SC - period cooking (LONG!)

[Kappler, MMC Richard A.]

 'Lainie/Carmen wrote:

Seumas thinks I should meet you. He thinks you'd be more than a little
unnerved by me. Heh heh heh... Someday. Pennsic. You'll never recover
your sanity... I'll have to pay a wergeld to your Master...
 
  Yes, well.... I rather doubt it.  If the likes of 30 Knot Burke, Hyman
Rickover and Iron Mike Boorda didn't unnerve me, I should think Seumas needs
to rethink his position.  Which is not to mention my dear sweet ex (aka the
Antichrist).  As far as paying wergeld, save your money, I am my own Master.
Now, should you wish to continue this discussion, I suggest we do so off
list lest we become the latest Fred and Ethel, hmmmmmmmm?  

And now, something a little more topical;
Adamantius, Ras and I have begun discussions privately that I think might be
better served done on the list, if they will allow, especially as we seem to
have a few new members.  I recall seeing few if any discussions along this
line since the list's inception and feel it to be a worthy topic.

Period recipes give us a great deal of latitude when we are performing a
redaction.  There are very few that tell us with any certainty how the
finished dish should look/feel/taste/smell etc.  Rarely are we given
specific amounts of ingredients or comments on texture and consistency.  To
me this poses one of the greatest challenges in redacting, but also one of
the joys as well.  To someone attempting to perform their first redaction,
especially if they are unsupervised, it could well be very daunting, if not
completely discouraging.

When I, for example, do a redaction, I'll typically forward it to Ras and or
Adamantius for comment before using or publishing it.  Invariably I'll get a
response along the lines of: "That sounds really good, but here's how I
would do it, not that yours is wrong...."  Which is the kind of feedback I
am looking for.  The initial question though, is just how do you know?  Upon
what does the more experienced period cook base such comments?  I fully
realize that any redaction that uses the ingredients listed in the period
recipe could be called correct, particularly if there were no violations of
procedures etc included in the period recipe.  This, however, would lead us
to accept a butt-ton of different versions for each recipe.  Sometimes we
do, take cuskyknowles for example, but in general when one of us presents a
recipe/redaction to the list, the list will discuss it, offer comments, and
usually come up with a final answer along the lines of "this is how we, the
collective, have decided it really should be."  Granted, we never say this
outright, but we usually reach an accepted consensus.  I ask again, however,
what leads us to the conclusion that one way is more correct than another?
We do indeed reach this sort of conclusion almost daily.  I have several
personal theories, but am interested in hearing what the list thinks.  I am
of the opinion that it is one of or a combination of the following:

	1.  Experience and training as a period cook within the Society,
thereby meaning we have established what the SCA thinks period cooking is
like, albeit not neccessarily what it really was like.
	2.  Experience and/or training as a modern/mundane cook, thereby
meaning we aren't really doing period cooking, but rather modern cooking
using period sources.
	3.  We have finally developed and researched enough period
resources, and collated enough of the little bits and pieces and hints that
we have developed a collective certainty about techniques and tastes in
period, and can hence combine them to make a general set of tools which we
apply to newly tried recipes which DON'T give us enough info.

I know, 3 sounds a lot like 1, but to me there is a discernable difference,
although I may not have articulated it well.  

Well, I would like to continue this further and will, but at the moment
sudden chaos in the office demands my attention.

regards, Puck
ps, A said

I think that's "You can't get borscht from a stone"...

Adamantius


No, but if you remember your Captain Kangaroo (original version), you can
make a damn fine soup!

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