[Sca-cooks] Lenten oils, was Honey Butter?

[Elaine Koogler]

 From "Early French Cookery" by Terence & Eleanor Scully:
p.       30:  Frying added both heat and moisture moderately, and was
appropriate for foods of a moderate temperament, such as chicken.

And in "The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages", Terence Scully notes:

p. 93:  Cooking fires:  In some kitchens the fireplace was situated in a
more central location rather than on a wall.  This was useful when the cook
wanted to install adjustable grills and tripods for small frying pans and
very large cauldrons of meat and fish.

Further, in the same book, Scully adds:

 Often food was fried, and for this a frying pan was used.  Always
flat-bottomed, it came in many shapes and sizes.

Finally, from the Museum of London Medieval Catalogue 1940, there is a
description of skillets:

p. 205:  A form of 3-legged skillet shaped like an open bowl on 3 low legs
with a tubular handle projecting from the side appears abroad in the 15th c,
but English examples appear to be lacking.

All of this is from the 14th century or so, but it definitely documents the
use of skillets and frying pans to pan fry foods.

Kiri

----- Original Message -----

On 6 Mar 2002, at 11:30, A F Murphy wrote:.

> Of course, this actually raises another question. As I write this, I
> realize I take it for granted that they needed to brown onions, sauté
> some foods, pan fry fish...  Did they, actually? I haven't read many
> recipes yet, but it occurs to me that I don't think I have encountered
> these techniques much, if at all, yet.