SC - Ruzzige cakes

[Stefan li Rous]

Adamantius answered my comments with:
> > "Cover the top with coal, too, and bake it." Ok, I assume this means
> > put live coals and embers on the top of the pot. But then we see:
> > "These are sooty cakes". Huh? Why would they be sooty? I hope this
> > doesn't mean up coal dust on top of the cakes. Or even the burning
> > coals. What did the other translation(s) we were working with say
> > for these last two lines? I'm beginning to wonder if this last
> > translation *is* any better than the ones she criticizes so harshly.
> 
> I dunno, Stefan, haven't you ever had a bit of black stuff on or under
> your pizza? 

Yes, but that is usually browning of the pizza dough, not ash or soot.
Even for a sprinkling of ash, I wouldn't translate that as "sooty".
"Sooty" make me think of scenes from 19th century industrial England,
covered in grime and gray or black.

> I believe the use of the word "sooty" may be an attempt to
> translate "ruzzige", which Alia Atlas left untranslated. Now, about this
> covering with coal thing, I assume (and I'm not sure how justified that
> is) that there is some kind of interposed layer of metal or earthenware,
> but if not, then they would be pretty sooty, wouldn't they?

Not necessarily. Aren't there a lot of medieval stews and other things
cooked in uncovered pots? Even white foods such as Savory Tosted
Cheese, (yes a bit late to be "medieval") which seem to take pains
to use white pepper rather than black pepper to prevent distroying
the white coloring?

- -- 
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
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