SC - Emeril tries Medieval- LONG

[Decker, Terry D.]

About a month ago (which is how far I am behind on the list), Ras and 
Balthazar were discussing substititions and Ras wrote:

>Is such a list of  substitutions available? More importantly are there any
>manuscripts which give details about exactly how a period cook would have
>substituted and what would have been substituted for what? I am only aware of
>specific substitutions detailed in specific recipes.

The closest equivalent of this that I know of is Chiquart's cookbook, 
_Du Fait de Cuisine_ (15th c. French. by the chief cook of the Duke 
of Savoy). Unlike all other period cookbooks I know of, it is largely 
the plan for a particular feast: sort of "this is how you would do 
the biggest feast anyone would want to do". He gives a complete set 
of recipes for a large two-course meat-day feast, with many dishes in 
each course. Then, with the comment that at such a feast there will 
be many noble lords and ladies who are not eating meat, he gives a 
parallel menu for the equivalent fish-day feast, so that for each 
meat-based dish in the first set of recipes, there is a fish or other 
non-meat version in the second set of recipes. If I wanted one place 
at which to look to see just what substitutions were done for the 
constraints imposed by medieval fast-day rules, this is it.

To answer another comment in the same thread, I would disagree with 
Balthazar that it is obvious to us what substitutions a medieval cook 
would have used when he needed to for some reason; to use his 
example, I can't think of any period recipes where walnuts are 
suggested as a possible substitution for almonds--but I remember one 
place where hazelnut milk is suggested as an alternative to almond 
milk, which would never have occurred to me. I think when you have to 
subtitute or guess, it is worth going to some trouble to find similar 
recipes that give you an indication what substitutes would have been 
used or what "good spicery" would have consisted of.

Elizabeth/Betty Cook