[Sca-cooks] period soteltie leftovers

[johnna holloway]

I have come across mentions that foods at important
events was then given to the waiting poor, but I don't
recall that the sugarworks were so dispersed. I think the
feast that was mentioned was very notable for the account
of the sugarworks being given to the poor. That was what made
that feast notable. One thing to keep in mind is that large numbers
of the subtleties were never intended to be eaten.
They were made of wax or plaster and large ones
needed wooden forms and wire structures. They were
forms of entertainments. Smaller ones might be edible,
more or less although one wonders if one was supposed to eat
the pastry case from which the 4 and 20 blackbirds were
encased. See Scully's The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages
and Peter Brears All the King's Cooks for good details.
Brears includes a lot of material on who got the leftovers and how
they were parceled out after meals. There was a rather rigid
structure as to who got what.

Hope this helps.

Johnnae llyn Lewis  Johnna Holloway



Stefan li Rous wrote:
Any one have any evidence one way or the other?

>
> Please, could you tell me if
> > soteltes in Europe were given to the poor in this same fashion, or
> > were they solely for the consumption of the nobility?
> >> I would very much appreciate your help on this matter.>
> > Many thanks, Sam Hoyt