[Sca-cooks] Henry VIII diet

[Gretchen Beck]

--On Saturday, August 15, 2009 10:22 PM -0500 Stefan li Rous
<StefanliRous at austin.rr.com> wrote:

> 
> <<<
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbgcDxAQSgQ is someone buying what
> Henry VIII ate in a week.
> 
> I am not sure the alcohol level is right as I suspect both the ale and
> the red wine were not very alcoholic.
> 
> They don't say how they worked out what he ate, as in whether the info
> they have is extrapolated from one instance or if there are records of
> what was eaten in a week generally.

I'm also wondering if they are forgetting that the serving sizes usually
reflect someone(s) eating leftovers in the kitchen, and that vegetables are
often covered by phrases like "with potages referred to the discretion of
the Master of the Household." (at least they are in the later 16th C
Scottish records. In addition, it's possible that the menu is from a
regular commisary list, which will list what is regularly provided by the
kitchen, but not the seasonal fruits and vegetables that may or may not be
available on any particular day.

toodles, margaret