[Sca-cooks] mincemeat pies

[sjk3 at cornell.edu]

>>>where this dish would have been presented so to decide
>>>whether the dish should be delicate or hearty.
>>>
>>>What is your thoughts on a 16c mincemeat pie?
>>> Gunthar
>>
>>Is there any indication of whether the crust is to be eaten or
>>not? If the crust is to be eaten, then I would think smaller meat
>>bits or shredded meat. It's hard to spoon out a piece of the crust
>>along with meat and gravy if the meat is in a big chunk.
>>
>>On the otherhand, if the pie crust in this case is just a container,
>>the insides would have been spooned onto another dish for serving
>>or eating. There are pie recipes if I remember correctly that have
>>large chunks of birds (half? whole? small birds) as well as whole
>>or halfed fruit. If the contents are to be placed on another plate
>>where they can then be cut up smaller then they could have been
>>larger than single bite size.
>>
>>THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of
>
> Actually, it never really occured to me before, but you may have a good
> point.  If they really didn't want something 'stewed', but rather baked in a
> sauce but did not want the taste of the metal pan, or the colouration it
> would leave on either the food or the pan, then, certainly, baking something
> in a crust would solve that.
> Olwen

   I seem to recall discussions on the list in the past about whether
coffyns were meant to be eaten, or, for that matter, the if dough around
"Icelandic" chicken was to be kept or tossed.  I didn't get the
impression it had anything to do with color or flavor due to the pan, but
rather that the paste was meant to contain the food (and juices/sauces)
as it cooked.  Were these coffyns cooked within a pan, or were they the
pan themselves?

Sandra