[Sca-cooks] Funeral foods ...

[Judith L. Smith Adams]

"Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius.magister at verizon.net> wrote:  
On Apr 6, 2006, at 1:54 PM, Judith L. Smith Adams wrote:

> Sandra Kisner wrote: > >Well, the first thing 
> that comes to mind is Hamlet's little joke
>>> about Gertrude and Claudius' wedding being so soon after the 
>>> death of
>>> Hamlet the Elder that they could recycle the leftover pies from the
>>> funeral for the wedding feast...
>>>
>>> Adamantius
>>
>
> Just for clarification, the quote actually goes:
> "Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral baked meats
> Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables."
>
> I wasn't under the impression that specifically meant pies.
>
> Sandra
> So, scholars and cooks, what do we know about what Shakespeare 
> meant - or didn't - by "baked meats"??
>
> Curiously,
> Judith

Based on the number of late-period and post-period recipes which 
refer to meats baked in an oven (as opposed to roasted over or next 
to a fire), these do tend to be pies, even when the recipe doesn't 
specifically use the word "pie" or refer to pastry. But in general, 
more often than not, a baked meat (as in the generic term bakemeats, 
or recipes instructing the cook to bake a capon or a haunch of 
venison) does tend to refer to some sort of pie. Often it's a long, 
moist cooking method akin to slow braising in a sealed pot. In fact, 
perfect for venison and wild turkeys ;-).

Some meats are baked in pots without pastry, but I'd think these are, 
for the most part, exceptions to a more-or-less understood rule. 
(They'll sometimes say something like, "in a pot without a coffin," 
or some such.)

Adamantius

  So, we have reason to think that baked meats are crusted pies or casseroles... Might/does it also refer to a haunch or hunk of something meaty baked in a crust, like a Wellington?

  And, medievally, was "coffin" the term for both a pastry enclosing food and a burial box?  I've never noticed!   In recipes I've seen so far (not such a large sample yet) there's no sense of punning about calling the pastry a "coffin," but do you/does anyone here know of it being a literary pun, by Shakespeare or anyone else??
   
  J

		
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