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

[Chris Stanifer]

--- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise <jenne at fiedlerfamily.net> wrote:

> Now, it's helpful to read books that talk about period ways of 
> combining foods so that you get a sense of period techniques-- in fact, 
> I think it's essential. And discussions on this list help too. 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.


One of the problems I see with this is that, for cooks such as myself, there are too many variant
recipes and interpretations for me to ever claim 'mastery' of these recipes.  In all of the
translations I have seen (at least those with multiple translations) each author tends to have
their own take on how the recipe was supposed to have been done.  And, without actually seeing the
dish as it WAS prepared in period, I'm not willing to claim that my way is the correct way.

This does not mean that I will not do the research and give the recipe due dilligence...it merely
means that I will never claim 'mastery' of a recipe subset.  I think that's arrogant, and without
more evidence to support these recipes, I think it's inappropriate as well.
 
> That doesn't mean we shouldn't try making new variants of an existing 
> dish-- but we need to look at all the extant variant recipes we can get 
> our hands on first, and avoid using non-period techniques and ways of 
> thinking.


I agree with this, to a point.  However, if the new variant can be produced using those 'proper'
techniques and ways of thinking, then will it be safe to call it 'period' food?  Where is the line
drawn?  'Undocumentable', to be sure....the dish never appeared anywhere in period as far as we
can tell.... but I think certain assumptions can be made, assuming studious dedication and
preservation of the main, to produce a new dish which could be labeled 'period' food.

WdG





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


		
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