[Sca-cooks] No Sugar in 10th Century??

[Chris Stanifer]

--- "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
wrote:

> As for spicing, just what is the definition of
> "heavily spiced?"  I tend to
> think a dish is heavily spiced if I can make out the
> individual spices and
> the spices overpower the taste of the other
> ingredients, but how does that
> translate to quantities

After re-reading the website from which my question
initially arose, and reading these posts on the
subject, I am of a mind that we may be mistaking
'Heavily Spiced' with 'Containing a wide variety of
spices.'  The recipes I have access to do suggest that
medieval cooks used a wide variety of spices in their
dishes, but not necessarily a large 'quantity' of any
one particular spice.  Many recipes suggest the
addition of ginger, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc...
or, more often, 'sweet spices', but as has been said,
rarely list any quantities.

And, as alluded to in the post from which I took the
quote, it seems the medieval palate was more
interested in a homogeneous taste, rather than any one
herb/spice taking precedence. With obvious exceptions,
of course.

Balthazar of Blackmoor

=====
Words are Trains for moving past what really has no name...

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