[Sca-cooks] Tonight on the Food Network - Biblical Foods

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> Well yes, as messages in this file indicate, the idea that folks will
> not eat fish at feasts does have its exceptions. But enough will not,
> and we've talked about this enough, that I thought I'd joke about it.
> feasts-fish-msg   (24K)  2/19/04    Serving fish at SCA feasts.
>
> Stefan

Stefan, your joke was understood, and responded to in kind. But, what you
seem to be missing is that fish in feasts has seemed to go over very well,
despite the "conventional wisdom". The slamon pasties Avraham and I served
at Northpass Tavern vanished so fast, that the kitchen staff only had a few
that we'd held back. Weekly, I'm hearing of more and more feasts where the
fish course is being eaten and enjoyed.

I think that our feasters are finally learning that good food properly
prepared is tasty, no matter what it is, whether period or seafood.

I recently asked a question on EK List in response to another one of those
"But Medieval people didn't have the same tastes modern people did"
statements, referencing several sites where they could find Medieval
recipes, and asking them what, exactly, they were referring to when they
thought of nasty Medieval food. The only responses I found were in two
categories, despite my attempt to avoid personal preferences- personal
preferences, including misunderstandings of what actually happened in some
forms of food prep, and organ meats- which I feel would go under personal
preferences. The telling point to me was someone's description of rotten
fish made into a sauce- Adamantius came in and explained a bit about
pickling and enzymatic actions.

>From this, I suspect that all we really need to do is soft pedal our
descriptions of our foods- after all, would you prefer a juicy bit of
well-aged steak, or a half raw piece of dead cow that;s been lying around
for a few days?

Saint Phlip,
CoDoLDS

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....