[Sca-cooks] Trying again

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

On 17 Jan 2003, at 7:08, Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamant wrote:

> Now, I'm pretty sure this isn't what you're asking, so maybe, with
> your permission and help, we can work on rephrasing the question to
> something a little more specifically addressable. I know you're
> working on a feast in, what, a week or so, and you want to know which
> foods won't need refrigeration?

I see you've been practicing that medallion-to-the-forehead Laurel
mindreading trick again!

Yes, my upcoming feast isbehind my question.

> Probably the best thing would be to prioritize your ingredients,
> refrigerate first the things that really obviously need it, then
> the iffy items in order of priority, until you run out of room, and
> the hope is to achieve a compromise between available space and a
> reasonable degree of food safety.

I have a fairly generous amount of refrigerator space, and unless
the weather changes drastically, I can put some of the less
delicate stuff in a cooler in the "outside refrigerator".  My question
has more to do with foods in an intermediate stage of preparation
(like chopping the onions for the stew in the morning), or foods that
finish cooking before they are due to be served.  The only thing that
I know will go straight from the oven to the table is the salmon.

My barony has invested in some insulating bags that are excellent
at keeping heat in.  I worked in someone else's feast kitchen last
month, and serving bowls of soup that had been in them for at least
an hour came out steaming blow-on-your-spoon hot.

> Hmmm. What else would be in a Spanish, late-period feast? Cooked
> eggplant?

No, I'm making gourds with onions instead.  My tentative plan is:
1. peel and chop the veggies early in the day
2. parboil and drain them midday, refrigerate if necessary
3. shortly before feast time, cook them with milk and spices
4. put in bowls, and place in insulating bags
5. shortly before serving, stir in grated cheese

> After about three hours I'd become concerned, but it would depend
> on several cooking variables. Things like honey, butter, olives,
> will all keep for a while at room temp. Bread is fine. You cider
> sauce will probably be fine for several hours, but not forever. In
> general, precooked foods with relatively low moisture content,
> very high or very low pH's, and/or a high salt or sugar content,
> are less likely to spoil quickly than foods without these
> qualities. Oily/fatty foods may (or may not) survive better for the
> oxygen exclusion.

> Maybe the easiest thing would be to make a list of the things
> you're not sure about, and we can talk about them specifically, or
> else it's going to be a long day ;-) . It's not that this is an
> impossible topic to discuss in this way, but dealing with it can
> involve a certain amount of experience and intuition, so for now I
> think the best thing would be for you to ask about the specific
> foods you're thinking of.

Okay.  (Though I am interested in the general principles, for future
use)

Carrot pies.  They're baked with cheese and eggs in the filling, so I
assume "refrigerate" is the answer.

Parboiled fava beans.  (I have found the split ones need a ten-
minute boil after soaking to remove bitterness)

Cooked fava beans, stewed with water, oil, onions, herbs & spices.

dried figs stewed in sweet wine

Most of the other stuff is clearly safe (bread), or clearly needs to be
kept hot (ie., stewed chicken).

roast lamb (this one I should be able to time closely, but how long
can it/should it stand?)

When in doubt, I will certainly err on the side of caution.  I haven't
yet made anyone sick at one of my feasts, and I don't propose to
start now.  In a perfect world, I could precisely time the cooking so
that every dish went from raw ingredients to dish-on-the-table
without interruption.  Since the world is decidely imperfect, I want
to know how I can deliver food that is safe and tasty, without
cooking everything at the last possible minute.


Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
rcmann4 at earthlink.net