[Sca-cooks] Re: Rotten meat

[Devra at aol.com]

        One thing I think has been overlooked. A person may use a strong 
flavor to recover meat that is a little bit off.  My own dear mother, who wanted 
more than anything to be a MODERN AMERICAN, on occasion might soak a chicken in 
vinegar if it was teensy bit smelly. This is obviously something people may 
do.
     What I think we are objecting to is the concept that ALL meat in the 
Middle Ages was consumed rotten, with a covering-up of spices. At all times, 
always, everyone (all social classes) ONLY ate rotten meat. Not that once in a 
while someone might attempt to rescue slightly gone meat, but that NO ONE ever 
ate meat that wasn't rotten.  Right in there with the 'all medieval food tasted 
dreadful' idea.
     And yes, a great deal of this can be traced to the Victorian period, 
IMO, with their much lesser use of interesting spices. And of course Mr Drummon, 
in his 1939 book.
     Seems like we can't believe that people in the past could do anything 
without our modern miracle technology.  How COULD they have raised Stonehenge 
without cranes and derricks and steam engines?
     Devra



Devra Langsam
www.poisonpenpress.com
devra at aol.com