[Sca-cooks] Cookbooks with period recipes for beginners

[Bronwynmgn at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/27/2003 12:27:07 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com writes:


> Which "genre" are you talking about specifically? Cookbooks with period 
> recipes? Cookbooks with period recipes for beginners? Cookbooks with 
> period recipes for beginning cooks?


Just what I said.  The genre of "sources for newcomers who want to bring 
period food with them to an event".  That can include any of the types you've 
listed above, depending on the individual newcomers' familiarity with cooking.  
The key thing here is that, while they may or may not know something about 
cooking, they don't know anything about period food or recipes.  This particular 
cookbook (Travelling Dysshes) is, in my opinion, a poor example of this sort of 
source because the recipes are usually poor redactions and if you don't know 
how to compare a redaction to an original, you won't know that.  So you'll 
think you are bringing "period food" when you aren't.  This is compounded by the 
fact that, in the earlier edition at least, not all of the recipes actually 
come from period sources; some of them are clearly of the "this was served for a 
feast so it must be period" variety.  Some of these have been retained in the 
second edition, although they've been identified as such and placed in a 
separate chapter, which is a significant improvement.

> 
> What cookbook would you recommend for the latter two? Especially the 
> last? Does it have a list of items that these folks can pick up from 
> the grocery and use at an SCA pot luck which are at least 
> psuedo-medieval? I'd be happy to try to do my part in helping new cooks 
> get into period cooking by using the Florilegium, if someone wants to 
> create a bibliography or an article on this subject.
> 

I do agree that, for the most part, the list of things to pick up from the 
grocery is pretty good, as is the list of what's period/what's not - of course, 
with the sort of inaccuracy that happens if you try to create a list like that 
for the entire time period covered by the SCA.   You know, the "do I leave 
out sweet potatos because they are only available for late period, and have that 
inaccuracy, or do I put them in and then have somebody making '14th century 
sweet potatos' because I said they were period" sort of problems. 

I haven't found a book that combines a period cookbook and a cookbook for 
beginners into one volume.  I treally think that requires two; one basic modern 
cookbook and then a period cookbook with modern English translations and worked 
out recipes.
For people who know how to cook but don't know about period stuff, the three 
I usually recommend first are Pleyn Delit 2nd edition, the first volume of 
Take a Thousand Eggs or More, and the one by Redon - I'm forgetting the title, 
but it's mostly French and Italian recipes.

Brangwayna