[Sca-cooks] Re: Sca-cooks digest, Vol 1 #1114 - 18 msgs

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Marian Rosenberg wrote:

> I come back from 6 weeks offline and 4 weeks before that of being too busy for the list, 18 messages in a digest and not a single one on period cooking.
>
> Has the list changed so much while I was gone?


I'm not sure what's in the digest you reference, but,


A) Kumiss, marzipan, venison cookery and rice puddings from Gervase
Markham are, last time I checked, related to period cooking, as are the
words recently added to Cindy's glossary of period cooking terms.

B) Why would you think a list for SCA cooks, who are cooks in the SCA
and similar types, would devote all their time and interest to period
cookery? We're asked to trim our posts, change subject lines as
appropriate, and when things get absolutely off-topic for even this list
in its very broadly-defined subject matter, either we get a clue on our
own or Count Gunthar asks us to end it. However, we are not now, nor
have we ever been, expected to confine subject matter solely to period
cookery, even though this is a major interest for most on this list.

C) You've raised this complaint before, and if you've read the notes
that come with every subscription, it becomes pretty clear that the
cooks' list is like a cocktail party. We're all in a room together, and
if there's something you want to discuss, you can raise the subject, ask
a question, etc. In short, you can have a better effect on subject
matter through active contribution, and I'm sure, frankly, that there
are many, many people on this list who are just as busy as you are, and
probably at least some who are more so. What we do is look at subject
lines, and hit the delete key where necessary, expressing regrets. For
some people, though, this list is an opportunity to socialize, in a
limited and controlled way, with like-minded people, and hitting the
delete key now and then is a small price to pay for camaraderie. Others,
of course, may differ. However, in deference to your wishes, I will
forego sending the post on foil packets of Space Candy jelly that I was
going to send. It has been subjected to pre-emptive criticism, and the
zest has gone from it.

Adamantius
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com