SC - Re: Saffron cost

[Siegfried Heydrich]

> Greetings-
>
> I need some help here-
>
> Okay, we want to serve as period of food as possible at our feast this
> summer.  We are trying to work on desserts & appetizers
>
> What we want to know, is:
>
> Are black olives period?  Are dill pickles period?

    Yes and yes, but not necessarily in the modern (bland) forms. Olive &
pickles go back forever,  but the modern gherkins and curing methods really
aren't very period. Brine, oil and salt cured olives appeared all over the
mediterranean in an absolutely mindboggling array of forms. Do a nice
assortment of different types, just stay away from the generic Manzanilla
(stuffed with chopped imitation pimento food substitute) olives and the
mushy canned black olives. If you want to be creative, stuff your own
manzanillas - I like them stuffed with almonds, myself, and I once had them
stuffed with pistachios. (then there were the ones stuffed with anchovies.
'bout yakked)
    To be really honest, I strongly suspect that kosher dills are periodoid,
not that it matters much. NOBODY turns down a good, chrunchy kosher dill.
Especially on a hot day. However, you might want to do a bit more; you can
do your own giardenera fairly easily, and that's just spiced pickled
whatever veggies you can get your hands on. Simple, cheap, fun to do.
Kimchee that won't blow your head off.
>
> For desserts we were thinking of fresh fruits (summer varieties) which is
> not a problem.  But we also considered fixings for Strawberry shortcake
> type of dessert.  Is shortcake period?

    Strawberry tarts are, and there were a couple of period recipes posted
today, in fact. I think there may be one or two on the way.
>
> Thanks for your help, knowledgable cooks  =>
>
> Krysta

    Sieggy