[Sca-cooks] period parboiling vs. roasting

[Stefan li Rous]

Bonne (among others) replied to me with:
> >Huh? From earlier discussions here, particularly in regards to some
> >period recipes, I though "parboil" meant a quick boil. Several hours
> >doesn't sound like that definition of "parboil". Did you really just
> >mean "boil"? Or have I got my definition of "parboil" wrong? Or both?
>
> Parboil is to partially boil, or partially cook, the food.  A quick
> matter for vegetables, a longer matter for ham.

Okay.

I noticed in the paper yesterday a story about an American reporter
in Afghanistam trying to get the head chef at the Springhar Hotel
where he was staying, to roast a Christmas turkey.

Part of the article said:

"...I wanted the birds roasted. After all, the only Christmas turkeys
fabled in verse and song are roasted.

On this point, I faced deep resistance. Afghans by and large don't
like roasted meat, fearing it causes diarrhea. Their concern is not
without reason: The erratic heat of wood fires, not electricity, is
the main food tool of most Afghan cooking. To ensure it is cooked
through, meat is usually boiled."

My first response was to think "Huh? What do you mean the heat of
wood fires is erratic!". But then I considered further. It is more
difficult to control and even in an enclosed fireplace, the heat
can vary from one side of the fire to another. Yes, the fire can
be more evenly controlled, but it takes effort and perhaps a
pickier selection of the fuel used. For something roasting for
several hours versus half an hour, this could make sizable
differance in the effort required.

I'm wondering if the prevalance of parboiling which we see in
many medieval dishes may have less to do with an applied
theory of humours than of simple practicality. If you boil an
item first, which requires less control of the enviornment
and easier tending and then roast the item for only the last
portion of the cooking time, you can get completely cooked
meat with the appearance and taste that roasting provides. Less
risk of unevenly cooked meat and less cooking effort.

--
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris            Austin, Texas          stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****