[Sca-cooks] Meat Preservation Beyond the "Normal"...

[Kihe Blackeagle]

That disreputable -- but lovable and talented! -- lout Gunthar was
yammering at us and sed:

> Still, a disappointing start. Some good news is that there
> are some folk here who are interested in period food so much
> that they are holding monthly seminars on different aspects
> of period food. I'm scheduled to host a class on meat
> preservation techniques not including salting or smoking. So
> it will basically discuss brining, honey, butter and potting
> techniques. It should be fun.

OK, I've gotten the humor at Gunthar's expense out of my system for the
moment; what follows is intended to be serious discussion.  (And, drat
it all to heck in a handcart, I can't justify the trip to hear this /
participate in person...) For sake of completeness, I note that I have
picked up the following from various sources over my lifetime: Scouting,
this mailing list, science courses, history courses, and related
independent study....

Gunthar, I have always been of the opinion that brining was salting on
the cheap / as a shorter-term alternative. (Pickled meats I always
thought lasted less time than fully salted dry meats, although ICOCBW --
and I personally consider brining to be one of the earliest forms of
pickling.)

Will there be mention of "straight", no-fire-involved-in-the-dewetting
drying / curing techniques as well?  While not situated for it or quite
brave enough to try it yet, I've been very curious about the methods for
air-drying fish or even quadruped such as buffalo, elk, or antelope  --
maybe even cow, horse, or mule, if I could find sufficiently adventurous
cohorts.  I am NOT brave enough to suggest this for any form of fowl,
however!

** Dehydration WITHOUT salt or smoke is prehistoric in origin, and can
even occur naturally in the wild -- so-called "natural mummification",
for example.  Is your separation line more "wet" versus "dry"
preservation methods, then?

** Non-smoke dehydration is also used by aboriginal peoples with
non-meat foods, such as maize, edible seaweeds, and fruits.  The same
techniques used for using a fire's heat without the smoke are often also
adapted to meats. (In avoiding smoke, modern dehydration equipment with
electric heating elements to replace the fire and plastics for the racks
and enclosures have the advantage over more primitive wooden or even
wire-screen racks & ovens in maintaining a constant temperature while
excluding insects or wild-strain bacteria, of course.)

** Honey has also sometimes been dehydrated; in modern usage, I have
encountered dried honey as a component of herbal tea preparations.  As a
preservative of other foods, I have encountered at least one reference
to "peeling away the layer of almost-dried honey".

** Freeze-drying is another non-salt, non-smoke preservation method that
was widely practiced in colder climates. Racks for walrus, seal, whale,
and fish were maintained at the same locations for generations, and
could conceivably have held moose, caribou, and wapiti as well in North
American

** Might add to the list of "immersion" / "wet" preservations the use of
suet, lard, other meat-related fats, and olive oil. I believe that there
is a Scandinavian variation upon the theme of pemmican, or at the least
a Lapp equivalent (being somewhat a purist myself when it comes to an
attitude concerning when Lapland should be and should not be considered
"Scandinavia").

Alright, that's probably heaped enough fuel on the fire for one night...
I'm late, it's tired, and I hope I haven't left too much unsaid, or said
for that matter!

The Kitchen Idiot, Amra
Adieu, Amra / Pax ... Kihe / ttfn - Mike

Mike C. Baker DBA: Reverend Kihe Blackeagle (PULC)
(the Dreamsinger Bard:
"The Circle is closed, always and forever.
The Circle is open, always and forever.
And we are all forever a part of the Circle.")

In the SCA, al-Sayyid Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra,
   currently resident in the Barony of the Steppes, Kingdom of Ansteorra
Any opinions expressed are obviously my own, unless explicitly stated
otherwise!

Alternate Contact Information: MikeCBaker at aol.com   KiheBard at aol.com
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8661
Opt-in Mailing Lists? See http://www.myfastlist.com/default.asp?rid=716