[Sca-cooks] Is cooking like costuming?

[bonneoftraquair at netscape.net]

>said in the past that any modification to a recipe that is not actually
>mentioned as a possible substitution in the recipe makes what we produce
>"period-oid" rather than period.

Have we said that?

I'm more of the opinion that, if you are working from a recipe (or set of similar recipes) and only make such substitutions as are forced by circumstances, including the circumstance of living in suburban america, then you are doing as well as anyone else around here can do aand can call it 'period'. Because although...

>...milk is pasteurized, eggs are treated, meat is grown differently
>with the animals being fed different types of feed, etc....I can't really
>think of anything we could use that would be truly a period ingredient.


"Peri-oid' is when you don't have a recipe, but kinda make something up that is like what you think would be appropriate. Thirty-five years ago, this was SCA standard, and it's a phase many people go through when new to cooking.  And it's not a bad place to be if cooking is not your main focus.  My garbing skills are at this level and likely to remain there. But if cooking is a strong focus, you'll move beyond this when cooking for public presentation.

>  Whenever we redact a recipe that doesn't have exact quantities
>specified...or we redact one that uses huge quantities of spices/seasonings
>that would make it inedible today (changes in tastes/differences in the
>strengths of the seasonings), we are modifying the period recipe, imposing
>on it our modern tastes.
>
>I know I'm carrying this point to its extreme, but it's a logical
>extreme....
>
>Kiri

I beleive it is an illogical extreme given that we haven't yet found a recipe that gives exact quantities, much less a recipe that

>uses huge quantities of spices/seasonings that would make it inedible
>today (changes in tastes/differences in the >strengths of the seasonings)

Most recipes only give very general (by today's standards) instructions on seasoning, sometimes not even listing specific spices, forget about specific quantities.  Receipes are even vague as to WHEN the spices are added (it affects the taste). Within the bounds of the recipes is still so much room for variation that I don't understand the desire to be even more free from contraints and still rate the result as the same in any category other than taste.

OTOH, I can understand that having tasted and cooked a variety of documentable recipes, someone may wish to create recipes that are similar because they just plain like the tastes and textures. Medieval-style is one of my off-hand variations, like Mexican-style or Italian-style. I would do this at a potluck or in camp, but my answer to the question "is this period' would be NO.

If I were wanting to serve friends a Mexican or Italian feast, I would work with cookbooks about those cuisines.  Simply adding chili peppers doesn't make a dish Mexican.  Pasta on the plate does not mean the meal is Italian.  Same with medieval food.  If I want to serve people foods of a particular cuisine, I work with recipes for same. If I just want the style of it, I do whatever tastes good.

Bonne

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