SC - Lamb recipe and vegetable stew recipe request

[Black Jade]

In a message dated 4/16/00 9:39:11 PM Pacific Daylight Time, LrdRas at aol.com 
writes:

> 
>  Is such a list of  substitutions available? More importantly are there any 
>  manuscripts which give details about exactly how a period cook would have 
>  substituted and what would have been substituted for what? I am only aware 
> of 
>  specific substitutions detailed in specific recipes.
>  

I think it is safe to assume, judging by Zambrini's text, that substitutions 
were made "to taste", as it were.  I do not have a "documented" substitutions 
list, but it seems pretty fair to say that walnuts could be substituted for 
almonds if you were not fond of almonds, beef for veal, or duck for chicken.  
According to the studies I have undertaken (which are admittedly far less 
than some of the old-timers on this list), it seems that the medieval cook 
was not as strictly concerned with the actual ingredients of a dish, as he 
was with the flavor, consistency, and appearance of the finished product.  In 
the recipes I have examined, It appears a common practice to sweeten a dish 
with "dried fruit" rather than sugar (which was apparently very expensive).  
"Dried Fruit" could encompass any number of ingredients, and so, in this 
instance at least, the author leaves the choice up to the end user.

Again, as I have said, I am only just beginning to dig deeper into this 
mystery of medieval cooking.  But the articles I have been able to examine do 
seem to indicate more than a little leeway in the preparation or finishing of 
a dish.  The very term "goode spycery" is indicative of this open-endedness.



Such a strange fascination, as I wallow in waste
That such a trivial victory could put a smile on your face.
                                        - Mark Burgess