[Sca-cooks] Substitutions... how do we know?

[Suey]

Lilinah wrote:


> Here are the specified substitutions:
>
> -- If you don't have almonds *add egg yolks.*
> -- If you don't have pomegranate, *use a broth that is green with herbs.*
>
> My thoughts:
>
> 1.) Almonds: Given that egg yolks are the substitute for almonds, i 
> think in this case one is not making almond milk, but rather the 
> ground almonds go into the dish. I note, speaking off the top of my 
> head, that i've also seen some recipes use mashed/sieved hard-cooked 
> egg yolks as a thickener, but i can't guarantee they were Italian or 
> Arabic.
>   
Spanish recipes use raw yolks and also hard boiled. Thank you for 
including me in answering correctly the answer but think the answer 
rather rigorous in that the only thickener can be eggs. During Lent that 
was prohibited in the Middle Ages.
> Pomegranate: Given that the key flavor in the original Arabic 
> recipe is pomegranate, which gives the dish its name, i find it odd 
> that green herb broth is a substitute - it has neither the flavor nor 
> the color of the original. But it is an adaption by an "alien" 
> culture, so lacking an understanding of the source of the word 
> "romania", then they'd make their own substitutions.
I try to only deal with Spanish medieval recipes and a few English to 
compare. Sorrel sounds rather French to me. I maintain that I think that 
if the English had to adapt recipe they would have used  a fruit juice.
Total I find almost all the answers won.. Reviewing that last 
competition running around trying to find ingredients and then they were 
stolen or whatever, I think those poor people would have honored my 
opinion as far as thickeners and juices are concerned. Lilinaha, I think 
we all won cause all gave good answers.
Suey