SC - goose fat

[Decker, Terry D.]

> Saxons held the area we know as Hungary then? I thought just northern
> Germany and parts of England. Time to go check those atlases.

5th and 6th Centuries.  By the 9th Century, they were fairly widespread on
the Continent and engaged against Charlemagne and the Franks.  IIRC, Saxons
moved into the area that is now western Hungary around the 10th Century.

> 
> Are you saying that the use of bird fat was common to the non-Jewish
> folks also? I guess I just hadn't noticed this in the recipes I've
> looked at. 
> 
> Is the use of chicken kosher then? If this is the case I could see
> where they might use more chicken fat since other folks might well
> have been using pig fat. What about goose fat, then? Is this a
> kosher item?
> 
> -- 
> Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra

Actually, it might be.  Jewish populations in the German states tended to be
more integrated into the local population than in many other parts of
Europe.  Schmaltz, the German term for fat (and I may have misspelled it due
to phonetics and faulty memory), shows up in modern Yiddish recipes as a
specific call for chicken fat (at least in my experience).  A lot of German
recipes simply call for fat and the fat used may have depended upon what was
available or what suited the dish.  I don't think there is enough evidence
to make any definitive statements.

Properly slaughtered, the chicken is kosher.  As for aquatic fowl, I believe
there is a prohibition against the ones which eat fish, but don't quote me.
You really need to ask someone who is more conversant with the dietary laws
than I.

Bear