[Sca-cooks] period pickles and preserves

[Daniel & Elizabeth Phelps]

Was written:

>>I'm new to SCA, but not new to cooking. One of my fav things to do is
>>preserves and pickles. Can someone point me to some period recipes
>>sources for same? Also, where do I start to learn- sites, books etc
>>to understand redaction?

Might be of use if one were to state contry/region and/or a time span of 
interest.  Be that as it may, preserves suggests to me "candying" with sugar 
while pickling suggests to me preserving in vinegar.   With that in mind I 
will have a go at pickling in my library and memory as I think it the more 
difficult to come by recipes for.

Try "Pickled, Potted and Canned, a History of Food Preserving" by Sue 
Shepard for some history of such.  According to the book there was a Baltic 
god of pickled foods.  Cannot recall his name however.  Try also "Food in 
History" and "The History of Food".

In addition to "preserves" I think that there might be some pickling recipes 
in Karen Hess's translation/edition of "Martha Washington's Book of 
Cookery".  Much of the recipes there in were late period English.  Could 
someone check, I've mislaid my copy?  The recipe for Na'an Mukhallal in "In 
a Caliph's Kitchen" which consists of period recipes edited/translated by 
David Waine might be useful.  It is a vinegar mint sauce which also appears 
to have been used to pickle garlic?  "The Sensible Cook, Dutch Foodways in 
the Old and the New World" translated and edited by Peter Rose has some 
recipes that were published, albeit just out of period, for pickling gerkins 
and quinces.  The first recipe uses vinegar the second one does not.

"Penn Family Recipes, cooking recipes of William Penn's Wife Gulielma" 
edited by Evelyn Abraham Bennson is another family recipes book passed down 
like Martha Washington's that may be of interest.  Unfortunately the recipes 
that I could find are for candying rather than pickling in vinegar.  Check 
out one of the more complete verisons of Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book as 
it is another family recipes book that was passed down might be some 
pickling recipes therein.

Daniel