SC - Documented Substitutions (Long)

[CBlackwill at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/25/00 12:31:35 PM Pacific Daylight Time, lcm at efn.org 
writes:

> While I enjoyed the list of recipes, I disagree with your conclusion.
>  You cited recipes that have alternatives written within them, but then
>  you seem to suggest (as you have been for some time) that these prove
>  that you can make substitutions that _aren't_ listed. 

Of course it proves that you can make substitutions that aren't listed 
(again, provided those substitutions are appropriate to the dish, and 
available at the time, and in the region in question).  The evidence points 
to the fact that these recipes were not as strict and inflexible as the list 
seems to think, but rather offered as guidelines to the medieval cook.  
Substitutions within these recipes are based not only on "humoral theory", 
but other factors such as personal tastes and likes/dislikes, and 
availability.  Each cook would have added his own personal touches to the 
recipe as he produced it.  To think that the variations listed in the body of 
the text are the only concievable variations used is ludicrous.  
Preposterous, in fact.  The author of the recipe offered these variations, 
but does not say that these are the only alterations "allowed".  The volume 
of recipes which offer variant ideas says a lot about the willingness of a 
medieval cook to use different ingredients to achieve a desired taste.  None 
of the recipes I have read are carved in stone, nor do they indicate that the 
variations listed are the only appropriate ones.

>  It only proves
>  that that particular recipe has variations. You can't use a recipe to
>  prove that they didn't follow the recipe. It just doesn't make sense.

This makes perfect sense.  Here is a document, used by medieval cooks to 
prepare medieval food, which clearly states that you can alter the recipe.  
What else would we use to illustrate this, if not a period recipe?  Using 
your argument, we would be led to believe that medieval cooks would have only 
used Cameline sauce on the meat for which the original recipe was written.  
However, I have recipes for Cameline sauce used to accompany beef tongue, 
hare, and mackerel.  Somehow, somewhere, a medieval cook decided "recipe be 
damned!  I'm using this on Mackerel!"  And voila!  A new dish was created.  
This is a fairly simple example, I know, but it does illustrate my point.  

>  Personally, I prefer to thoroughly learn the existing corpus first,
>  before I start worrying about finding something else to do. And I don't
>  think I'll be done with that anytime soon.
>  

If that is your desire, then I cannot say anything against it.  I, 
personally, choose to excercise my creative talents, as well as the scholarly 
ones, to achieve a "period" end.  Again, our definitions don't mesh.  That 
can't be helped.  

Balthazar of Blackmoor
Words are Trains for moving past what really has no Name.