[Sca-cooks] Chafing dishes?

Stefan li Rous StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
Mon Mar 24 14:46:23 PDT 2008


>
Dragon replied to Bear:
<<<
>  I haven't encountered references to chafing dishes before the 16th  
> Century,
> but this is not necessarily conclusive.  The ones that I have found  
> appear
> to be primarily ceramic heated by a small charcoal braizer.  You  
> might do
> well to check houlehold inventories for other examples.
>
---------------- End original message. ---------------------

Cool, thanks.

I also have information I just received from Master Hroar (pottery
Laurel in Caid) about some examples and he has pointed me to a book
documenting them.

I'll share more info when I get it if anyone is interested. >>>

Please do, or at least send me the info by email. Along with the info  
from Bear this might make a good Florilegium file or addition to the  
utensils-msg file. I did a search on the Florilegium, and  
surprisingly, found a number of hits on what appear to be period  
recipes using the words "chafing dish".

For instance, in the medlars-msg file:

"To make a tarte of Medlers

Take Medlers that be rotten, + straine them then set them
on a chafingdish of coales, and beate it in two yolkes of
Egges, and let it boil til it be somewhat thick: then
season it with synamon, Ginger and Sugar, and lay it in
paste."

No date, though, although it's apparently late period, from [The Good  
Housewife's Jewell]

In the "Preserving Foods in the Current Middle Ages" article by  
Hauviette d'Anjou in the FOODS section:
<<< TO MAKE OF PLUMS PEARS OR APRICOCKS A PASTE Yt SHALL LOOK CLEAR  
AS AMBERTake white pear plums of faire yellow Apricock[s]. pare &  
stone them,then boyle them on a chafing dish of coles till they be  
tender. thenstreyne them and dry the pulpe in a dish. then take as  
much sugar as yepulp dos weigh & boyle it to a candy height, with as  
much rose water aswill wet it. then put your apricocks or pear plums  
in ye sugar, & letthem boyle together & keep it stirring. then  
fashion it upon A leaf ofglass into halfe apricocks, & put ye stone  
into ye syde. then put theminto a stove or warme oven, & ye next day  
turn them & close 2 of themtogether, & then put ye stones into them  
betwixt ye hollows. soe drythem out, & box them. >>>

In the aspic-msg file:
<<<
 From John Murrell, "A Daily Exercise for Ladies and
Gentlewomen"

A LEACH OF DIVERS COLOURS IN THE FRENCH FASHION

Lay halfe a pound of Jordane Almonds in colde water,
the next day blanch and beate them in a stone morter,
put in some good Damaske Rose-water into the beating
of them, when they be very fine draw them through a
strainer with a quart of sweete mild from the Cowe,
and set on a chafing dish of Coales, with a piece of
Isinglasse, a piece of whole Mace and Nutmeg
quartered, a Graine of Muske tyed in a piece of lawne,
when it groweth thick, take off the fire, and take out
your whole spices, and let it runne through a strainer
into a broad and deepe dish, and when it is colde, you
may
so slice it and serve it in.  If you will colour any
of it, Saffron is for yellow, greene Wheat for green,
Turnsole is for red, and blew bottles in corne give
their own colour. >>>

There are other references as well in the cookies-msg, root-veg-msg,  
marzipan-msg, marmalades-msg and other files. The ones I've looked at  
all appear to be late period, but I didn't look at all the 'hits'.

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 ****





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