SC -cooling Creme' Bastarde

[LadyPDC at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/25/00 6:26:57 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
orion at mailbag.com writes:

> I also checked the Cadw web site in case something had been discovered 
>  since Jack was there and thus before the booklet he brought back was 
>  published (http://www.castlewales.com/home.html) but I couldn't find 
>  anything there either.
>  
>  I would be interested to know exactly where you are getting this 
>  information...
>  
>  Alex Wollangk
>  (Bran MacDavid would know nothing of this kind of research...  Though he 
>  may very well have heard of Caernarfon...)

Ironically, we started in much the same place ... that being the 
castlewales.com page.   Wonderful site that.

In my case, I had originally wanted to make my pastry castle subtlety 
resemble an actual castle as might have been done in that time period.  I 
chose the Caernarfon Castle because it was the site of the investiture of the 
first "Prince of Wales" and many since.  I was working on the premise that, 
even though the castle was not completed at the time of that investiture, the 
cooks would want to present a rather grand subtlety for the occasion and 
might want to produce a castle as it would one day be completed.

For that reason, I contacted by email the CADW and the CSG as well as each of 
the contributors to the Castle of Wales website to ask them if they could 
send me any information on the castle structure and design both what was done 
and what was originally planned.  I have learned that it never hurts to ask 
for information as the worst you can get is a rejection.

Several responded, but one was a very nice lady who sent me a package of 
copied materials and a very nice letter saying that she works with 
"sobtelties" as well and wanted to give me as much information as possible.  
Talk about information overload.  The package contained (besides pamphlets 
and booklets) copies of architectural studies done at the castle for possible 
rebuilding, copies of some of the original designs and copies of studies done 
on various components of the castle.  Many of the notes and drawings are 
handwritten, some in old English and at least one in a foreign language with 
a translation.

The section on the cold room caught in my memory as much for the 
inconsistencies as for anything else (Fahrenheit rather than Celsius, the 
mention of the temp measurements being done with the room closed for 48 
hours) as well as the fact that it was separately bound.

I can't give you the exact quotes right now because my husband is also 
working on a castle reconstruction project and has taken the box on the road 
with him (OTR truck driver) to study.  Will be happy to give you the info 
when he returns.

However, I can think of several possible reasons that your book and your 
friend might have different results than I found:

1.  It might be a portion of the castle which was planned but never completed.

2.  It might be a portion of the castle which was completed but destroyed in 
the sacking in 1646.

3.  It might be a portion of the castle which is in an unsafe or unrestored 
area and therefore not open or mentioned to the general public.

4.  It might be something this lady stuck in the packet which is on the wrong 
castle or which was written up by unregulated sources.  I admit I only gave 
it a quick glance and could have misread or misunderstood something like that 
(I am certainly not a professional researcher and the thing has footnotes all 
over the place)

Any one of the above is certainly possible and many more besides.

As I said, I will look into it when the box returns and plan to look further 
into cooling methods used in period.  I will be happy to let you all know 
what I find once I have verified all of the information.  But please be 
patient as besides doing the odd A&S thingie, I also hold down 2 full time 
plus jobs and a few other small responsibilities.   This research fits into 
my small amount of "fun" time and I intend that it remain exactly that ... 
fun.


Constance de LaRose