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

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Also sprach Stefan li Rous:

>Olive oil wasn't that common since it had to be imported from down
>south. Hence, the disgruntlement between the north and the south.

That wouldn't be cottonseed awl y'all are thinkin' of, would it?
[Rewrites entire passage removing bad stage Southern accent; was
startin' da sound like "Redneck Rampage" or somethin'.] Hem. Anyway.
We have a fair number of medieval recipes for (presumably) the
wealthy which call for white grease (rendered lard) for frying on a
meat day, olive oil for salads or for frying on meatless days, and
almond oil for various confectionery applications. I could be wrong,
but I STR a few references to frying in clarified butter, but these
are more rare. Or, I could be confusing this with some of the Islamic
sources which usually call for butter, olive oil, or sesame oil, as a
rule, unless they call for melted tail fat. My tea is still brewing...

Bear in mind that these same recipes also call for almonds, dried
fruits such as dates, figs, and raisins, spices that are obviously
from the Far East, wine from someplace where grapes are still being
grown (i.e. no longer England after the 12th century or so at the
latest, I'd think), the difficulties of importing oil from exotic
Spain, France, Greece and Italy (there are more places from which
olive oil could have been imported, but those are the relatively
close ones) seem to fade in comparison.

It's hard to think what the poorer classes did for dietary fat, not
to mention cooking oil, especially when part of Lent also coincides
with winter. Nut oils such as hazel and walnut? Butter? Rapeseed oil,
a.k.a. canola?

>I wonder if the Vatican owned a bunch of olive groves? Or was in the
>export business?

I wouldn't be at all surprised, but then various kings have
confiscated a lot of land from the Church at various times. It might
be better to ask if they got a groat or a farthing on every herring
sold. But then, since many people paid tithes, it's rather moot.

Presumably olives _could_ be grown in the area around the Vatican.
Rome was originally an agricultural economy based right where the
Vatican is now, and was in the Middle Ages.

Adamantius