[Sca-cooks] German Pickles

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

So far no one has commented on the mustard part of my question:
powdered or prepared?

Since both the English and the French recipes for Compost use
prepared mustard (and i made my own, following a Lombard mustard
recipe) and the German recipes says it can be used for Compost, i'm
leaning toward prepared, but i don't really know...

Anyone have any ideas?

From: johnna holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
>Which of the pickle recipes best compliment the meats
>that you are serving?

Since it's a Boar Hunt, pork is featured. I think all the pickles go
well with pork. I'd originally worked the meal out for three courses,
but now i think that would be too much food and too many dishes, so
i'm paring it back to two smaller courses.

First Course
Chicken and Quinces (German)
Brawn in Peverade (English)
served with Rice with Morello Cherries (German)

Second Course
Roast Pork larded with garlic (not period, just popular)
Veal Tongues in a sauce of apples, raisins, spices, etc. (German)
served with Lentils (German)

>Also given the timespan involved,
>are any of the pickles better or best after less than
>three weeks pickling at the most?
>(Pickles vary, some are much better after a month or 2
>months. Some are ok after a week.)

According to all the recipes, these are supposed to keep for months.
I found some worked-out versions of these German pickle recipes on
the web, and all were made and served within a day or even a few
hours and the cooks and diners like the taste. But they should keep,
and i think the flavors will be better after a couple weeks.

From: grasse <grasse at mscd.edu>
>You are correct, I would interpret mal as grind.  bern sounds like berries,
>the Rueben are roots.. Rote Rueben are red roots (beets) Gelbe Rueben are
>yellow roots (carrots) Weisse Rueben are white roots (turnips usually)
>so pick a root or 3 (grins)
>
>on the rumpolt recipe.. I would probably suggest trying fresh horseradish root
>slivers rather than the prpared stuff, the brine would become VERY cloudy from
>the prepared horseradish.  (the original speicfies slivers of root.)  I have
>made it with slivers of horseradish root in the brine and it adds zip and
>flavor but the brine stays beautifully clear.
>
>As for if to make all the pickles or not...  smaller amounts of all 4 is a
>nice variety thing.. but 2 or 3 might be enough too.
>I think you are right on target with the 5 cucumbers for 10 tables if you do
>all 4, I think 2 cabages should be plenty, on the beets.. it might be more
>cost effective to go for canned beets (sliced even or whole for a different
>shape and then cut into quarters) I have noticed little difference in the end
>results with fresh vs canned beets.  I would bet 3-4 cans (14-16 oz) for 10
>tables (enough for those who like beets and those who are curious, and not
>much waste).
>
>Hope it all turns out for you.
>
>Gwen Cat

Thanks for the helpful information. And folks, Gwen Cat is the
translator of one of the German pickle recipes (well, and most of a
German cookbook) and has some worked-out recipes from that book on
the web. Thanks for doing that!

Thanks for the thoughts and suggestions. The English pickled
mushrooms are sure to be popular. And since the German pickles are
easy and not expensive... well, maybe i'll just go ahead and make all
of them.

My consort looked over the ingredient list and commented on the
excessive use of vinegar - but, then, he'd really just looked at the
pickles and somehow thought he was looking at a whole course. So i
started worrying about having one of those horror meals with too many
pickles... But the vinegar just serves to enhance the piquancy of one
or two dishes in each course, but is NOT a primary ingredient, so i
don't think i'm heading into the feast horror story direction...

Well, off to the store this evening to get the ingredients for the
German pickles. I'll do the English mushrooms tomorrow...

Anahita