SC - Period pig info

[LrdRas@aol.com]

I believe it was French, but in a Bistro in England - and he was definitely
passionate about it.

Chef is one of my favorite shows!

Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 12:04:09 -0600
From: "Michael F. Gunter" <michael.gunter at fnc.fujitsu.com>
Subject: SC - Chef!

> One of the things I really enjoyed about the Lenny Henry BBC sitcom
> "Chef!" was the title character's obsession with proving that the best
> of English cooking was easily the equal, or the superior, of the best of
> French cooking.

But I thought he did a lot of French cooking? I must be remembering wrong.

> Anglaise went over to Paris to compete in an international culinary

> competition, to be constantly harrassed by sniggering French chefs who
> insist on calling the Henry character Chef Rostbif...

And do you recall the time when an old enemy of his was assigned to critique
the food? He referred to the Beef Wellington as "a corn dog".

> Adamantius
> --
> Phil & Susan Troy

Gunthar

- ------------------------------

Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 12:10:55 -0600
From: "Michael F. Gunter" <michael.gunter at fnc.fujitsu.com>
Subject: non-member submission - Re: SC - Cider Sauce Experiments

I also have experimented with the Cider sauce for a Birthday party for
the Baron of Bryn Madoc (it wasn't
really his birthday, but it is his perogative to have a party whenever
he wishs <g>).  IT came out quite nicely,
and I'll offer my comments along with these.  I made a double batch that
came out to two liquid US cups (16 fl. ounces).

My recipe:
4 cups sweet apple cider (plain store brand stuff . . . Thrifty Maid)
1 lb. sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup dry hard cider (Woodchuck Granny Smith Apple)
1 ounce cinnamon sticks (zeylanicum)
1 whole nutmeg (cut into 8 pieces)
8 whole cloves

1)  I used a kitchen scale for everything, so cannot speak to volumes
except that 2 cups to the pound (US measure) is pretty much standard.

2) I thought that apple cider vinegar would be even more appropriate,
though I just have used white
wine vinegar if that was all that was on hand.

3)  For wine, I figured a white would be better, but I didn't have one
in house.  SO, I used
the hard cider.  I believe it was Woddchuck Granny Smith Apple.  It was
a little fizzy, so I let it go
flat in the heated pan before use.  That way I got the full measure.  It
changed the original recipe,
but came out quite nice.  For a white grape based wine, I suggest one
not bone dry that has some
fruity character left to it.

4)  I used zeylanicum sticks for cinnamon.  they tended to splinter in
the boil, but they  were all strained
out at the end anyway.  The character was noticable in the sauce . . .
bright, sweet and spicey rather than the
darker, earthier taste the cassia would tend to add.

5)  My boil was as high as I could get and not get a boilover.  I was
impatient, and also wanted to add a little
caramalization in the boil.  I also did not use a candy thermometer as
that would not have been available to them.
It took about 70 minutes to get the half volume.  If I had done a single
batch in the same pan, I figure the time
would have cut down a bit.  A saucier would be even better with the
shallower and wider configuration . . . more
surface area to evaporate.  More stirring toward the end so it didn't
stick and scorch.  I just went until it looked to be half and was syrupy
on my wooden spoon.

6)  I strained it through a cheesecloth to get the spices out.  Lost
some of the sauce to the cloth, but not so much
that it was worth crying over.  It did give me a less 'chunky' product.
Nutmeg was chopped, cinnamon broke up and the cloves did a little as
well.  I got the same cherry amber color reported by others.  It did not
jell, but certainly was thickened and syrupy.   Had I used a fresh
pressed cider, I suspect a little more thickening from pectins.  Though
maybe not whole lot more.  I plan to try that soon . . . North GA has
great ciders available.  I'll also play with the sugar/vinegar
proportions to see what they do to the consistency and flavor.

The sweet/sour flavor was nicely punctuated by the bright spicing of the
zeylanicum and other spices.  Breaking up the nutmeg, I believe made a
big difference.  Grating it all down may have been too much, so I'm
going to stick with the broken up.  The apple flavor I got was very
clearly there.  Maybe the cder instead of wine helped that a little.
The leftovers are aging nicely in the fridge.  I plan to use it to
marinade a pork loin roast overnight and then slow grill this weekend .
. . lucious visions are jumping in my taste buds.

<<<<<<<<<I should point out that I don't know if my redaction with fresh
cider
is exactly what the Spanish made.  Granado says to start out with
whole unpeeled apples and crush them.  Then let the juice stand
and take the clearer part.  I don't know if apples treated this way
would result in something closer to cider or to filtered apple juice --
perhaps something in the middle.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Modern and even historical Cider is made by pulping the apple in a sort
of monster toothed roller item and
then piling it into a cheesecloth (the pulp is called cheese!) and
pressed for cider.  We press ours in house by
freezing the apples whole until rock solid, thaw them out and press with
12 ton hydraulic press.  the freezing
makes them almost much in the skins.  We get nigh on 85% juice out of
the apple.  the rest is a dried out hull.

