[Sca-cooks] What NOT to serve at feast...

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Apr 30, 2006, at 6:27 PM, Kerri Martinsen wrote:

> http://www.phmoms.com/Yulehumor.html
>
>
> Proof that just because it's period doesn't mean it SHOULD be done...

Yeah, well, <shrug>...

Where do we get to the part where there's anything actually wrong  
with the food? ...With the possible exception of the mercury-and- 
sulfur-filled bird, pig or (I think) hare, which is probably not  
supposed to be eaten?

I mean...

1. Oh, my gosh! Organ meats! The horror!

2. Exothermic process. No rotting involved. Evidently the period cook  
who wrote this knew more about chemistry than the author of the web  
page.

3. This one would put me off a bit, but that's the point, although,  
as the recipe states, there's nothing actually unwholesome about it.

4. Again, "Oh, my gosh!" Boiled meats with oysters. Welcome to the  
300 years of English cookery that predates their somewhat unjust  
reputation for bad cooking.

5. There's no evidence this one is for any purpose other than  
entertainment, so if you eat the chickens you roasted _without_ this  
extra step, there's no problem. Again, the page's author might learn  
a little elementary chemistry -- sulfur and mercury does not yield  
hydrogen sulfide, the gas produced by rotten eggs (among other things).

Hey, nobody in the world appreciates a good joke more than me, but  
I'm not a big fan of humor that comes at the expense of someone else,  
especially someone who doesn't deserve it.

I'm sure if you get yourself into the right frame of mind beforehand,  
none of this will be a problem...

Adamantius