Redacting ( was Re: SC - losenges fryes/potage of beans boiled)

[rcmann4 at earthlink.net]

And it came to pass on 7 Mar 01, , that david friedman wrote:

> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
> >>  Is this your redaction, or one which someone else has already
> >>  tested?  Because I would think that "fair thin cakes" should be
> >>  closer to the thickness of pastry dough; ie., about 1/8 inch thick.

> It is our recipe from the Miscellany, except that someone has 
> changed "crush" into "boil" at the beginning.
> -- 
> David/Cariadoc

Ah.  Then may I ask how you chose that particular thickness?  
Because my first reaction, when looking at the recipe, was to think 
of something like thin pastry dough.  I have no reason to think that 
mine is the more correct interpretation, but I'd like to know how you 
arrived at yours.

Or to broaden the question further, how do you decide on sizes, 
measurements, etc., when working with an original recipe that 
says something vague like "thin" "small" or "enough"?  As a novice 
redactor, one of the reasons I'm fond of late-period recipes is that 
they often give some explicit instructions about sizes and 
quantities.  In the absense of such guidelines, what do you do?  
(Or, "what do y'all do" -- I would like to pose the question to other 
experienced redactors on the list.)


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