobtrusive, hard cheese, not hugely
different from Cheshire, Shropshire, Gloucester, and some others. The
recipe specifies only that the cheese be grated; this implies a certain
texture. In Italy there is an entire class of granata cheeses (I _think_
that's the term). Some recipes call for specific ones, such as
Parmaggiano, but some just call for an appropriate grating cheese. In
this case you'd want an English grating cheese. Digby speaks of Cheshire
in connection with the infamous Cheese Goo; you could presumably use
that, but I don;t think the end result would be all that different.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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