[Sca-cooks] Re: flaming food - was post period was Festival

[Stefan li Rous]

Cindy answered me with:
> >I think flaming foods can make great theatrics. I'd just like to
> >find out if they are even close to period.
>
> Hello!  (Pardon if this repeats a previous reply.) Yes, setting food alight
> with alcohol or camphor is in period.  Here are a few examples. Does anyone
> have more?
>
> Forme of Cury, c. 1390 English - #189 "Chastlet9... su-e it forth wt ew ardant"
>
> Du fait de cuisine, by Master Chiquart, 1420 #5 ...heads of boars endored
> and armed and with banners and spitting fire...And to give understanding to
> the master cook who has the charge concerning the said heads to make them
> give and cast out fire from the throat, take a double wicked candle and
> wrap it all around with cotton which should be soaked in fine ardent
> spirits and purified with a little camphor."
>
> Ew ardant & ardent spirits are ethyl alcohol.

Wow! That's pretty specific. Thanks! Thank you for your information
too, Johnna. This also reinforces that the strength of this group is
its diversity of people which gives us experts in all fields.

Another interesting thing to me, is how early this is, 1390, yet
obvious evidence of distilling. Probably for drinking, but we can;t
tell from just this. And also the use of "cotton"! We do have
evidence of cotton cloth as Charlemange had a tunic of it. But it
seems to be rare. Yet here we have it used as a wick. Although
loose cotton batting doesn't necessarily mean there was cotton fabric.
I have also heard that cotton batting, as well as the silk from
broken cacoons was used in armor gambesons but I don't remember the
time period or location.

I wonder why a "double-wicked" candle?

--
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris            Austin, Texas          stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****