[Sca-cooks] Frying was Siege Cooking Competition

[a5foil]

Bear scripsit:
> I think it's a safe bet that foods were fried in the Middle Ages.

But given the evidence, I think it's also a safe bet that it was shallow fry
rather than deep fry. The pans all seem to be fairly shallow, and also
deep-frying is pretty wasteful of oil.

We once did an experiment with late-period empanadas. When we deep-fried
them in olive oil, which has a fairly low smoking point, they didn't cook
well and turned out very pale. When we shallow-fried them in about 1/4 inch
of oil -- same temperature and all -- they cooked nicely and turned
beautifully golden. The oil was deep enough that the empanadas floated when
cooked, but no more than that. We figured that the mostly-direct heat from
the bottom of the pan helped the browning.

Cynara