[Sca-cooks] Fw: cooking question

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Apollonia Margherita:
>Can one of you help her?  I know little yet...
>
>Apollonia
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: L Shuskey/Elize
>To: Merry Rose
>Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2002 12:31 PM
>Subject: [MR] cooking question
>
>
>I keep finding references to a thickening agent called amydon in Chiquart's
>"Du Fait de Cuisine" (translation).  I've checked the unabridged dictionary,
>but there's no listing for it.
>1) What is it?

Amydon/Amydoun is a standard Middle English corruption of amulum,
which is a Latin term for wheat starch.

>2) Is it available today?  Where would I obtain it?

At any Asian grocery, especially a Chinese one, under the name "wheat starch".

>3) Is it safe to use?

Yes, unless you're allergic to wheat.

>4) What would be a good substitute for it?

Um, some other starch, depending on how it's being used. A standard
_medieval_ substitute would be either thickening with bread crumbs or
with rice flour.

>Thank you for any information.
>Elize da Nizza, Crannog Mor

Whose address seems not to be included above... Apollonia, will you
kindly forward this appropriately?

Adamantius

--
"No one who cannot rejoice in the discovery of his own mistakes
deserves to be called a scholar."
	-DONALD FOSTER