SC - your opinions, please

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Stefan li Rous wrote:
> 
> > question 1--- did they actually have an equivelent to hamburgers?!  or is
> > this just writer's license?
> 
> Chopped or mashed meat? yes. Although it is my understanding that the
> texture is slightly different than the mechanically ground hamburger
> we are used to.

Actually, this is the equivalent of kofta, very possibly based on a
modern recipe, but possibly an old one. I mention this only because it
may not be a great idea to lock ourselves into a fixed, unqualified
concept of the hamburger when speaking of antique foods. Early forms of
the hamburger (i.e. a beef steak dish created and/or popularized in
Hamburg) appear not to have been made from ground or even "brayed" meat,
but rather from steak, onions and fat folded and pounded together in a
laminated structure somewhere between schwarma and puff pastry. And
darned tasty, too.

Not that I don't know what the lady means, of course. It's just when you
build upon a concept that is even slightly wonky, you can end up with
weird permutations on reality after three or four turns.

Regarding the texture of meats that have been mechanically
minced/ground, in general, yes, both hand-minced or pounded meats, while
rather different from each other, are usually considered more pleasant
foods than mechanically ground meats. Ground meat seems to have none of
the advantages, and all the disadvantages, of chopped or pounded meats.
The only real advantage is that less work and time are involved.
Although, by the time you finish taking apart and cleaning the
grinder... well, YMMV.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com