[Sca-cooks] Norse Pies (was period cookies)

[Robin]

otsisto wrote:

>-----Original Message-----
> currants, 
>
>* Red, black or Zantes?
>  
>
Zante.  It was what was available in my supermarket.

>I used boiled beef and domestic (cow's milk) feta cheese.  
>
>*Would the French have used feta cheese?
>  
>
An excellent question.  That depends on what you mean by feta cheese.  
[Here commences a lecture -- forgive me if this is information you 
already know.]  We have some recipes for cheesemaking from ancient and 
medieval times.  We know they used a variety of milks (including cow, 
sheep, goat, and buffalo).  We know the names of some of the cheeses 
they made in period, and some of those are still made today, but we 
don't know how they might have changed over the centuries. 

The flavor of a cheese depends on a lot of factors: type of milk, 
starter culture, curdling method/material, how long it is 
drained/pressed, and how it is cured.  Some recipes specify if the milk 
should be from the morning milking or the evening milking.  The kind of 
plants in a pasture can affect milk flavor.  Medieval cheeses of the 
same style would have varied from maker to maker, just as they do today 
from artisanal cheesemakers. 

This recipe called for a crumbled "harvest" cheese.  (Another 
translation says a "rich" crumbled cheese.)  I looked at what was 
available in the supermarket that had that texture.  My choices were: 
chevre (goat), feta, blue cheese, and gorgonzola.  A classic Greek feta 
is made from sheep's milk only, and is cured in a brine solution.  A 
domestic feta, made with cow's milk, is milder in taste and less salty.  
I wanted something that would not overwhelm the flavor of the meat.  If 
I had gone to a specialty cheese shop, I'm sure I would have had more 
choices.  Did the Viandier have access to a crumbly, slightly tangy 
cow's milk cheese?  Very likely.  Did he use it in this recipe?  I have 
no idea.   Sometimes, you have to take your best educated guess and see 
how well it works.  </lecture>

-- 
Brighid ni Chiarain
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
Robin Carroll-Mann *** rcmann4 at earthlink.net