SC - Medieval Coffee

[KallipygosRed@aol.com]

Greetings!  Petits Propos Culinaires #64 arrived yesterday so I
thought I'd give you some of the tidbits.  FYI, most of these 
words are taken from the latest issue.  They aren't mine.

You might want to check out Prospect Books website (the 
publisher of PPC) at http://prospectbooks.co.uk.  They have 
a catalog of their books, extracts of texts (the bulk of 
Dalby's translation of Cato and (trumpet sounds!), a composite
glossary of culinary terms from facsimiles or reprints of
English cookery books (Glass, May, Evelyn, Digby...)

For those in London: There will be a PPC birthday party on
22 June, at the Tabernacle in Powis Square, London W11.  
Subscribers are welcome beginning around 7:30 pm.  Guests are
asked to bring food, nothing fancy, "nothing that can't be
eaten on two legs with one hand."  There will be a prize for,
I am assuming, the best food.  Hah!  Any SCAdians want to try?

Articles of possibly SCAdian interest:

1. "The Name of the Rose Again; or, What Happened to Theophrastus
'On Aphrodisiacs'?" by Andrew Dalby.  Of great interest to those
who want to know of aphrodisiac foods in the early years; why a
whole section was left untranslated; Dalby's discovery and
translation.

2. "Frontispieces".  Seven reproductions of cookery book frontispieces
showing kitchens and kitchen workers.  While OOP, you might get some
ideas since certain tools and set-ups didn't change that fast.

3. "A Thousand Years of Ginger in Britain" by Brigid Allen.  I have 
only scanned the article.  It goes back to early English history and
sketches the use of ginger in sauces; blancmanger; dessert dishes and
hot, spiced drinks; in gingerbread and ginger comfits; in sweet, or
sweet-savoury, tarts.

4. "Of Apple Pyes", a poem from 1750.

Book Reviews:  There is a review of Bridget Ann Henisch's _The
Medieval Calendar Year_, Pennsylvania University Press, 1999, isbn
0-271-01904-2.  The hard-bound version is $55 and the paperback
is $19.91.  "It is a serious work offering new analysis and insights
but presented with the lightness of touch and deft wit for which the 
author is known.  The food content is high..."

Elsewhere is the comment: "Progress on the writings of Charles Perry,
Maxime Rodinson and A.J. Arberry in the book to be called _Medieval
Arab Cookery_ is being made.  We are held up on orthography at the
moment but all will soon be well.  See the website for more."

PPC's address has changed.  In the US you send inquiries to
Allaleigh House, Blackawton, Totnes, Devon TQ9 7DL.  Prices for
US subscribers remains $28.50 (3 issues/1 year) or $55 (6 issues/2
years).  US dollar checks should be made out to "PPCNA".
 Get your local cooking guild to subscribe???

Alys Katharine