[Sca-cooks] Food Myths

[r.carnegie at verizon.net]

> and the number one Medieval Food-related Myth... (dingdingding)
>
> 1. Medieval food is heavily spiced to conceal the flavors of rotten meat
>
> Adamantius

    I have a theory on this item.

    A few years ago I had the opportunity to salt some hams.  In this process the hams are caked with large amounts of salt to help dry them out.  They then have copius amounts of black pepper applied to the service (particularly around the joint areas).  This pepper acts as a natural insect repellant, keeping flies from laying their larva in the meat.  Pepper is used therefore, in the preservation of meat.

    I think, as often happens, that some historian stumbled upon this little nugget of information and confused it or twisted it.

    Recently my wife discovered a version of this.  It was a secondary source quoting a period source on a subtlety receipt.  The original called for putting the sugar in a "mortar".  The modern historian explained that this "mortar" would be used to hold the structure together.  My wife and I feel sure that the sugar was actually being placed into a "mortar" so that it could be beated and used in the receipt!

     This is one of the reasons, when using secondary sources, that I far prefer ones that include the original.  I made a pottage recently for an event.  I think I used a reciept from 800 YEARS OF BRITISH COOKING.  I made it first at home to try it (I do not always do this)and wondered about the way it turned out.  Presently I do not remember what it was the concerned me, but something seemed wrong.  I mentioned this to my wife and we checked the primary source that the book claimed to be following (they did not print it in their version so we had to go to the source).  Sure enough, the modern author had either left something out, misinterpreted the original, or made a HUGE leap of faith from the original to a modern technique.

    My wife has pointed out a common version of this.  Period receipts will often mention beets and mean the beet top.  Modern versions will often assume that when beet is mentioned that it is the root meant (as that is what we do today).  Period receipts will often specify beet root when it is the root they mean.

Ranald

R.Carnegie at verizon.net
"Argue for your limitations, and they are yours."
             R. Bach