[Sca-cooks] Tree Saps: Was New World Food

[snow flake]

Well there is the difference I suppose.  I don't think we have to have it in the written word or a painting to believe that someone, somewhere, given the tools, and skills of the time, wouldn't have tried it.
 
There are hundreds of thousands of things we do everyday that aren't written down in a book, or a picture painted of.  It doesn't mean it didn't happen, only means that no one bothered to record it.
 
I think that this documentation is good for base, it gives us what tools, processes, techniques, and goods were generally available, but I don't think I need limit myself to only those dishes we have recipes for, or only those techniques dipicted in paintins and tapestries.
 
If I'm using the same tools, etc, and stumble across mixing two things never mentioned as mixed, or cook something using a different process that was available then, I don't feel it's less period because I can't document this very dish.
 
We know people played with recipes and techniques even back then.  Look at the variations of 'documented' recipes for Blancmanger.  I agree we need to be as period as we can, but don't think we should leave out creativity for the sake of documentation.
 
Eira
A decided newbie to the SCA cooking
> From: alysk at ix.netcom.com> To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org> Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:00:06 -0400> Subject: [Sca-cooks] Tree Saps: Was New World Food> > The comment was made regarding maple syrup as New World:> > >maple syrup perhaps... but a lot of different trees have sap that i > >find hard to believe no one would have tried to do something with. > > Well, consider how time-consuming the production of maple syrup is and the> process that it takes to produce it. The tree has to be tapped at a> specific time of year with specific weather fluctuations. The sap needs to> be gathered and then laboriously boiled down. I don't recall how many> gallons of sap it takes to make one gallon of syrup, but it's a large> ratio. > > Now, let us ask ourselves... Have we ever seen depictions of tapping trees> in medieval illustrations? Can we recall any mention of using a tree syrup> for sweetener? Honey, yes. Sugar, yes. Are there any references to> people doing this as a seasonal job? If using a tree sap for some type of> syrup or sweetener had been done, would there not be some visual or written> reference? Can anyone think of any such? That might be a confirmation> more than extrapolating that if we do it now, it could have been done prior> to 1600.> > Alys K.> > Elise Fleming> alysk at ix.netcom.com> http://home.netcom.com/~alysk/> > > _______________________________________________> Sca-cooks mailing list> Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org
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