[Sca-cooks] Re: Nibbles

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Jul 20, 2005, at 1:36 AM, Stefan li Rous wrote:

> Rachaol mentioned:
>
>>     So nibbles at that time would be pretty alien to people in a  
>> culture
>> who can bop into the Quickie Mart and get a Moon-Pie, R-C and a bag o
>> peanuts. Though I suppose it is the same in that their snacks would
>> also be simple and easily available.
>>
>
> Well, what about the period street venders, such as the ones shown  
> in the woodcuts with racks of pretzels?

Or the waferers, etc. I also can't help but think of dipping into the  
pot of pottage at an inn, and also a cup of chewy ale, as additional  
pieces of the puzzle.

Recently I was reading an Indian cookbook (you know, these books have  
text other than recipes ;-)  ), and it included a fairly detailed  
account of a typical day in the life of an Indian nawab that probably  
applied into the early 20th century. This schedule involved getting  
up around 4 AM, an hour or two of exercise, tea, riding or hunting, a  
huge English-style breakfast, making state visits, correspondence, a  
substantial Indian lunch, a short nap, more state visits, holding  
court, more tea, a small snack, more business, more state visits,  
returning home to receive state visits, a second, evening court  
session, and an hour or so of family time before a fairly late  
dinner. Interspersed through all of it are medicinal doses of both  
spoonfuls of sugared almond paste at various times, and often a tiny  
dose or two of opium to help with the aches and pains any elderly man  
might have with such a busy schedule.

I suspect that a medieval European nobleman with an even remotely  
similar schedule (say, any responsible earl) would require more than  
two or three meals a day, spaced hours apart.

Adamantius




"S'ils n'ont pas de pain, vous fait-on dire, qu'ils  mangent de la  
brioche!" / "If there's no bread to be had, one has to say, let them  
eat cake!"
     -- attributed to an unnamed noblewoman by Jean-Jacques Rousseau,  
"Confessions", 1782

"Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy -- or go on Prozac?"
     -- Susan Sheybani, assistant to Bush campaign spokesman Terry  
Holt, 07/29/04