[Sca-cooks] roast turkey

[Chris Stanifer]

--- Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com> wrote:

>   William de Grandfort declared:
> > When I am King, I shall make Roast Turkey the national dish of Caid,
> > and banish any who dare oppose me!!
> You could. But why? That is a period food. Late, and certainly not 
> available in all areas but it is "period" by our usual rules. 

That having been said, one could argue that the Artichoke is just as period as the turkey, since
it was known to have been minimally available towards the end of the 15th century, as a cultivated
version of the Cardoon.  However, the Artichoke does not appear in any known extant cookbook of
our period of interest, nor has it ever grown wild in any part of the world.  I, personally, am of
the opinion that those foods which were relegated to 'curiosities', or very difficult to find,
should be excluded from the mainstream SCA gastronomique.  Potatoes, Corn, Turkey, Artichokes,
Chocolate, etc...

Now, don't get me wrong.... I'm not saying these things aren't delicious....merely that the mere
presence of those items within our time frame does not, necessarily, mean that they were widely
available or even commonly used in the regions in which they *were* available.

As for the right noble Turkey, I adore the ugly bastards, and find them about as far from
'Mundane' as I do Lamb, Venison or any game meat.  The flesh is flavorful and versatile, and I
feel it requires as much respect as any of the 'period' birds of Western Europe.  It's big enough
to have kicked all of those other birds' asses, anyway :)

William de Grandfort

=====
Every heart to love will come... but like a refugee.


		
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