[Sca-cooks] Spices in England

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Dec 30, 2006, at 3:19 PM, Suey wrote:

>   I stand to be corrected. Now I too find no evidence that Protestants
> prohibited spices. Stefan I believe it is in Robin Howe's, edited
> version of Mrs. Groundes-Peace’s Old Cookery Notebook (which I do not
> have at hand) in which he states that her 15th Century household
> received something like a spoonful or less of sugar per month while
> Americans in the 20th Century were consuming ? lbs per person per  
> month,
> the figure is extraordinary in comparison.

No doubt, especially given the comparatively recent increase in sugar  
beet production and processing. However, it's worth pointing out that  
a spoonful might be a larger measure than you know, possibly the  
equivalent of three or four fluid ounces in volume. Yes, obviously  
modern Americans consume more sugar, but the gulf might not be quite  
as large as you imagine.

> Perhaps Queen Bess had all
> the sugar she wanted but I doubt her subjects saw much of it . . .
> Certainly that was not the case of Iberia where sugar cane  
> flourished in
> the south and the Canaries.

You start to see more references to sugar in 15th century English  
recipes which specifically refer to sugar from Cyprus, and in far  
greater quantities in addition to greater frequency, than in the 14th  
century equivalent recipes, which suggests that sugar was getting  
cheaper for more people. Of course, that may be a relative thing,  
just as I find myself pointing out to my lady wife with, it seems, an  
ever-increasing frequency, the fact that an item is on sale does not  
necessarily mean it is a good deal, that it is cheap, or that we can  
afford it.

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