[Sca-cooks] Rotten meat and spices...

[Sandra Kisner]

>Yes, it's been answered--- this post is from 2003.
>  [Sca-cooks] Origin of the "spice to hide taste of rotten meat" myth?
>
>johnna Fri Jul 25 15:41:55 CDT 2003
>
>    * Previous message: [Sca-cooks] Origin of the "spice to hide taste
>      of rotten meat" myth?
>      <http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/htdig/sca-cooks/2003-July/095370.html>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Johnnae llyn Lewis sends greetings.
><snip>
>FOOD HISTORY NEWS in the summer of 1996 offered this as "an
>example of an old saw that we would like to dull..." It's one
>of those oft-quoted , generally accepted, unquestioned
>assumptions that in light of recent research and reinterpretation
>needs to re-examined and dismissed.
>The issue then offered an article by Alice Arndt entitled
>"They Used A Lot of Spices to Disguise Spoiled Meat." Arndt
>points out that medieval markets were regulated. Those caught
>selling putrid meat might be fined or even pilloried in front
>of their rotten carcasses. She notes that surviving medieval
>recipes do not mention that one needs to add extra spices if
>the meat is tainted. Much of what we accept in terms of this
>accepted truth, she traces to Drummond (The Englishman and His Food),
>who got it wrong in his book by misreading a number of recipes.
>She notes that the use of spices in tropical cuisines has more
>to do with inducing perspiration than with preservation. Lastly,
>medieval preservation techniques were effective and remained in
>use long after exotic spicing was abandoned.  <snip again>

Drummond is the author cited in the relevant part of the article 
recommended as proof of spices to cover rotten meat:

>Yes, this is a modern article on Medieval York, but it is backed up with 
>researched facts, and
>*digged up bones*.  Check out the bibliography.
>
>http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/110433643/PDFSTART

Sandra