I want to thank Brighid for making this available.  I needed a fruit
sauce to play with during the holdays, and this
is a grand one so far.  It was quite popular for the crowd who had it.


niccolo difrancesco

- ------------------------------

Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 11:17:57 -0700
From: "Brian L. Rygg or Laura Barbee-Rygg" <rygbee at montana.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Non-member submission - cinnamon and saffron

The better grades of saffron have no yellow parts mixed in -- just the deep,
dark red.

Raoghnailt

> I just bought some saffron and ceylon cinnamon from the local spiceshop,
>
> and just had a thought: anyone know anything about the different grades
> of saffron? They called what I bought "coupe", but I honestly have no
> deep insight into how you tell them apart, etc. Anyone?
>
> Actually, I've seen different claims regarding cinnamon as well (double
> or single rolls).
>
> /UlfR
>
> --
> Par Leijonhufvud                                      parlei at algonet.se
> Happy 19100 everyone!
>                 -- Graham Reed
>
>
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- ------------------------------

Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 11:20:58 -0700
From: "Brian L. Rygg or Laura Barbee-Rygg" <rygbee at montana.com>
Subject: Re: SC - American food

I'm sorry to hear of your mother's passing.  She must have been proud of
you.
The cooking you grew up with sounds a lot like what I got:  Mom was born in
Asher, Okla. and Dad in what was then the rural outskirts of Houston, Tex.
Brought back memories.

Raoghnailt

- - ----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael F. Gunter" <michael.gunter at fnc.fujitsu.com>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2000 10:48 a.m.
Subject: SC - American food


> > And then, of course, there are the cuisines from the Southeast, which
usually
> > don't get a whole lot of play anywhere, except possibly in the
Southeast!
> > Southern cooking is usually the result of a marriage of African cookery
and
> > European, mostly British.  Then they added in the foods that they found
available
> > in the New World.  A lot of what is called Soul Food is southern
cooking...at
> > least what I grew up with!  However, contrary to popular opinion, it
doesn't
> > consist mostly of veggies that are overcooked with fatback!  A lot of
what you'd
> > find in Martha Washington's Cookery Book is typical of Colonial southern
> > cooking...and what we know today grew out of that.
> >
> > Kiri
>
> I got a good example of Southern cooking this weekend. My Mother died last
> Friday and I've been in Oklahoma making the arrangements and such all
week.
> Well, my mother's side of the family are "Cotton Patch Okies", meaning
they
> grew up as sharecroppers and cotton pickers along with the negro folks.
And
> the food I grew up with could be considered "Soul Food" by some.
> To keep occupied I spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking and
cleaning. The
> friends of the family brought food, as I'm sure is done by just about
every
> human culture, and I got reminded of my childhood dishes. Lots of sweet
potato
> casseroles, fried chicken, home canned green beans, beets, hot peppers.
Ham
> steaks, potato casserole, peach pie. I cooked up a meal of pinto beans,
cornbread,
> ham steak and fried potatoes & onions as one of the meals I grew up with.
It was
> definately a trip back in time for me.
>
> Needless to say that my good diet and eating schedule were wrecked. Now
it's
> time to hit the gym.
>
> Gunthar
>
>
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>
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> Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".
>
>
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>

- ------------------------------

Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 13:38:54 EST
From: Elysant1 at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - US bars UK

In a message dated 12/05/2000 11:09:22 PM EST, wandapease at bigfoot.com
writes:

<< Going to a small village
 in France, Germany, or even England and looking for food around lunchtime
 can be an exercise in futility.  >>

I've always wondered why in Britain oftentimes cafes and restaurants etc
open
for lunch then close their doors through the afternoon and open again at 5
or
something (something historical maybe?).  It seems a shame they stick to
this, and I really don't understand why it persists as it has always seemed
to me that shoppers might want to stop for bite to eat at any time during
the
afternoon, and the cafes would make more money if they catered to that - I
would have thought anyway.  It can be really hard sometimes to find
somewhere
for a meal at 2pm!

I do know there are British places that do stay open through the day, pubs
for instance, or tea rooms sometimes, but sometimes one does have to hunt
them out, and they don't always serve a "meal"as such.

Having said this though, I'd still go for somewhere that serves the local
food and drink rather than looking for the familiar e.g. McDonalds when
travelling.  It's part of the adventure to me.   :-)

Elysant

- ------------------------------

Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 12:37:56 -0600
From: "Debra Hense" <DHense at ifmc.org>
Subject: SC - Clotted Cream taste test

I obtained some clotted cream (commercial - in a jar) yesterday.

