[Sca-cooks] Re: Sca-cooks Digest, Vol 14, Issue 31

[Christina L Biles]

Message: 8
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 19:54:11 -0400
From: "Sharon Gordon" <gordonse at one.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] tart crust question
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Message-ID:
 <02ae01c469fd$dc640000$6601a8c0 at net.gambrl01.md.comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain;                charset="iso-8859-1"

> want to do a tart like this one:
> <http://worldart.sjsu.edu/VieO42870$10084*778063>

>>>>Wow, really pretty tart!  When you figure out how to do that design 
and get
it to stay even, I'd love to hear how you did it!

Well, it helps that my best beloved is an engineer & that we have AutoCad 
on the computer at home.  He designed it for me, printed it out in the 
right size of the tart & I used that as a template to cut out the design. 
It held up quite well in my tests.

The trick is to roll it out on parchment paper, although it held up pretty 
well to being folded in quarters the usual way.  The parchment paper just 
made it easier.  Really, it's just like a pierced crust for an apple pie, 
just more elaborate.


>>>What's the white in the silvery cylinder on the left? 

salt.  At this time period, the Dutch loved spiffy huge salts.  I've got 
several images with salts that have huge elaborate bases & itty bitty 
bowls for the salt.

>>>On the right would that be small chickens or a smaller bird? 

It could be either.  Sadly, I can't look at a stripped down bird & tell 
you what type it is.  There are a number of examples in still-life at the 
same period/place of piles of different game birds, so I'd say it could as 
easily be game birds as chickens.

>> On top of themis that black olives or a blue fruit?

In better color images, the fruits are reddish.  They could be prunes, 
plums, cherries, or reddish olives.
 

>>> The more rounded dark green ones could be rose leaves or bay leaves or 
???  The white/pinkish item below the tart 

I think that we are looking at rose leaves and petals from a wild rose, 
although the petals may be from some other flower.

>>>Any ideas what the flowery herb is at the front of the table and maybe 
the
same thing is just behind the orange?

blue cornflowers or blue borage flowers.  Borage, I think.

>>>In the glass container at the back (can't make out it's base) is that 
likely
to be wine, vinegar, cider or something else given the container and 
color?

My personal guess is that the roemer is filled with a white wine or 
possibly a cider.

-Magdalena da Cadamosto