[Sca-cooks] Food Origins

[Decker, Terry D.]

As a small correction, Alces alces and A. americana are considered different
species rather than different subspecies, although the point is debatable.
A. alces is called an elk in Europe.  A. americana is called a moose (from
the Abenaki word "mos").

Cervus canadiensis (wapiti, from the Shawnee "waapiti," called an elk in
North America) is a different species from Cervus elaphus (European red
deer).

Caribou and reindeer both appear to be Rangifer tarandus.

And if you do serve elk (be it European or North American) at a feast, let
me know.  I want to be there.

Bear

> IIRC (having just skimmed a very long and silly thread on the
> subject in
> the November archives) our moose and elk started out as Alces
> alces and
> Cervus elaphus and could still probably interbreed with their
> Old World
> relations, but are now considered different subspieces, to wit,
> Alces alces americana and Cervus elaphus canadiensis. Over there, what
> we call moose are called elk, and what we call elk are called
> red deer,
> and what we call whitetail are New World.
>
> So if I really felt like spending huge amounts of money for
> 12th Night, I
> could serve a roasted elk and it would be a reasonable facsimile of a
> period meat.
>
> Margaret