SC - picky eaters

[Ron and Laurene Wells]

This list is entirely TOO active!  I can NOT keep up!!!!  ARGH!
Anyway, I know this digest is probably about 12 conversations behind where
you are all at now, I haven't gotten there yet.  But I found a message I
felt I had the, um... authority? to respond to since I cook for ... how did
you so appropriately put it? "feasters with limited palate preferences" on
a daily basis!!!  I have three small boys with picky habits of their own,
and a husband who doesn't like vegetables!  

We recently attended an SCA Shire Revel (where I actually WON the pot-luck
contribution award with my bread swan!!! WOW!) and the Feast-o-crat had
prepared a truly delicious period recipe of Chicken in Milk and Honey.  I
do not know what the recipe was, but the flavors were simple yet alluring,
and it was delightful to the palate.  Very saucy and was served over rice.
My husband and I loved it!  MY CHILDREN WOULD NOT TOUCH IT.  Why?  Chicken
is common enough, isn't it?  Yes.  They LIKE chicken.  And milk and honey?
Nearly every child likes milk and honey.  Mine do too!!!  So what was wrong
with this dish?  It "LOOKED WEIRD" to them.  As all "period" recipes seem
to suggest, the chicken was cooked more or less whole, and the bones, etc.
were left in the pot and all was served all together.  The meat was in
stringy irregular chunks.  Perhaps to a child, it looked as if something
alive had crawled into the pot and died and been cooked right along with
the "food".   They did not say this, but I can see where they might get
that kind of an idea.

My suggestion?  To avoid scraping perfectly good food into the garbage,
avoid serving it with the "unpleasing" portions visible to the "feasters
with limited palate preferences".  Use the boneless-skinless chicken
breasts and boneless skinless thigh portions, cut them into recogniseable
square cubes, and cook them in the pot this way.  I know this is NOT period
meat preparation.  But the RECIPE INGREDIENTS will still be period.  If you
want to add some of the bones for nutritional or flavor purposes, fish them
out of the pot before you serve it so that your "feasters" do not see the
carcass.  In my opinion as a parent who has to listen to the endless cries
of "what's this black thing in my food? That looks weird!  I don't LIKE
mushrooms!  Is that a tomato?" etc. etc. etc. I would really rather have a
delicious recipe prepared in a fashion acceptable to their observational
criticisms, and have them at least TASTE it, than to have them wail and
grumble and not eat anything at all.

I'm sure many of you will cringe in your seats, or may even explode in
spontaneous combustion at the idea of this.  It goes against everything you
have studied in the way of redacting truly Medieval recipes.   I have not
attended any cookign school, nor have I had privledge to even browse a true
Medieval Cookbook (though I would surely love to add one to my collection!)
so as far as authenticity is concerned, I do not have authority in that
manner.  My observations and opinion are offered entirely on the topic of
catering to the picky eaters who really WOULD rather miss three meals in a
row and go hungry, (simultaneously progressing into a worse and worse bad
mood!) than to try something that looks weird or smells strange to them.
My kids WILL try new foods occasionally, but only within certain
parameters.  As they get older they do also seem to get braver.  So there
is hope!!!  But for now, this is what I deal with, and have had to learn to
accept it.  

God bless you!  Thank you for listening to my thoughts and ideas.  If you
want to reply, or are hoping for a further response from me, please send a
carbon copy directly to my EMAIL address, as I really do have a hard time
keeping up.  And I lost several back issues of SCA cooks before I ever even
got to read them, due to hard drive problems.

- -Laurene

>Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 23:12:54 GMT
>From: "Bonne of Traquair" <oftraquair at hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: SC - Re: New World Food Rant / Counter Rant
>
>>
>><<  However, a lot of expensive and unfamiliar 100% pre-New
>>  World period food gets scraped into the garbage can. >>
>
>What is unfamiliar about beef, pork, and chicken that would make your 
>feasters toss it rather than taste it and therefore you would prefer to cook 
>turkey?  If unfamiliar food and feasters with limited palate preferences are 
>the problem, turkey isn't the solution.  The solution is finding recipes 
>that ARE familiar.  And since many of us are of western european descent, 
>familiar foods are easy enough to find.  When I first began reading on the 
>topic of medieval (and renaissance) foods, I was finding familiar food that 
>I would place in the 'traditional' category every page or two, or something 
>close enough that most people would eat it. Though some may prefer not to 
>cook late period "nouveau cuisine" I think that category of recipes is a 
>good introduction for both the cook and the eater.  The techniqe and spicing 
>are just unfamiliar enough to make it easy.  Besides, there are often some 
>older recipes here and there in any of the late documents, and the cook gets 
>drawn further and further back.
>
>