[Sca-cooks] originals, redactions, and documentation, oh my

[KarenO]

Nancy Kiel wrote:
> In regards to an author's redactions without the original receipt, yes it
is  possible to locate the original using the footnotes etc.  But who has
the  time?  I'll take an original over a redaction anytime, no matter how
competent the redactor is.<
>
> In regards to judging documentation/redactions, why does the entrant need
to  include his/her process?  Isn't the receipt itself the process?  Yes, if
information is lacking or you do something differently than in the original,
the process is important.  For example, Viandier de Taillevent's chicken
cumin dish:  cook it in wine and water, quarter it, and fry it in lard.
Temper your broth with a bit of wine, sieve, and boil with your meat.  Add
just a bit of ginger and cumin steeped in verjuice and wime.  Take plenty of
egg yolks, beat them well, and thread them into your pottage at the back of
the fire. Make sure that it does not curdle. You would want to list
quantities, but the process seems straightforward enough.<

    I would want to know from your documentation if I can reproduce the dish
as you have and get the same results.   The above recipe is not as
straightforward as presumed.   "cook it in wine and water,"    how did you
decide the ratio of wine to water?  what type of wine? how long it you cook
the chicken?  what made you decide on that time?     "Temper your broth with
a bit of wine, sieve, and boil with your meat."  Where did the broth come
from?  Is this the original wine & water ratio?  And more wine is being
added to "temper it?"  Why?  and yet more cooking  -- is this necessary for
today's chickens?  {and so on}   This is "the process" that needs to be in
the documentation.   Judges aren't always skilled in an area they are asked
to judge  {sad, but true}  In my little corner of the Known World, there
just aren't enough people willing to judge in all the various art forms.
I was told that the documentation should teach any individual reading it how
to do *exactly*  whatever you did, and understand the process of doing so.

Caointiarn {patent pending}