[Sca-cooks] Leven: yeast or sourdough?

[Johnna Holloway]

OED on barm defines it as
"1. a. The froth that forms on the top of fermenting malt liquors,  
which is used to leaven bread, and to cause fermentation in other  
liquors; yeast, leaven."

And there's a quotation attributed to Pliny but it's slightly different:

1601 HOLLAND Pliny II. 145 The froth or barme..[has] a property to  
keepe the skin faire and cleare in womens faces.

Johnna

On Oct 10, 2010, at 10:54 PM, Terry Decker wrote:
   The earliest reference (that I have located) to using ale barm is  
found in Pliny.