[Sca-cooks] Pie dough

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Feb 13, 2010, at 6:01 AM, Claire Clarke wrote:

> I think there's one 14th-century French description of a pie dough being
> made with little bits of lard (probably unrendered). I remember getting into
> an... erm... animated, respectful discussion... here on this list several
> years ago on a point of translation, with someone whose French is a lot
> better than mine.
> 
> However, I'm not aware of any specific suggestions on what to do in Lent
> when lard or other animal fat is out.
> 
> Adamantius
> 
> 
> Oooh ooh oooh (to quote shaggy dog). I don't suppose you have a reference
> for that recipe? I mean, I wonder if the lard was for the dough or the
> filling?

Maybe the whole discussion is in the Florilegium. As I say, I'm not 100% certain (as in, I cannot currently prove) that it actually took place, but my recollection, such as it is, is that somebody produced a piece of contemporary 14th or 15th C. verse that had in turn appeared in a footnote for somebody's later edition of Taillevent or le Menagier. As I recall the lard was in the dough. Essentially, some editor, noting some gaps in the actual recipe material (for example, Taillevent mentions the famous Sauce Robert but, AFAIK, does not actually supply a recipe; one of the editors has included one from another roughly contemporary source; similarly, some editor appears to have noted that the author keeps talking about pies but doesn't describe the process for making the dough) and includes a separate but relevant, roughly contemporary, description.

More than that I'm not currently prepared to tell you; we're doing the Lunar New Year prep and I'm in desperate need of caffeine.

Maybe James Prescott (if he's still around) would recall the passage in question...

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