[Sca-cooks] peacocks

[Stefan li Rous]

Selene replied to my comments with:
  <<<
Stefan li Rous wrote:
 > Several weeks ago, Adele de Maisieres commented:
 > <<< SilverR0se at aol.com wrote:
 >> The only truly edible part of the feast was a roast turkey,  
decorated
 >> with peacock feathers, which only the high board got to eat.
 >
 > Oh, do not get me starter on this practice! >>>
 >
 > Why? Although they used a different faux peacock than a turkey, there
 > is period commentary about doing this. Apparently they weren't as
 > enthused about the taste of peacock as they were with it's colorful
 > plumage.
Speaking as the one who cooked that turkey... even in Los Angeles, land
of a zillion foodstuffs, it was not possible to obtain a food-grade
peacock, with or without plumage.  >>>

One possible solution to this is talked about in my peacocks-msg  
file. Use a tanned peacock skin, with feathers, and cover a different  
bird with it. Probably a higher initial cost, but it would be  
reusable if handled with care and precautions were taken to prevent  
any food contamination.

<<< Besides, Stefan's right, "adulteration of foods" is hardly  
exclusive to
modern times, as we plainly see from various Medieval and Renaissance
sources, telling how to stretch wine with water and colorants, etc. >>>

Thank you, but I think the period commentary is less about food  
adulteration and more about the fact that our ancestors considered  
the peacock to be nice and showy, but preferred to be eating a  
different bird.  This taste concern is likely one of the reasons that  
the turkey caught on in Europe rather quickly.

Stefan

--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****