SC - Progressive Dinner--various posts

[Bronwynmgn@aol.com]

> The bread recipe-There are only 4 bread recipes which are known at the
> moment which are completely in Period, and they weren't 
> written down by
> bakers- how is he supposed to know this? He at least got part 
> of it right,
> and produced a white bread, which was preferred by the 
> nobility. The Baker's
> Guilds held these recipes secret, and as near as we can tell, 
> they're secret
> to this day.

According to the recipes, Emeril used Maggie Black's bread recipe from The
Medieval Cookbook.  She doesn't really follow any of the known recipes, but
her recipe is not so far off as to be impossible.  My biggest complaint is
the addition of two ounces of rice or corn flour (corn in this case may be
generic rather than maize, as the author is British).  I suspect this
addition is to provide a more medieval (in her opinion) textural difference,
which is what I am after when I start mixing all purpose and whole wheat
flours to approximate different grades of medieval flour. 

> 
> Paprika. He used that as a spicing in one dish. How many of 
> you knew that
> it's a capsicum pepper, thus New World, thus OOP until we can 
> find some docs
> for it? And now, how many of you are aware that there is an unproved
> possibility that the Chinese traded with the west coast of 
> the New World
> many centuries ago, and they may have had it in our period?
> 
> 
> Phlip
> 
 
I've been pursuing evidence of the Chinese/New World trade and at present, I
am of the opinion the case is based on some interesting, but highly
speculative, academic study and interpretation, which has been inflated to
support some extreme Diffusionist arguments.  After I organize, the evidence
and my thoughts, I'll post the information and my over-blown opinions to the
list.

Bear