[Sca-cooks] period foods and allergiesTests, Argan oil, What else??

[Daniel Myers]

On Feb 11, 2004, at 10:25 AM, Kirsten Houseknecht wrote:

> i suppose i am just frustrated that at *most* of the feasts i go to, 
> almost
> all the dishes have garlic in them. which means i cannot eat them, 
> which
> means i end up not going to most feasts.
> and people say i dont socialize enough in the SCA.. kinda hard to do 
> if you
> cant eat there!
>
> but when i tried to gently point out to a local officer that it is 
> difficult
> when almost all the food items share a "common ingredient" and if you 
> are
> allergic to that ingredient you cant eat anything, i was told. firmly. 
> that
> garlic is an essential componant in most medieval food.
>
> Kirsten Houseknecht


Again, I've mostly been looking at England, but the claim that any one 
ingredient is an essential component in most medieval food seems pretty 
silly.  These people lived in an environment where access to different 
foods was seasonal and sometimes unreliable.  They often had to make do 
with what they had.  I guess such a claim could be made for salt, but 
even that doesn't show up in every recipe.

- Doc


-- 
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
  Edouard Halidai  (Daniel Myers)
  http://www.medievalcookery.com/
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-