New World Foods- was Re: [Sca-cooks] Earthapples eyc

[Lonnie D. Harvel]

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise wrote:

But I don't see how people can create new recipes in the medieval style 
without having visibily mastered at least a subset of period recipes. 


I think this is the crux of the issue for me. I believe there were 
almost as many variations on medieval recipes as there were medieval 
cooks. Sometimes changes were for creativity, sometimes for necessity. 
The hard work comes in trying to understand what resources and 
techniques were in use at a given time and place. Now, I have been 
cooking for decades. Usually, if I like something, I can go home and 
make it. I rarely need a recipe, and then, only for reference. However, 
when it comes to cooking in the SCA period, I am a bit at a loss. I 
don't know the ingredients, the techniques, or even the cultural 
restrictions that come into play when constructing variations. And THAT 
is where the temptation comes in. I am a competent cook, and I want my 
feast to turn out well, so I will just use my modern skills to "fix" 
this ancient recipe.

Now, I think that I am well within period to add a touch of cinnamon and 
a touch of clove to my fine cakes, but I haven't a clue what kind of 
beans would be available in the Russian/Ukraine area for using in a 
soup. Of course, I make a great bean soup, but I doubt it's period!

Anyway, I do cheat. But they are based on constraints of either 
resources or, more commonly, the shortcomings of my own abilities. When 
I do cheat, I fess up.

Aoghann

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