medieval healthy food was Re: [Sca-cooks] Tiramisu

[rcmann4 at earthlink.net]

On 18 Jun 01,, LrdRas at aol.com wrote:

> I would also prominently remind people that  olive oil was being substituted
> for lard if the original does not indicate  such a substitution. While other
> fats can be substituted for lard in certain recipes such substitutions not
> only change the final flavor of the dish but also takes it from the realms of
> a period recipe to a modern recipe based on a a period source.

That depends on the recipe.  In period Spanish cuisine, olive oil is listed
over and over again as the substitution for lard/bacon fat in Lent.  Nola
explicitly says that a water-salt-oil mixture can be used as a substitute for
broth to make flesh-day recipes suitable for Lent.  So in a recipe for leek
pottage, I might choose to make a Lenten version, and replace the bacon
fat with oil.  Yes, there will be a taste difference, but the result will not be a
modern dish.  (Although it will serve the modern purpose of being vegetarian-
friendly.)  On the other hand, I would not make that substitution in a recipe
for chicken livers fried in bacon fat with egg yolks.  There is no period
justification for doing so, and it would not accomplish anything useful.


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