[Sca-cooks] Re: (Period cookery questions)

[Stefan li Rous]

Johnna Holloway commented:
> The total picture of food though requires that
> one pay attention to more than just the recipes.
> If the recipes call for spice A and the household
> accounts, written letters, and other accounts indicate
> that they did not have that spice that year because
> supplies were lacking, it indicates that the recipe
> was made with another spice, made without the spice A, or
> perhaps another version of the recipe not recorded
> was used.

These household accounts often did not mention items that
were grown or made on the premises. So you sometimes have
to be careful of this. Each type of source material has
its bad and good points.

However, that likely would not apply to imported spices. It
might for herbs though.
--
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 ****