SC - Re: african peanuts?

[Serian]

Elaine Koogler wrote:
> 
> What I have read, and i can't even tell you the sources right now, is that the
> upper classes did eat veal, almost to the exclusion of beef.  Beef was usually
> eaten only when it was too old to serve the purpose of either providing milk or
> standing stud, and was therefore tough and stringy.  It was then eaten mostly by
> the lower classes.

There's some of that being done in period, certainly, but there's also
ample evidence of beef being eaten by the upper classes. Whether it's
young bullocks being slaughtered and used as we do steers (either
there's not much evidence for castrating male cattle while immature, or
I've managed to miss it) or older cattle being slaughtered for beef
which then has to be really well cooked, there are plenty of recipes in
the 14th-15thC. English corpus calling for beef for pies, stews, aloes,
and simple roast or boiled beef. Then there are the bazillion recipes
calling for fresh broth of beef, which suggests a lot of beef is boing
boiled. I assume someone is eating it, and not turning it into broth and
throwing the solids away.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com