SC - Armored turnips

[RichSCA@aol.com]

Okay,  Niccolo diFrancesco, going to chop up your letter out of sequence.  :-)

First and more important ... please furnish the webpage addresses for these 
cookbooks.  Your wrote:  "the resources available to us (no cheating on this 
one since 5 translated cookbooks are online)"  I am sure that the many "new" 
cooks on this list would like to peruse them.

Secondly - from your statement "It's like degree of confidence in statistics. 
 One knows that, unless there is a written account as evidence, any 
substitution will cause deviation from an accurate recipe that is found from 
the time period in question."

This brings to mind my college class in statistics.  My professor said on the 
VERY FIRST DAY... "Statistics are made up of facts and facts never lie, but 
statisticians can manipulate the facts."  (made me want to stay in the class 
<sarcasm>)

Then he gave this "Factual" statement: Do you know that the murder rate in 
New York City increases in the Summertime?  Well, it does.  This is a proven 
fact.  Ah, but did you know that during the Summertime in New York City the 
sale of ice cream also increases?  Well, it does.  This is also a proven 
fact.  Now, what can you deduce from these two facts???  Well, it is obvious. 
 When the sell of ice cream increases so does the number of murders.  So ice 
cream MUST be the cause of the increase in murders or at least have a direct 
correlation. Thus it should be recommend that to bring down the murder rate 
in New York City in the Summertime all sales of Ice Cream should be 
prohibited." duhhhhhhhhhhhh?

Rayne 

In a message dated 4/5/00 6:54:55 AM Central Daylight Time, 
grizly at mindspring.com writes:

<< 
 "Okay to improvise" is fraught with subjective possibilities.  It is a 
continuum again.  The more you know about the whole picture of fiedls 
affecting historical cookery, the more confident you can be that you are 
approaching a food that is closer to authentic/accurate improvisation.  It's 
like degree of confidence in statistics.  One knows that, unless there is a 
written account as evidence, any substitution will cause deviation from an 
accurate recipe that is found from the time period in question.  It will be 
the cook's personal intimacy with the cultural world of the cook who created 
the original recipe that will determine how confident we can be in that 
variation as representative of the culture.
 
 The only caveat I have in making changes is that they be represented as 
such.  Make the change, proclaim it on the menu, and move on.  Decide my 
motives, my level of participation in histoirical accuracy, the resources 
available to us (no cheating on this one since 5 translated cookbooks are 
online) and other resources available to spend on cookery (time, energy, 
emotion, MONEY) and make responsible decisions based on all of those facts.  
Bbe honest with self and others when presenting the information and foods 
that result from my efforts.
 
 Just my own personal ethic on this topic.  It changes often, but stays 
pretty much in the ballpark :o)
 
 niccolo difrancesco
  >>