[Sca-cooks] Myth of Spoiled Meat

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Nov 20, 2009, at 11:37 AM, Euriol of Lothian wrote:

> Well there was at least one spice that was readily available throughout most of Europe to just about everyone, I suspect, and that was mustard. Two of the three species of mustard plants are native to Europe according to The Penguin Companion to Food. Most of the pre-17th century culinary texts I've looked at have at least one recipe for mustard sauce.
> 
> One of the things I struggle with is the concept that a cook of these time periods would be trying to "cover the flavors" of other ingredients. Yes, certainly herbs (fresh & dried) were used but when I've looked at a 16th century herbal it discusses the humor of the particular herbs. I think it was far more about, in the cook's mind, balancing the humors of the food to the person and situation in which is being served.

If you look here for an earlier article by Terry Nutter on this question, it mentions the (I think 14th or 15th century) Opusculum de Saporibus ("A Little Book On Sauces") which goes into some detail on the role of humoral balance in matching sauces to foods and diners' humoral states. "And if salted, the sauce shall be mustard..." ;-)

[Okay, that's actually from the Einseignements...]

http://lists.whatwg.org/pipermail/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org/2008-March/015535.html

Adamantius






"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls, when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter