[Sca-cooks] what is your project?

[rcmann4 at earthlink.net]

On 18 Jun 01,, bill mayfield wrote:

>   So if any of the more learned of you on the list have suggestons
> for projects or books that may be of a help to a novice such as me
> feel free to let me know.
>
>   I remain your humble servant,
>     Aethelwulf

I'm still at an intermediate stage when it comes to doing redactions, but
you're right in thinking that it becomes easier with practice.  Medieval
cooking vocabulary may look weird at first, but since a lot of the words are
repeated in recipe after recipe, you start to get familiar with them.  Before
long, you read "nym eyren" and automatically translate it into "take eggs..."

Something that I have found very useful in doing redactions is to use
modern recipes as a guideline.  Let's say I'm redacting a dish that
resembles a baked custard.  The medieval recipe contains no quantities,
and tell me to bake it "until it is cooked".  The modern recipe will tell me
how many eggs I need to thicken X amount of milk, and how long to bake it,
and at what temperature.  Some of the more experienced or intuitive cooks
don't need that guideline, but I do.


If you don't yet have it, one very good source is "Take a Thousand Eggs",
by Cindy Renfrow of this list.  http://www.thousandeggs.com
It comes in two volumes.  Every recipe is given in the original Middle
English, then "translated" into modern English.  The recipes in Vol. I also
have Cindy's redactions.

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
now at a new address: rcmann4 at earthlink.net