[Sca-cooks] curriculum...

[Karen O]

From: <lilinah at earthlink.net>
Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002

> >I've been looking over the stuff I've learned to cook, and wondering to
myself: what would people say are the basics of medieval cooking, that a
person should strive to master as a foundation for their cooking?
Jadwiga Zajaczkowa

and Anahita replied:
> How to Make Almond Milk
> How to thicken sauce with bread
> How to make a "fair coffyn" (and how to cook in one)

    As you can see, I've put off answering this question  -- besides having
deadlines to meet at that time, it made me think about an answer.   Most of
the answer involves learning the skills of cooking . As one who started out
knowing how to cook, how to read recipes, I still had much to learn to
consider myself a Medieval Cook.    Learning by doing is a time consuming
process.

    Add to Anahita's list:  knowing how to shop: what are the seasons for
various ingredients, how to distinguish differences of
ripe/underripe/overripe fruits &veggies
How to make broth & stock
How to properly cook different cuts of meat {poultry, beef, pork, fish}
Memorize recipes for 5 different sauces {sweet, sour, meat based, cream
based, a favorite}
A knowledge of "food chemistry" {how ingredients react with other
ingredients --or under heat/cold conditions}

    Still learning herself
    Caointiarn