[Sca-cooks] Just A Feast report (part 2/2: kitchen detail)

[Darren Gasser]

Thanks for the recap.  Much appreciated!

Kirrily Robert wrote:
>  Used balsamic vinegar; not sure if that's period or not.  Anyone know?

Mostly yes.  I can find references back to at least 1046 for the existence
of balsamic vinegar, but  as a medicine.  It apparently became a prized
culinary ingredient sometime in the 16th century, and by 1700 was in common
use throughout Europe.   The production method of balsamico was fairly
radically revised in the mid-19th century, so modern balsamics almost
certainly taste very different from their period counterparts.

> Carbonado of beef
>
> We had a bank of
> electric frying pans going for this dish, with two people turning the
> steaks and basting them with butter and stuff.

Interesting.  Did you notice much difference in the end product by
pan-frying instead of broiling?

> Boiled chicken
>
> We'd got chicken quarters for
> 69c/lb and cut them up into single-portion pieces, so there were lots
> of funny little bones in the stew by the time it went out.

I usually remove the wings of poultry that is going to be braised or stewed
for exactly this reason.  Most of the larger bones are easy to remove, and
you don't lose much meat with the wings.

Thanks again.

-Lorenz