[Sca-cooks] Tips on Redactions

[Cindy M. Renfrow]

David Friedman wrote
>Along with the idea that medieval food was overspiced one finds the
>claim that the reason it was overspiced was to hide the taste of
>rotten meat, due to the lack of modern refrigeration. We have found
>no evidence to support that claim and quite a lot to oppose it.
>Chiquart's description of how to put on a large feast, for example,
>makes it clear that he expects to slaughter animals on site. Other
>sources show medieval cooks as concerned with the risk of spoiled
>meat and taking reasonable precautions to deal with it. Finally,
>there is the observation that hiding the taste of spoiled meat does
>not prevent the effects; a cook who routinely poisoned his employer
>and his guests would be unlikely to keep his position for long.

Yet Gervase Markham includes a recipe, 'To recover venison that is
tainted', (Best, p. 103), and there are plenty of recipes in other sources
for hiding spoilage in wine & etc.  May,in the Accomplisht Cook, gives 3
recipes to preserve tainted venison. But these methods don't involve
spices, rather they call for pickling, or ale, vinegar & herbs, etc.
 Since venison was a game meat, it couldn't be slaughtered the day of, it
had to be taken one or more days before the dinner. The pictures I've
posted from the Jagdbuch http://www.thousandeggs.com/jagdbuch.html  show
mass-slaughter of game animals 20 to 50 at a time, & then having to haul
them back to town, many miles away.

Alas! no time now for more. I have to finish packing for the conference.

Cindy Renfrow