SC - Plastic Ware

[Marian Deborah Rosenberg]

Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2000 08:37:45 EDT
From: Bronwynmgn at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Plastic Ware

In a message dated 4/15/2000 7:30:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
Marian.Deborah.Rosenberg at washcoll.edu writes:

<< Last year, one of the goodies Mike and I picked up at the Korean Korner 
were a
 dozen pairs of stainless steel chopsticks.  I don't recall a single in camp 
meal
 that wasn't finger food or eaten with these.  Wiping them with a dry paper 
towel
 was generally more than sufficient to clean them.  These are far better than
 plastic utensils, reusable, and fairly cheap. >>

This may suit you as far as a "period alternative" to plasticware.  For me, 
using something like chopsticks, which had never even been heard of in my 
persona's time and culture, would be just as jarring as plasticware.
Now, if I could find some way to keep bread from molding at Pennsic with the 
moisture in the wrapping (stale bread wouldn't be a problem, but wet, moldy, 
or buggy bread would), I would think that doing the period thing and using 
bread trenchers as a plate would satisfy both the desire to eat from period 
materials, and still have a minimum of personal dishes to wash - all you 
would have would be your drinking vessel, possibly a bowl depending on the 
meal, one spoon per person, and a few knives that could be shared round the 
table.  If you don't actually eat the trencher, it's definitely biodegradable 
anyway.

- ---
Oh that sounds like it would be wonderful!  Have you considered leaving your
bread outside of the wrapping so that it would actually get stale?  Or maybe
toasting it?

As for the chopsticks, they weren't intended so much to be a period alternative
as something useful to eat with.  If I had a persona who was firmly in place
and time I would have gone for a more period alternative, as it was it was a
situation more of convenience than periodocity.

- -M