[Sca-cooks] Re: Pork shank 2

[Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise]

> I think that's something we need to unlearn when we cook period. At least, 
> some periods of period. The idea that accompaniments are there to accentuate 
> the flavour of the meat isn't something I get out of many medieval recipes 
> (though sometimes it could be there, depending on how you read it). I've 
> always felt them to be more tricky combinations of various flavour to create 
> a 'balance' that may lie very far from the unalloyed base flavour. 

I agree with Giano on this one. This is one of the issues that late 19th 
and early 20th century cooks and scholars had a problem with, that 
seasonings and sauces in period food were not merely used to accentuate 
the food's taste, but to create a balance and basically a specific 
taste.

We hear this when modern cooks look at our medieval cookbooks and say
"but this all uses the same five spices, it will all taste the same!"
*Jadwiga walks away whistling*

-- 
-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net 
"America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on 
imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand." 
	-- Harry S. Truman