[Sca-cooks] Period Field Rations

[Patrick Levesque]

>   I have a question . . . What can we document as being actual field rations
>in period? Dried meats, sausages, hard cheeses, parched grains, journey cakes
>/ breads of various types would have been carried along, supplemented with
>whatever
>they could obtain by foraging. I realize that Kings & Nobles had a higher
>living
>standard in the field than the average levy, but when things got tough, they
>didn't eat all that much better, I suspect.
>   I'm thinking of doing a field ration package for Pennsic that would be as
>documentable as possible while still being palatable. Input?
>
>   Sieggy

I never thought much about the question, but Henry Marks in 'Byzantine
Cuisine' mentions the Krivani ("domed metal or pottery top [...] cooks
bread faster and more evenly).

Voukellon is a thin, double baked bread used by the armies of Byzantium;
the bread is soaked in liquid prior to consumption to soften it (and
probably to add some flavor, depending on the liquid used).

Unleavened bread in both cases.

Organized armies did travel with large groups of camp-followers; presumably
they would have included butchers/bakers and people to cook for a bunch of
hungry soldiers, but I have not researched this.

Petru