[Sca-cooks] Corn Bread

[Mark.S Harris]

Anahita said:
> Someone on our Kingdom list is arguing that old line: if they had
> ingredient X in period, they must have had cooked dish Y. In this
> case, the discussion is centering around...
>
> Cornbread

The first argument is invalid. We've discussed this before. I think
the best example is the hamburger. Leave off the tomato and the rest
of the usual ingredients are period. Yet, no evidence of hamburgers on
buns being eaten or anything close.

> My experiences in Europe indicate that even today, corn, i.e., maize,
> is not a commonly eaten food. This person is arguing that since
> Renaissance Europeans made bread, they must have made cornbread once
> they discovered corn.
>
> I think that this is not a logical argument. Can anyone point out the
> pros or cons of this discussion? If i'm wrong, i'm willing to admit
> it.
>
> Another person says that since they have a late period Spanish
> persona, they can freely eat tomatoes, potatoes, and corn.

> IIRC, there is some evidence in the 16th c. for tomatoes cooked as a
> vegetable in Italy (and maybe Spain), and sweet potatoes (but not
> *white* potatoes) eaten in Spain in period. However, i don't recall
> maize coming up on this list as a food eaten in Spain or other parts
> of Europe in the 16th c.

We have discussed maize on this list several times. See this file in
the FOOD section in the Florilegium:
maize-msg         (30K)  2/ 9/01    Discovery of maize (Indian corn) in
the
                                       Americas and its introduction to
Europe.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD/maize-msg.html

For the others see these files.
In the FOOD-VEGETABLES section:
potatoes-msg      (80K) 10/13/00    Period white and sweet potato use.
Recipes.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-VEGETABLES/potatoes-msg.html
tomato-hist-art   (18K)  2/ 1/99    "You say tomato I say Xitomatl" by
Lord
                                       Xaviar the Eccentric.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-VEGETABLES/tomato-hist-art.html
tomatoes-msg      (27K)  1/ 4/01    Tomatoes in period.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-VEGETABLES/tomatoes-msg.html

Stefan li Rous
stefan at texas.net