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

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Jim Revells wrote:
> 
> Hej!
>     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?

Not exactly... but I do have a few observations that might be helpful.

1. Spices were significantly more expensive than meat (check Le Menagier
de Paris, among other sources, for prices on meats and the spices
required for their service... Chiquart may have something on this, too),
therefore it would make very poor economic sense to be profligate with
spices to save money on meat. I'm not even talking about
pound-for-pound. Rather, the spices required to "overspice", say, the
allegedly ubiquitous festering loin of pork would have exceeded the cost
of the loin of pork. Far better to spend that money on a fresh piece of meat.

2. Meat needn't go bad just because there's no artificial refrigeration.
First of all, there are cooling options that don't involve compressed
freon, etc. Storing meat in a larder, for example, would keep it cool in
what amounts to a stone cellar, with perhaps some running water running
through it to help keep it cool. Then, of course, there's the fact that
through much of the Middle Ages, the climate of much of Europe seems to
have been slightly cooler than it is now, so outdoor ambient
temperatures might have been at suitable storage temperatures for a good
chunk of the year, except for high summer. And, of course, some of the
warmish weather is occupied by Lent. (I'm in the middle of reading a
book by a guy named Fagan -- yes, it's a fine life -- called "The Little
Ice Age", on this exact topic.)

3. Numerous recipes and other primary sources (again, see Le Menagier,
also the Newe Proper Booke of Cokery) speak of seasonal slaughtering
practices for larger animals (smaller ones such as coneys and domestic
poultry can be slaughtered as needed throughout the year), and also
provide instructions for salting meats. Also, there are records of laws
on the books regulating the activities of butchers, detailing pretty
harsh penalties for selling old meat disguised as new, for example. (See
"Butchering in Mediaeval London" by Ernest L. Sabine, Speculum, V. 8,
Issue 3, July 1933, pp335-353.)

Probably the most compelling argument, as supported by the above,
against any prevalence of heavily spiced, semi-decayed meats, is that
there simply is no _need_ for this practice to exist. Better options are
to be found everywhere you look.

HTH,

Adamantius    
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com