SC - In need of a documented Rant on "highly spided spoiled food "

[Mark.S Harris]

Olaf asked:
>     I am on another reenactment groups list as well as the several SCAdian
> ones.  Recently the discussion turned to food & someone sang the tired old
> song about using spices to hide the flavor of spoiled meat.  I need some
> documentation to back me up.  Does any one have a good caned rant on the
> subject that sites period sources?

Check this article in the FOOD section of the Florilegium:
spice-use-art     (18K)  6/ 9/97    "The Question of Heavy Spice Use and
Rotten 
                                       Food" by Lord Xaviar the
Eccentric.

The Florilegium is at: http://www.florilegium.org

The major points are:
1) The vast majority of period, and even more if you restrict it to
medieval, food recipes do not give measurements, leaving the amounts
to the cook's discretion.

2) The spices were more expensive than the meat. It would have been
cheaper to get good meat, even if it meant you thew out the bad. You
don't fix a Yugo by buying a new Porsche engine for it.

Stefan li Rous
stefan at texas.net