So I conducted a little taste test since I have some medieval recipes
calling for clotted cream.  It tasted exactly like the homemade butter you
can make by shaking heavy whipping cream(for what seems like forever), or
unsalted butter (available in the freezer section of your grocery store).

It does not taste anything like the clotted cream which is made essentially
like evaporated milk.  IE: cream set near an oven vent which is set on low
heat (250 degrees) for overnight.  Now, that cream which does get a very
thick skin on top, tastes a lot like evaporated milk.

Which is the most period? The commerical stuff or the top-of-oven stuff?
Probably the top-of-oven stuff.  How would I make a substitution for it out
of modern ingredients?  I would use unsalted butter (for the appropriate
texture) and a tablespoon or two of evaporated milk (for the appropriate
flavor).

Has anyone else tried making clotted cream or substituting for it?

Kateryn de Develyn

- ------------------------------

Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 13:43:04 -0500
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Re: US bars UK

Vincent Cuenca wrote:
>
> >
> >It does seem to be the case that Americans have something of an
> >inferiority complex about our food,
>
> We do, and that's why we keep trying to come up with new ways to showcase
> new foods and combinations.  Who else but Americans would come up with the
> idea of combining Chinese and Cuban/Dominican food?  (Check out Bayamon in
> Greenwich Village, if they're still around) Fried rice and tostones!

Just a quick note as I run out the door ... again...

The various combined Chinese/Cuban restaurants were apparently the
result of Chinese emigrants looking for a nice, non-Communist
environment to settle in after 1949. Imagine their surprise... .
Needless to say, they picked up and moved to the U.S. pretty quickly,
but brought with them the style of cookery and entrepreneurship they had
established in Cuba.

This may also explain why a lot of these particular places look more
like the Chinese restaurants of my childhood in matters of decor and
service, and cookery style.

My wife is especially fond of a good cafe con leche with her Chinese
food, but usually orders the carne guisado con verdura... beef stew with
yucca, batata, etc., in a cilantro-flavored gravy.

Haven't tried Bayamon, and am not sure if they're still there, but the
cuisine is alive and well at Flor de Mayo on the Upper West side.

Adamantius
- - --
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com

- ------------------------------

Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 12:57:11 -0600
From: "Michael F. Gunter" <michael.gunter at fnc.fujitsu.com>
Subject: SC - Non-member submission - RE: Saffron

Pasted below is what I found on the www.saffron.com web page.  There are
lots of different names and classes
and titles used for selling to the public.  It entices us to buy theri
brands.  IT may say Mancha, but in reality only
imported by growers in Mancha to supplement their crop.  you never know
without asking the actual supplier.  I
now ask every seller what the ISO rating of their product.  If they
cannot tell me, then I do not buy.  I know that may not
be the only factor, but if they are so unfamiliar with their product not
to know the international rating of it, then the
odds of theri handling it and packaging it well go done in my
estimation.

Coupe is likely a region in which it was processed.  Crops vary from
region to region and season to season.  Simply knowing where it came
from doesn't help you know the quality.  It is the spectrographic
analysis that will tell you as related in the ISO strength rating.

Saffron is worth buying quality.  I have ordered from Golden Gate at the
above site, and have been immensely pleased.
I may even try to be a distributor in the region part time if there is a
market and money to make ;o)  I hope all this info helps.

niccolo difrancesco

PASTED FROM WWW.SAFFRON.COM :
******* In order to release the potent chemicals in saffron threads,
they must be inmersed , in an alcoholic, acidic or
 hot liquid for longer than just a few minutes. This allows aroma,
flavor and color to be generously extracted.
 Notice I am not saying "fully" extracted. Saffron threads can release
aroma, flavor and color for 24 hours or
 more, depending on their quality! This is an inconvenient time frame
for busy professional chefs and most
 home cooks, so I tell my clients to shoot for an extraction time of no
less than 20 minutes and more if they
 can manage (See additional information under Working with Saffron).

 The professionals who define Category I saffron as needing a minimum of
190, are called the International
 Organization for Standardization (ISO). They have set minimum, not
maximum standards for saffron. I sell the
 best quality saffron available anywhere in the world, backed by
scientific evidence. When you buy my
 saffron, I can show you a photospectromety report which verifies its
high coloring strength. This is the only
 method used internationally to measure saffron's worth.

