SC - Period Ingredients Master List

[CBlackwill at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/29/00 7:39:05 AM Pacific Standard Time, LrdRas at aol.com 
writes:

> I agree that a person who is well versed in the historical cookery of a 
>  specific time and place could conceivably create a dish out of on hand 
>  ingredients in a manor which would be recognizable by a diner from that 
>  specific time and place but there are few historical cooks that 
concentrate 
>  their studies in such a specific way. Whether a dish produced by such a 
>  method could be honestly called period is debatable.

This is getting out of hand.  I think that, as a Society, we need to have 
some ground rules established on what is considered "period", and what is 
not.  I have always assumed that, if it was used "anywhere" in the time frame 
our Society is alleged to encompass (with obvious exceptions) then it was 
considered period.  Realistically, using some of the approaches listed in 
this thread, it would be almost impossible to create a strictly period meal.  
If you want to get down to brass tacks:  If I were to re-create a period meal 
from, let's say, a small village in the Russian wilderness, then I (according 
to some of you) would have to have exactly the same cheeses, meats, and 
vegetables as those grown within walking distance from the village in order 
to call it truly period.  If the villager I was feeding could tell that the 
dish didn't use "locally produced milk", or the local strain of yeast or 
whatever, would this make the meal "out of period"?  Out of Region, yes...but 
not necessarily out of Period.  If my Italian dish didn't use Parma ham, but 
used a ham from the next town down the road, does this make it out of period?
God Bless those intrepid cooks out there who will hunt high and low for the 
exact same species or subspecies of plant when they are preparing a period 
meal from a particular region!  I'm not going to do it, though, and I don't 
think most of us would, either.  If the dish calls for beef, we'll go to the 
grocery store and buy beef (not "mongolian beef" or "Persian Beef, circa 1236 
a.d.").  There are very few species of "anything" left these days which have 
not undergone vast genetic mutations over the years since our Society is 
supposed to have existed.

My feeling is thus:  If it existed, and was used for cooking during the time 
of our "period", then it is period.  Period.  Don't throw out a recipe simply 
because you can't find "Plums from the Tree of Woe", or "Milk produced by 
Athenean Cows".  Substitute!  And, if someone gets up and walks away from 
your buffet simply because the eggs ween't "coddled in the breasts of three 
Vestile Virgins"...eat their share, and enjoy the evening without them.

Just my two cents worth.

Balthazar of Blackmoor.

Man cannot live on bread alone... he must have beer to soak it in.