Let them eat fish! was Re: SC - Can medieval food beheart-smart?

[Philip & Susan Troy]

LrdRas at aol.com wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 9/27/99 12:16:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> ChannonM at aol.com writes:
> 
> << What do you think about a beer based batter for cod?  >>
> 
> I think it's great but I am unaware of any references to beer batter outside
> of the current century.
> 
> Ras

At least not for fish. There are, I believe, fritter batters made with
ale in period sources. Most fish appears from the recipes to have been
fried uncoated, although a recipe in le Viandier says to fry (cuttlefish
or squid? I forget) without any coating of flour, which suggests it was
sometimes done.

If you really want to be technical, fresh cod seems like a fairly
unlikely choice, because most cod would have been caught in waters
pretty far from the European mainland. Not all, but most. Much of the
cod referred to in period sources would seem to be either salt or air-dried.

On the other hand, it's (relatively) cheap, firm, white, and not too
bony, so a fairly good choice for food nerds to have a go at if you're
trying to get the piscophagially (is that a word?) challenged to eat
something different.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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