 The higher its coloring strength, the higher its value. Saffron's
coloring strength determines its flavor and
 aroma. You will read and hear all kinds of other things about measuring
saffron like you should look for a
 particular color and size in saffron threads and that you should
probably avoid saffron powder altogether.
 This is misinformation. If saffron has the right coloring strength, it
will have the right color and general
 appearance, whether it is in thread or powder form.   ****************

- ------------------------------

Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 11:33:43 -0800
From: Susan Fox-Davis <selene at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Clotted Cream taste test

Kateryn wrote:

> I obtained some clotted cream (commercial - in a jar) yesterday.
>
> So I conducted a little taste test since I have some medieval recipes
calling for clotted cream.  It tasted exactly like the homemade butter you
can make by shaking heavy whipping cream(for what seems like forever), or
unsalted butter (available in the freezer section of your grocery store).
>
> It does not taste anything like the clotted cream which is made
essentially like evaporated milk.  IE: cream set near an oven vent which is
set on low heat (250 degrees) for overnight.  Now, that cream which does get
a very thick skin on top, tastes a lot like evaporated milk.
>
> Which is the most period? The commerical stuff or the top-of-oven stuff?
Probably the top-of-oven stuff.  How would I make a substitution for it out
of modern ingredients?  I would use unsalted butter (for the appropriate
texture) and a tablespoon or two of evaporated milk (for the appropriate
flavor).
>
> Has anyone else tried making clotted cream or substituting for it?
>
> Kateryn de Develyn

The commercial stuff is crap, the metallic flavor of whatever they do to it
for export ruins it completely.  The clotted cream I had in Devon and
Cornwall was a substance of similar texture to stirred sour cream, but sweet
as heaven without sugar added.  I believe it has a fat content higher than
anything
you can get in the states.  What might work is if you ran the heaviest cream
available in the US in a blender with melted, unsalted, clarified butter,
and THEN did the top-of-the-stove thing.  I think I have instructions for
that, but as usual, that's at home and I'm at work.

Occasionally I'll use Crema Mexicana from a jar, but as a topping not as an
ingredient.  This advice is only useful if you live in an area with Mexican
neighborhoods, which I suspect are in short supply in Calontir.  I could be
wrong.

Selene, Caid

- ------------------------------

Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 13:53:58 -0600
From: "sdrake" <steldr at home.net>
Subject: RE: SC - US bars UK

I do have to admit that when I was in Europe for 3 months, travelling, we
hit the McDonalds in Barcelona, the Burger King in Paris and the Wendys in
Switzerland but that was 3 meals in 3 months - just for a little taste of
home......

Mercedes

- - -----Original Message-----
From: owner-sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
[mailto:owner-sca-cooks at ansteorra.org]On Behalf Of Elysant1 at aol.com
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2000 12:39 PM
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: SC - US bars UK


In a message dated 12/05/2000 11:09:22 PM EST, wandapease at bigfoot.com
writes:

<< Going to a small village
 in France, Germany, or even England and looking for food around lunchtime
 can be an exercise in futility.  >>

I've always wondered why in Britain oftentimes cafes and restaurants etc
open
for lunch then close their doors through the afternoon and open again at 5
or
something (something historical maybe?).  It seems a shame they stick to
this, and I really don't understand why it persists as it has always seemed
to me that shoppers might want to stop for bite to eat at any time during
the
afternoon, and the cafes would make more money if they catered to that - I
would have thought anyway.  It can be really hard sometimes to find
somewhere
for a meal at 2pm!

I do know there are British places that do stay open through the day, pubs
for instance, or tea rooms sometimes, but sometimes one does have to hunt
them out, and they don't always serve a "meal"as such.

Having said this though, I'd still go for somewhere that serves the local
food and drink rather than looking for the familiar e.g. McDonalds when
travelling.  It's part of the adventure to me.   :-)

Elysant






- ------------------------------

Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 12:53:25 -0800
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: RE: SC - period frog recipes?

Eden wrote:
>Ok first, Eww!  The French will eat just anything disgusting  which is very
>confusing when they also produce some of the greatest food in the world...

I guess you don't know what you're missing. Frog legs are yummy,
yummy, yummy, they're so good in my tummy...

>And more relevantly, assuming your definition of Period stretches that far
>LaVarenne has a recipe:
>from the 1654 English translation
>
>Tourte of Frogs
>pass the great legs in the pan with good butter very fresh, mushrooms,
>parsley, hartichoks sod and cut, and capers, all well seasoned, put it into
>a sheet of fine or puft paste, and bake it; after it is baked, serve it
>oncovered with a white sauce.

My gawd, this sounds delicious. I may have to try to make this some
time. Thank you so much for posting it!

BTW, what does "sod" mean? washed?

And where can one find a copy of La Varenne. Seems to have some good
recipes. I'm using one in my feast , the turnips in mustard sauce -
basically par boil, then drain the turnips, then cook them in fresh
water until done and serve with mustard sauce - seems like it
wouldn't be out of place in the late 16th c.

Oh, and does anyone know where i can find a late period mustard sauce
recipe? I was thinking of taking store-bought Dijon and adding some
white wine and honey and some spices... Does this sound reasonable or
am i talking through my hat?

Anahita

- ------------------------------

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