[Sca-cooks] Lamb (was Re: lent, wine, indulgences, de Nola)

[Daniel Myers]

On Jan 21, 2004, at 4:51 PM, Kirrily Robert wrote:

> As for lamb, anyone got recipe recommendations?  Anything particularly
> springy, from pre-1550.  Most of the recipes I can think of are for
> mutton, not lamb.

I know that lamb and mutton are different, but how much difference was 
there in period.  The word "mutton" obviously comes from French 
(Webster.com says: Middle English /motoun/, from Old French /moton/ ram 
- Date: 13th century), whereas "lamb" comes from German (Date: before 
12th century).

The word "lamb" however doesn't appear at all in Forme of Curye, Liber 
cure cocorum, A Proper newe Booke of Cokerye, or Two Fifteenth-Century 
Cookery-Books.  FoC uses only the term sheep, LCC and PNBoC use mutton 
exclusively, and except for two occurrences ("pownche of a chepe" and 
"panche of a shepe") TFCCB uses mutton everywhere else.

Ok, so I guess what I'm wondering is if all the recipes for mutton in 
LCC, PNBoC, and TFCCB were intended for sheep over a year(?) old, or 
did they just not make the distinction?

Also, how was the word "lamb" used in period English?  If it was in use 
in the 12th century (as asserted by webster.com) then why doesn't it 
show up in these English cookbooks up through the 16th century?

Could someone with access to the OED please look up "lamb", "mutton", 
and "sheep" and see what it has to say on the matter.

- Doc (who is just going to have to get an OED of his own)


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