[Sca-cooks] Now Food Introduction Project was New World Foods

[Daniel Phelps]

Good Day all:

I was out of touch the 15th, 16th, and 17th doing field work but while doing
so an interesting approach to the "Food Introduction Project" as previously
discussed  came to me.  Why not approach the idea of documenting the
introduction of various food and food related items ala a modification of
the OED approach.  I suggest that the first citation under an item's entry
would be the earliest documentable mention of the item in a western European
source.  Second citations would be a reference to the first documentable use
in a "recipe".  Subsequent citations would be the first reference to
additional alternative uses.  This would, I suggest, work well with specific
"food" items, i.e. walnuts, rosemary, chickens etc. but might need to be
modified if we include methods, utensils or generic food items, i.e. cheese,
milk, fish, citrus fruit etc.  If done electronically the entries could be
linked to larger discussions of an entry, i.e. the introduction of citrus
fruit for example, or to documented recipes.

One odd note if this appeals and we want to go whole hog regards the OED
approach, I suppose we will need to find an incarcerated homicidal lunatic
foodie to vet the entries through. ;-)

Daniel